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BarryvillePhoto: VitaleBaby at en.wikipedia · Public domain
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Highland · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Highland faces more hazard damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Highland gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1980.

River and rain flooding 88%Hurricanes 5%Tornadoes 2%

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

more than 60%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C+
in New York · higher than 60% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
88% of expected building damage
Flood claims
19
paid since 1980 · $891K
Flooded more than once
2
properties
Disasters paid out here
9
of 26 declared for Sullivan County
By hazard

What Highland 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

88%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Hurricanes Tornadoes Strong wind Earthquakes Ice storms Winter storms Lightning Hail Wildfire Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingTsunamisVolcanic activity

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.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Highland’s grade

River and rain flooding is 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Highland, and Highland’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Highland sits
Highland
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Highland’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding88%Hurricanes5%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.4M a year in losses across Highland: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Highland’s 2,196 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Barryville CDP (222 residents) and Eldred CDP (212 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Highland flood? Sometimes: 19 flood claims since 1980

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Highland, from FEMA’s records: 9.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 74% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1980: 1 claim1981: 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: 0 claims2000: 0 claims2001: 0 claims2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 2 claims2005: 3 claims2006: 10 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 1 claim2021: 1 claim2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims200420052006
19802026
Biggest named events
  • The Torrential rain3 claims · $54K
  • Hurricane Ida1 claim · $19K
19
paid claims since 1980
$891K
paid to owners
2
homes flooded more than once
$47K
average claim
Homes that flooded again and again
FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0)Flooded 2+ times
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Sullivan County.
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Highland

Disasters that paid out in Highland itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Highland), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2017Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm$15K to the Town of Highland for repairs
  2. 2012Hurricane Sandy$41K to the Town of Highland for repairs
  3. 2011Hurricane Irene1 households applied for aid$1K aid approved$11K to the Town of Highland for repairs
  4. 2006Severe Storms and Flooding$18K to the Town of Highland for repairs10 flood claims paid that year
  5. 2005Severe Storms and Flooding$113K to the Town of Highland for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
  6. 2004Tropical Depression Ivan$145K to the Town of Highland for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$7K to the Town of Highland for repairs
  2. 2003Snow$6K to the Town of Highland for repairs
  3. 2002Snowstorms$14K to the Town of Highland for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in HighlandSullivan County only

Sullivan County has had 26 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter 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 after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Highland archive →
Next door

Highland and its neighbors

Highland is 5th of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Shohola Township: hazard risk BLumberland: hazard risk BTusten: hazard risk C−Lackawaxen Township: hazard risk BBarryville: not gradedBethel: hazard risk AShohola TownshipLumberlandTustenLackawaxen TownshipBarryvilleBethelHighland
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
BethelAless damage than 87%river and rain flooding10
Shohola TownshipBless damage than 65%river and rain flooding2
Lackawaxen TownshipBless damage than 64%river and rain flooding17
LumberlandBless damage than 62%river and rain flooding11
HighlandC+more damage than 60%river and rain flooding19
TustenC−more damage than 82%river and rain flooding39
Barryville—461 residents; we grade 1,000+

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 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

Is Highland at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Highland has higher expected damage per building than 60% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (88%). 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.

Does Highland flood?

Flood insurance has paid 19 claims in Highland since 1980, $891K in all, or 9.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 74% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 2 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Torrential rain (3).

Is Highland 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 Sullivan County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Highland?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Highland’s 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 Highland?

By FEMA money that reached Highland, Tropical Depression Ivan (2004): $145K to the Town of Highland for repairs. By flood claims, Torrential rain: 3 paid, $54K.

Is Highland at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Highland’s rate for it is higher than 77% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Highland.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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