Photo: Us Census Bureau · Public domainFEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Highlands than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Highlands gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (81%), then river and rain flooding (19%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Highlands 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
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 Highlands’ grade
Earthquakes are 81% of the building damage FEMA expects in Highlands, and Highlands’ rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 19% (lower than 82% of U.S. census tracts).
D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Highlands’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.1M a year in losses across Highlands: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Highlands flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Highlands. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Highlands isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: San Mateo County.The storms Highlands remembers
None of the 19 disasters declared for San Mateo County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Highlands itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
San Mateo County has had 19 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 San Mateo County, 2010–2020.
Highlands and its neighbors
Highlands is 3rd of the 4 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baywood Park | C−more damage than 85% | earthquakes | — |
| Hillsborough | Dmore damage than 88% | earthquakes | 8 |
| Highlands | Dmore damage than 90% | earthquakes | 0 |
| San Mateo | D−more damage than 95% | earthquakes | 49 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Highlands 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.
- 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 Highlands
Is Highlands at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Highlands has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (81%) and river and rain flooding (19%). 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.
Is Highlands 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 San Mateo County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Highlands?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Highlands’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Highlands at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (81%), and Highlands’ rate for it is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Highlands.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Highlands’ 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.