Cape Blanco Lighthouse · Photo: Bureau of Land Management · CC BY-SA 2.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Port Orford than in 94% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Port Orford gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (47%), then river and rain flooding (42%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1981.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Port Orford faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
Tsunamis
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Port Orford’s grade
Earthquakes are 47% of the building damage FEMA expects in Port Orford, and Port Orford’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 6%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Port Orford’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.3M a year in losses across Port Orford: $976K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Port Orford flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Port Orford, from FEMA’s records: 4.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 55% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Port Orford isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Curry County.12 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Port Orford
Disasters that paid out in Port Orford itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Port Orford), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Winter Storm$44K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2019Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides$85K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$8K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2013Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding$22K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$19K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$21K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
Show all 12
- 2008Severe Storms, Flooding and Tornadoes$67K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$7K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$39K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2005Severe Winter Storms, Heavy Rains, and Flooding$4K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes$28K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
- 2002Severe Winter Ice Storm$11K to the City of Port Orford for repairs
Curry County has had 11 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Curry County, 2002–2017.
Old photos of Port Orford after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Port Orford archive →Get ready for what Port Orford faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Strong shaking or a sudden drop in the sea means head for high ground now.
- Learn the tsunami route signs near the shore.
- Stay away until officials say it’s safe.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Port Orford
Is Port Orford at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Port Orford has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (47%) and river and rain flooding (42%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Port Orford flood?
Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Port Orford since 1981, $9K in all, or 4.1 per 1,000 homes, more than 55% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Port Orford in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Curry County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Port Orford?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Port Orford’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Port Orford?
By FEMA money that reached Port Orford, Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding,landslides,and Mudslides (2019): $85K to the City of Port Orford for repairs.
Is Port Orford at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (47%), and Port Orford’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Port Orford.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Port Orford’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.