Natural hazards · Bedford Heights

Bedford Heights, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bedford Heights comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 34 claims here since 1978. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bedford Heights?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bedford Heights to be higher than in 5% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding54%Cold waves20%Tornadoes16%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Bedford Heights faces

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

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 16% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Bedford Heights flood?

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

34paid claims since 1978

$889Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Late winter storms: 1 claim, $24K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (1) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Bedford 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: Cuyahoga County.

Disasters that hit Bedford Heights

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Bedford HeightsDeclared for Cuyahoga County only

2006

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding

49 households applied for aid $60K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

78 households applied for aid $33K aid approved

2003

Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds

124 households applied for aid $99K aid approved

2002

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid

Cuyahoga County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Bedford Heights

Bedford Heights and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Solonmostly inland floodingVery low

Maple Heightsmostly inland floodingVery low

Bedfordmostly inland floodingVery low

Bedford Heightsmostly inland floodingVery low

Oakwoodmostly 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. Bedford Heights covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Bedford Heights’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bedford Heights. 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 Bedford Heights total about $2.1M 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.