Highlands, FL
Highlands County in Florida has 20 FEMA disaster declarations on record covering 1998–2024, most recently Hurricane Milton on Oct 11, 2024 (DR-4834). Its flood risk grade is A (Low risk), ranking #650 of 3,277 U.S. counties, with 19 NFIP flood insurance claims totaling $302,079 in payouts. Flood risk is relatively low compared to the national average.
FEMA Disaster Declarations in Highlands County
The 20 most recent federally declared disasters affecting Highlands County, FL (1998–2024). Total declarations on record: 20.
| Declared | Incident Type | Title | FEMA Disaster # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2024 | Hurricane | Hurricane Milton | DR-4834 |
| Oct 7, 2024 | Hurricane | Hurricane Milton | DR-3622 |
| Dec 13, 2022 | Hurricane | Hurricane Nicole | DR-4680 |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ian | DR-4673 |
| Sep 24, 2022 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Ian | DR-3584 |
| Aug 30, 2019 | Hurricane | Hurricane Dorian | DR-3419 |
| Sep 10, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma | DR-4337 |
| Sep 5, 2017 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma | DR-3385 |
| Oct 6, 2016 | Hurricane | Hurricane Matthew | DR-3377 |
| Oct 24, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Wilma | DR-1609 |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | DR-3220 |
| Sep 26, 2004 | Hurricane | Hurricane Jeanne | DR-1561 |
| Sep 16, 2004 | Hurricane | Hurricane Ivan | DR-1551 |
| Sep 4, 2004 | Hurricane | Hurricane Frances | DR-1545 |
| Aug 13, 2004 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley | DR-1539 |
| Sep 28, 2001 | Coastal Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding Associated With Tropical Storm Gabrielle | DR-1393 |
| Oct 20, 1999 | Hurricane | Fl-Hurricane Irene-Dr-Req | DR-1306 |
| Oct 15, 1999 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Irene - Florida | DR-3150 |
| Sep 22, 1999 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations | DR-1300 |
| Sep 25, 1998 | Hurricane | Hurricane Grorges | DR-3131 |
Score Breakdown
The composite score of 14 is calculated from four weighted factors. See our methodology for details.
Other Counties in Florida
| County | Grade | Score | Claims | Disasters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hendry | A | 14 | 7 | 20 |
| Indian River | A | 14 | 81 | 22 |
| St. Lucie | A | 14 | 64 | 25 |
| Flagler | A | 14 | 268 | 23 |
| Duval | A | 15 | 482 | 22 |
| Columbia | A | 13 | 14 | 18 |
More Counties in Florida
Frequently Asked Questions
How many FEMA disaster declarations does Highlands County, FL have?
Highlands County, FL has 20 federal disaster declarations on FEMA record (1998–2024). The 5 most recent are: Hurricane Milton (declared Oct 11, 2024, DR-4834); Hurricane Milton (declared Oct 7, 2024, DR-3622); Hurricane Nicole (declared Dec 13, 2022, DR-4680); Hurricane Ian (declared Sep 29, 2022, DR-4673); Tropical Storm Ian (declared Sep 24, 2022, DR-3584). Counts include flood, severe storm, hurricane, and coastal storm declarations from the OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries dataset.
What is the flood risk grade for Highlands County, FL?
Highlands County is graded A (composite score 14/100, low risk). It ranks #650 of 3,277 U.S. counties for flood risk in our scoring model. The grade combines NFIP claims density (40%), disaster frequency (25%), claim severity (20%), and year-over-year trend (15%).
How many NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Highlands County?
19 NFIP flood insurance claims have been filed in Highlands County, FL, totaling $302,079 in payouts. The average claim is $15,899. Source: FEMA FimaNfipClaims v2 dataset.
Has Highlands County, FL had any recent flood disasters?
Yes. The most recent FEMA declaration affecting Highlands County was Hurricane Milton on Oct 11, 2024 (DR-4834). The county has 20 declared disasters in the OpenFEMA record covering 1998–2024.
this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. flood risk, NFIP claims, and disaster declarations dataset. The detail above comes directly from FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states.
Every number on this page links back to FEMA OpenFEMA datasets including the National Flood Hazard Layer and NFIP claims; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. ZIPs, counties, and states. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA datasets, 2026.