TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
HighlandGood night
Natural hazards · Highland

Highland, NY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Highland comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1980. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Highland?

55
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Highland to be higher than in 55% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding77%Cold waves6%Tornadoes6%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Highland faces

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

Inland flooding

77% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 61 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Highland, from FEMA’s records.

19paid claims since 1980
$891Kpaid to owners
2homes flooded more than once
19802026

Biggest named events

  • Torrential rain: 3 claims, $54K
  • Hurricane Ida: 1 claim, $19K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Highland isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sullivan County.
Disasters that hit Highland

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HighlandDeclared for Sullivan County only
2017

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$15K to the Town of Highland for repairs
2012

Hurricane Sandy

$41K to the Town of Highland for repairs
2011

Hurricane Irene

1 household applied for aid $1K aid approved $11K to the Town of Highland for repairs
2006

Severe Storms and Flooding

$18K to the Town of Highland for repairs
2005

Severe Storms and Flooding

$113K to the Town of Highland for repairs
2004

Tropical Depression Ivan

$145K to the Town of Highland for repairs
2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

$7K to the Town of Highland for repairs
2003

Snow

$6K to the Town of Highland for repairs
2002

Snowstorms

$14K to the Town of Highland for repairs
Sullivan County has had 26 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.
Around Highland

Highland and the towns around it

Shohola: Low, mostly inland floodingLumberland: Low, mostly inland floodingTusten: High, mostly inland floodingLackawaxen: Low, mostly inland floodingBethel: Very low, mostly inland floodingDingman: Low, mostly inland floodingBlooming Grove: Very low, mostly inland floodingWestfall: Very high, mostly inland floodingMilford: Very high, mostly inland floodingForestburgh: Low, mostly inland floodingDeerpark: High, mostly inland floodingDamascus: Moderate, mostly inland floodingCochecton: Low, mostly inland floodingBerlin: Moderate, mostly inland floodingPalmyra: Very low, mostly inland floodingPalmyra: Moderate, mostly inland floodingThompson: Very low, mostly inland floodingLiberty: Very low, mostly inland floodingCallicoon: High, mostly inland floodingDelaware: High, mostly inland floodingHighland: Moderate, mostly inland flooding HighlandShoholaLumberlandTustenLackawaxenBethel
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Tustenmostly inland floodingHigh
Highlandmostly inland floodingModerate
Lumberlandmostly inland floodingLow
Lackawaxenmostly inland floodingLow
Shoholamostly inland floodingLow
Bethelmostly 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 covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Highland’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Highland. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Highland total about $1.4M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Highland, NYSullivan CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Highland is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map