Natural hazards · Highland Heights

Highland Heights, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Highland Heights comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Highland Heights?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Highland Heights to be higher than in 17% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding44%Tornadoes23%Earthquakes15%Cold waves7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Highland Heights faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 14% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

15% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. places

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Highland Heights flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Highland Heights.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Highland Heights isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Campbell County.

Disasters that hit Highland Heights

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Highland Heights itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Highland Heights.

Brought FEMA money into Highland HeightsDeclared for Campbell County only

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2009

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$9K to the City of Highland Heights for repairs

2008

Severe Wind Storm Associated With Tropical Depression Ike

$11K to the City of Highland Heights for repairs

Campbell County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Highland Heights

Highland Heights and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Cold Springmostly inland floodingModerate

Fort Thomasmostly inland floodingLow

Highland Heightsmostly inland floodingVery low

Wildermostly inland floodingVery low

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Highland Heights is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Highland Heights’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Highland Heights. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.