Photo: Ohio Redevelopment Projects · CC BY 2.0Storms, floods and disasters in Highland Hills
Highland Hills isn’t graded for hazard risk: Highland Hills has 632 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Highland 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
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.
Does Highland Hills flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Highland Hills. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Highland 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: Cuyahoga County.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Highland Hills
Disasters that paid out in Highland Hills itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Highland Hills), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding3 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
- 2003Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds14 households applied for aid$8K aid approved
Cuyahoga County has had 15 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Highland Hills after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Highland Hills archive →Highland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beachwood | A+less damage than 98% | river and rain flooding | 9 |
| Warrensville Heights | Aless damage than 87% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Shaker Heights | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 26 |
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 Highland 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.
- 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 Highland Hills
Is Highland 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 Cuyahoga County, 38% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Highland Hills?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Highland Hills’ 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 Hills?
By FEMA money that reached Highland Hills, Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds (2003): 14 households applied for aid, $8K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Highland Hills.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Highland 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.