Photo: Ascended Dreamer · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Holland
Holland isn’t graded for hazard risk: Holland has 790 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Holland 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 Holland flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Holland. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Holland isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Orleans County.8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Holland
Disasters that paid out in Holland itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Holland), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$17K aid approved$45K to the Town of Holland for repairs
- 2023Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides1 households applied for aid$11K aid approved$164K to the Town of Holland for repairs
- 2019Severe Storm and Flooding$38K to the Town of Holland for repairs
- 2014Severe Storms and Flooding$41K to the Town of Holland for repairs
- 2011Tropical Storm Irene$13K to the Town of Holland for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms and Flooding1 households applied for aid$675 aid approved$257K to the Town of Holland for repairs
Show all 8
- 2004Severe Storms and Flooding$88K to the Town of Holland for repairs
- 2001Snow$3K to the Town of Holland for repairs
Orleans County has had 29 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.
Old photos of Holland after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Holland archive →Holland and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
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 Holland 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 Holland
Is Holland 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 Orleans County, 0.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Holland?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Holland’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 Holland?
By FEMA money that reached Holland, Severe Storms and Flooding (2011): 1 households applied for aid, $675 approved, and $257K to the Town of Holland for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Holland.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Holland’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.