Photo: Don Ramey Logan · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Palm Beach Shores faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm Beach Shores gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (71%), then river and rain flooding (22%). Flood insurance has paid 29 claims here since 1978.
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 Beach Shores’ natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Palm Beach Shores 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 Beach Shores’ grade
Hurricanes are 71% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palm Beach Shores, and Palm Beach Shores’ rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 5%, at a rate in the top 3% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Palm Beach Shores’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $514K a year in losses across Palm Beach Shores: $475K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Palm Beach Shores flood? Sometimes: 29 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Palm Beach Shores, from FEMA’s records: 23.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Frances4 claims · $17K
- Hurricane Irma3 claims · $418K
- Hurricane Irene2 claims · $10K
Palm Beach Shores is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 7) for its flood-proofing work.
Insurance rates: Palm Beach County.9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Palm Beach Shores
Disasters that paid out in Palm Beach Shores itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Palm Beach Shores), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Hurricane Milton2 households applied for aid$4K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs
- 2022Hurricane Nicole$96K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs
- 2019Hurricane Dorian$29K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs
- 2017Hurricane Irma119 households applied for aid$57K aid approved$296K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs3 flood claims paid for it, $418K
- 2005Hurricane Wilma52 households applied for aid$14K aid approved$129K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne76 households applied for aid$79K aid approved$89K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs1 flood claim paid for it, $6K
Show all 9
- 2004Hurricane Frances95 households applied for aid$84K aid approved$89K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs4 flood claims paid for it, $17K
- 1999Fl-hurricane Irene-dr-req$13K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $10K
- 1999Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations$2K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs
Palm Beach County has had 29 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Palm Beach County, 1999–1999.
Old photos of Palm Beach Shores after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Palm Beach Shores archive →Palm Beach Shores and its neighbors
Palm Beach Shores has the lowest expected damage per building of the 2 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach Shores | C+more damage than 56% | hurricanes | 29 |
| Riviera Beach | Cmore damage than 69% | hurricanes | 92 |
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 Beach Shores 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 Beach Shores 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 Beach Shores
Is Palm Beach Shores at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm Beach Shores has higher expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (71%) and river and rain flooding (22%). 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.
Does Palm Beach Shores flood?
Flood insurance has paid 29 claims in Palm Beach Shores since 1978, $890K in all, or 23.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 4 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Hurricane Frances (4).
Is Palm Beach Shores 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 Palm Beach County, 43% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 13.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Palm Beach Shores?
Palm Beach Shores 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 Beach Shores?
By FEMA money that reached Palm Beach Shores, Hurricane Irma (2017): 119 households applied for aid, $57K approved, and $296K to the Town of Palm Beach Shores for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Frances: 4 paid, $17K.
Is Palm Beach Shores at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (71%), and Palm Beach Shores’ rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palm Beach Shores.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palm Beach Shores’ 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.