Photo: Excel23 · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Palm Bay faces more hazard damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm Bay gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, #544 of 638 in Florida. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (74%), then river and rain flooding (22%). Flood insurance has paid 151 claims here since 1995.
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
What stands out about Palm Bay’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Palm Bay faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
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.
What’s behind Palm Bay’s grade
Hurricanes are 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palm Bay, and Palm Bay’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 2%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
D #544 of 638 in Florida; higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Palm Bay’s residents live in 26 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Florida town has higher expected damage than 79% of U.S. towns; within the state, Palm Bay has more expected damage per building than 85% of Florida towns.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Palm Bay has higher expected damage per building than 89% (#358 of 400). Because it is so big, its total expected yearly loss, $61.2M, is the 200th largest of those 400.
Does Palm Bay flood? Yes: 151 flood claims since 1995
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Palm Bay, from FEMA’s records: 3.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 52% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Tropical Storm Fay51 claims · $1.5M
- Hurricane Irma28 claims · $1.4M
- Hurricane Jeanne25 claims · $556K
Palm Bay is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Brevard County.14 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Palm Bay
Disasters that paid out in Palm Bay itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Palm Bay), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Milton3,772 households applied for aid$1.2M aid approved$1.0M to the City of Palm Bay for repairs
- 2022Hurricane Nicole258 households applied for aid$94K aid approved$12K to the City of Palm Bay for repairs
- 2022Hurricane Ian3,204 households applied for aid$850K aid approved$13K to the City of Palm Bay for repairs
- 2019Hurricane Dorian$184K to the City of Palm Bay for repairs1 flood claim paid that year
- 2017Hurricane Irma14,549 households applied for aid$4.4M aid approved$2.6M to the City of Palm Bay for repairs28 flood claims paid for it, $1.4M
- 2016Hurricane Matthew616 households applied for aid$91K aid approved$1.4M to the City of Palm Bay for repairs
Show all 14
- 2008Tropical Storm Fay681 households applied for aid$543K aid approved51 flood claims paid for it, $1.5M
- 2005Hurricane Wilma204 households applied for aid$110K aid approved$224K to the City of Palm Bay for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne11,068 households applied for aid$8.2M aid approved$4.6M to the City of Palm Bay for repairs25 flood claims paid for it, $556K
- 2004Hurricane Ivan137 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Frances12,351 households applied for aid$7.1M aid approved$4.5M to the City of Palm Bay for repairs9 flood claims paid for it, $208K
- 2004Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley171 households applied for aid$68K aid approved$9K to the City of Palm Bay for repairs
- 1999Fl-hurricane Irene-dr-req$79K to the City of Palm Bay for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $2K
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$44K to the City of Palm Bay for repairs
Brevard County has had 29 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 4 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Brevard County, 1999–2008.
Old photos of Palm Bay after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Palm Bay archive →Palm Bay and its neighbors
Palm Bay is 3rd of the 6 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Melbourne | Dmore damage than 93% | hurricanes | 110 |
| Melbourne | Dmore damage than 93% | hurricanes | 427 |
| Palm Bay | Dmore damage than 94% | hurricanes | 151 |
| Malabar | Dmore damage than 95% | hurricanes | 14 |
| Grant-Valkaria | D−more damage than 95% | hurricanes | 21 |
| Micco | D−more damage than 96% | hurricanes | 5 |
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.
Get ready for what Palm Bay faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Palm Bay residents get 15% off flood insurance.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Palm Bay
Is Palm Bay at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm Bay has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #544 of 638 in Florida. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (74%) and river and rain flooding (22%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Palm Bay flood?
Flood insurance has paid 151 claims in Palm Bay since 1995, $3.9M in all, or 3.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 52% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 18 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Fay (51).
Is Palm Bay 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 Brevard County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 11.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Palm Bay?
Palm Bay is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7), which takes 15% off federal flood insurance policies for its flood-proofing work. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Palm Bay?
By FEMA money that reached Palm Bay, Hurricane Jeanne (2004): 11,068 households applied for aid, $8.2M approved, and $4.6M to the City of Palm Bay for repairs. By flood claims, Tropical Storm Fay: 51 paid, $1.5M.
Is Palm Bay at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Palm Bay’s rate for it is in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palm Bay.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palm Bay’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.