Photo: User:Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 2.5Storms, floods and disasters in Hillsboro
Hillsboro isn’t graded for hazard risk: Hillsboro has 784 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 18 claims here since 1990.
What Hillsboro 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
Hail
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 Hillsboro flood? Sometimes: 18 flood claims since 1990
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Hillsboro, from FEMA’s records.
- The Storm3 claims · $136K
Hillsboro isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Vernon County.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Hillsboro
Disasters that paid out in Hillsboro itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Hillsboro), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides$86K to the Town of Hillsboro for repairs6 flood claims paid that year
- 2016Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides$6K to the Town of Hillsboro for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$26K to the Town of Hillsboro for repairs3 flood claims paid that year
- 2007Severe Storms and Flooding$14K to the Town of Hillsboro for repairs
Vernon County has had 20 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 Hillsboro after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Hillsboro archive →Hillsboro 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 Hillsboro 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Hillsboro
Does Hillsboro flood?
Flood insurance has paid 18 claims in Hillsboro since 1990, $410K in all. The most claims came from Storm (3).
Is Hillsboro 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 Vernon County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Hillsboro?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Hillsboro’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 Hillsboro?
By FEMA money that reached Hillsboro, Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides (2018): $86K to the Town of Hillsboro for repairs. By flood claims, Storm: 3 paid, $136K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Hillsboro.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Hillsboro’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.