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GraycliffPhoto: Debrak1221 · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Highland-on-the-Lake · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Highland-on-the-Lake

Highland-on-the-Lake isn’t graded for hazard risk: Highland-on-the-Lake is a Census area inside a town, graded with the town. Flood insurance has paid 6 claims here since 1979.

Flood claims
6
paid since 1979 · $49K
Disasters paid out here
0
of 20 declared for Erie County
By hazard

What Highland-on-the-Lake 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

95%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 62% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Earthquakes Wildfire Hurricanes Ice storms Coastal flooding Strong wind Lightning Hail Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
AvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 18% of Highland-on-the-Lake’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Highland-on-the-Lake flood? Rarely: 6 flood claims since 1979

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Highland-on-the-Lake, from FEMA’s records.

Paid flood claims, by year
1979: 1 claim1980: 0 claims1981: 0 claims1982: 0 claims1983: 0 claims1984: 0 claims1985: 0 claims1986: 0 claims1987: 0 claims1988: 0 claims1989: 0 claims1990: 0 claims1991: 0 claims1992: 0 claims1993: 0 claims1994: 0 claims1995: 0 claims1996: 1 claim1997: 0 claims1998: 0 claims1999: 1 claim2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 1 claim2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 1 claim2009: 1 claim2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims197919961999
19792026
6
paid claims since 1979
$49K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$8K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Highland-on-the-Lake isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Erie County.
Disasters

The storms Highland-on-the-Lake remembers

None of the 20 disasters declared for Erie County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Highland-on-the-Lake itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19791 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 19961 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  3. 19991 flood claims paidThe year of Snow, declared for Erie County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Highland-on-the-LakeErie County only

Erie County has had 20 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.

Were you here?

Old photos of Highland-on-the-Lake after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Highland-on-the-Lake archive →
Next door

Highland-on-the-Lake and its neighbors

How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Evans: hazard risk A−Hamburg: hazard risk B+EvansHamburgHighland-on-the-Lake
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
EvansA−less damage than 83%river and rain flooding72
HamburgB+less damage than 69%river and rain flooding173

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Highland-on-the-Lake faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Highland-on-the-Lake

Does Highland-on-the-Lake flood?

Flood insurance has paid 6 claims in Highland-on-the-Lake since 1979, $49K in all.

Is Highland-on-the-Lake 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 Erie County, 28% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Highland-on-the-Lake?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Highland-on-the-Lake’s 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 Highland-on-the-Lake.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Highland-on-the-Lake’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.