Storms, floods and disasters in Forest Hills
Forest Hills isn’t graded for hazard risk: Forest Hills has 329 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Forest Hills 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
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 Forest Hills flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Forest Hills. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Forest Hills isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Jackson County.The storms Forest Hills remembers
None of the 15 disasters declared for Jackson County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Forest Hills itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Jackson County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Forest Hills 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cullowhee | C−more damage than 83% | 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 Forest Hills 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.
- 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 Forest Hills
Is Forest Hills 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 Jackson County, 18% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Forest Hills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Forest Hills’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Forest Hills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Forest Hills’ 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.