Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect less hazard damage per building than Highfield-Cascade, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Highfield-Cascade gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (61%), then hurricanes (22%). 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 Highfield-Cascade 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
Tornadoes
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 Highfield-Cascade’s grade
River and rain flooding is 61% of the building damage FEMA expects in Highfield-Cascade, and Highfield-Cascade’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 96% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 22% (higher than 81% of U.S. census tracts).
A+ among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
Highfield-Cascade’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $183K a year in losses across Highfield-Cascade: $144K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Highfield-Cascade flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Highfield-Cascade. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Highfield-Cascade isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Washington County.The storms Highfield-Cascade remembers
None of the 13 disasters declared for Washington County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Highfield-Cascade itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Washington County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Highfield-Cascade and its neighbors
Highfield-Cascade has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highfield-Cascade | A+among the lowest damage | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Washington Township | B−less damage than 54% | river and rain flooding | 89 |
| Fort Ritchie | — | 0 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Sabillasville | — | 556 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Pen Mar | — | a Census area inside a town; graded with the town | |
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 Highfield-Cascade 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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 Highfield-Cascade
Is Highfield-Cascade at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Highfield-Cascade has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (61%) and hurricanes (22%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Highfield-Cascade 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 Washington County, 44% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Highfield-Cascade?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Highfield-Cascade’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Highfield-Cascade at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (61%), and Highfield-Cascade’s rate for it is lower than 96% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Highfield-Cascade.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Highfield-Cascade’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.