Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Hillcrest Heights
Hillcrest Heights isn’t graded for hazard risk: Hillcrest Heights has 377 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Hillcrest Heights 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
Hurricanes
Strong wind
Wildfire
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 Hillcrest Heights flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Hillcrest Heights. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Hillcrest Heights isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Polk County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Hillcrest Heights
Disasters that paid out in Hillcrest Heights itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Hillcrest Heights), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley$23K to the Town of Hillcrest Heights for repairs
Polk County has had 27 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 5 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Polk County, 1999–2017.
Old photos of Hillcrest Heights after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hillcrest Heights archive →Hillcrest Heights and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crooked Lake Park | C+more damage than 64% | hurricanes | — |
| Frostproof | C−more damage than 76% | hurricanes | 1 |
| Babson Park | C−more damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | — |
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 Hillcrest Heights 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.
- 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.
- Trim dead limbs over the house and driveway.
- Tie down trash cans and outdoor furniture.
- Stay clear of downed lines and call the utility.
- 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.
- 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 Hillcrest Heights
Is Hillcrest Heights 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 Polk County, 37% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.6% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hillcrest Heights?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hillcrest Heights’ 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 Hillcrest Heights?
By FEMA money that reached Hillcrest Heights, Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley (2004): $23K to the Town of Hillcrest Heights for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hillcrest Heights.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hillcrest Heights’ 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.