Natural hazards · Shaker Heights

Shaker Heights, OH natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Shaker Heights comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 26 claims here since 1978. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Shaker Heights?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Shaker Heights to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding69%Cold waves14%Tornadoes10%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Shaker Heights faces

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

Inland flooding

69% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 69% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

10% 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 Shaker Heights flood?

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

26paid claims since 1978

$54Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Shaker 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 Shaker Heights

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Shaker HeightsDeclared for Cuyahoga County only

2006

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight Line Winds, and Flooding

29 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms and Flooding

200 households applied for aid $73K aid approved $46K to the City of Shaker Heights for repairs

2003

Tornadoes, Flooding, Severe Storms, and High Winds

425 households applied for aid $405K aid approved

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

Around Shaker Heights

Shaker Heights and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Shaker Heightsmostly inland floodingModerate

Clevelandmostly inland floodingLow

Cleveland Heightsmostly inland floodingVery low

Highland Hillsmostly inland floodingVery low

University Heightsmostly inland floodingVery low

Beachwoodmostly 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. Shaker Heights covers 11 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Shaker Heights’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Shaker 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 Shaker Heights total about $8.2M 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.