Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 3.0On FEMA’s figures, High Point faces more hazard damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, High Point gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns, #150 of 638 in Florida. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (54%), then river and rain flooding (39%). 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 High Point faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
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 High Point’s grade
Hurricanes are 54% of the building damage FEMA expects in High Point, and High Point’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 39% (lower than 69% of U.S. census tracts).
C #150 of 638 in Florida; higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of High Point’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Florida town has higher expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, High Point has less expected damage per building than 77% of Florida towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across High Point: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does High Point flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in High Point. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
High Point isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hernando County.The storms High Point remembers
None of the 29 disasters declared for Hernando County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching High Point itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Hernando County has had 29 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Hernando County, 2000–2000.
High Point and its neighbors
High Point has the lowest expected damage per building of the 4 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Point | Cmore damage than 68% | hurricanes | 0 |
| Brookridge | C−more damage than 76% | hurricanes | 5 |
| Spring Hill | C−more damage than 78% | river and rain flooding | 25 |
| North Weeki Wachee | C−more damage than 80% | hurricanes | 1 |
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 High Point faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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 High Point
Is High Point at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, High Point has higher expected damage per building than 68% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #150 of 638 in Florida. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (54%) and river and rain flooding (39%). 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 High Point 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 Hernando County, 54% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 4.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in High Point?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for High Point’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is High Point at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (54%), and High Point’s rate for it is in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in High Point.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where High Point’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.