Less hazard damage per building is expected in Highpoint than in 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Highpoint gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%), then tornadoes (23%). 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 Highpoint 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.
What’s behind Highpoint’s grade
River and rain flooding is 69% of the building damage FEMA expects in Highpoint, and Highpoint’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 84% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 23% (higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts).
A lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Highpoint’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $471K a year in losses across Highpoint: $344K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Highpoint flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Highpoint. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Highpoint isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hamilton County.The storms Highpoint remembers
None of the 16 disasters declared for Hamilton County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Highpoint itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Hamilton County has had 16 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.
Highpoint and its neighbors
Highpoint 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highpoint | Aless damage than 93% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Deerfield Township | Aless damage than 89% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Brecon | — | 860 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.
Get ready for what Highpoint 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 Highpoint
Is Highpoint at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Highpoint has lower expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (69%) and tornadoes (23%). 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.
Is Highpoint 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 Hamilton County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Highpoint?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Highpoint’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Highpoint at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (69%), and Highpoint’s rate for it is lower than 84% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Highpoint.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Highpoint’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.