Photo: Rising*From*Ashes · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Oakville
Oakville isn’t graded for hazard risk: Oakville has 878 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 14 claims here since 1990.
What Oakville faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
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.
Does Oakville flood? Sometimes: 14 flood claims since 1990
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Oakville, from FEMA’s records.
- The Winter storm5 claims · $296K
- The Torrential rain1 claim · $5K
Oakville isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Grays Harbor County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Oakville
Disasters that paid out in Oakville itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Oakville), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides4 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2009Severe Winter Storm, Landslides, Mudslides, and Flooding9 households applied for aid$28K aid approved$1K to the City of Oakville for repairs6 flood claims paid that year
- 2007Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides115 households applied for aid$225K aid approved$8K to the City of Oakville for repairs5 flood claims paid that year
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides2 households applied for aid$1K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
Grays Harbor County has had 30 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Oakville after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Oakville archive →Get ready for what Oakville faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Oakville
Does Oakville flood?
Flood insurance has paid 14 claims in Oakville since 1990, $379K in all. 4 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Winter storm (5).
Is Oakville 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 Grays Harbor County, 19% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Oakville?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oakville’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 Oakville?
By FEMA money that reached Oakville, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2007): 115 households applied for aid, $225K approved, and $8K to the City of Oakville for repairs. By flood claims, Winter storm: 5 paid, $296K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oakville.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Oakville’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.