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DHazard risk
Natural hazards in East Palatka · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, East Palatka faces more hazard damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, East Palatka gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%), then hurricanes (37%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 56%Hurricanes 37%Coastal flooding 2%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

more than 86%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D
in Florida · higher than 86% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
56% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
8
of 26 declared for Putnam County
By hazard

What East Palatka faces

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

River and rain flooding

56%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Hurricanes

37%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Coastal flooding top 3% Tornadoes Wildfire Earthquakes Strong wind Lightning Hail Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Winter stormsIce stormsAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

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

What’s behind East Palatka’s grade

River and rain flooding is 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in East Palatka, and East Palatka’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts. Hurricanes add 37%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where East Palatka sits
East Palatka
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of East Palatka’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding56%Hurricanes37%Everything else7%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $852K a year in losses across East Palatka: $582K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Recent disaster.FEMA’s model looks at expected damage to the buildings standing today. After Hurricane Irma in 2017, FEMA took 884 aid registrations from East Palatka addresses (the town has 534 homes).
Shared tract.All of East Palatka’s 1,573 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does East Palatka flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in East Palatka. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

East Palatka isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Putnam County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
1building retrofitted against wind
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to East Palatka

Disasters that paid out in East Palatka itself (aid to households or repair grants to East Palatka), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Hurricane Milton190 households applied for aid$253K aid approved
  2. 2024Hurricane Helene49 households applied for aid$115K aid approved
  3. 2022Hurricane Nicole16 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
  4. 2022Hurricane Ian244 households applied for aid$168K aid approved
  5. 2017Hurricane Irma884 households applied for aid$580K aid approved
  6. 2016Hurricane Matthew247 households applied for aid$232K aid approved
Show all 8
  1. 2004Hurricane Jeanne280 households applied for aid$261K aid approved
  2. 2004Hurricane Frances448 households applied for aid$475K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in East PalatkaPutnam County only

Putnam County has had 26 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Putnam County, 1999–2026.

Were you here?

Old photos of East Palatka after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the East Palatka archive →
Next door

East Palatka and its neighbors

East Palatka is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Palatka: hazard risk CPalatkaEast Palatka
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
PalatkaCmore damage than 70%hurricanes7
East PalatkaDmore damage than 86%river and rain flooding0

Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.

Be ready

Get ready for what East Palatka faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
  • Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
  • Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in East Palatka

Is East Palatka at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, East Palatka has higher expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%) and hurricanes (37%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is East Palatka in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Putnam County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 2.6% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in East Palatka?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for East Palatka’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in East Palatka?

By FEMA money that reached East Palatka, Hurricane Irma (2017): 884 households applied for aid, $580K approved.

Is East Palatka at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and East Palatka’s rate for it is higher than 79% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in East Palatka.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where East Palatka’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.