On FEMA’s figures, Palm River-Clair Mel faces more hazard damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, led by hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm River-Clair Mel gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns, #120 of 638 in Florida. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (49%), then river and rain flooding (38%). Flood insurance has paid 257 claims here since 1979.
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 River-Clair Mel’s natural hazards
From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.
What Palm River-Clair Mel 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
Tornadoes
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 River-Clair Mel’s grade
Hurricanes are 49% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palm River-Clair Mel, and Palm River-Clair Mel’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 4%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C+ #120 of 638 in Florida; higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Palm River-Clair Mel’s residents live in 7 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 River-Clair Mel has less expected damage per building than 81% of Florida towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $7.8M a year in losses across Palm River-Clair Mel: $5.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Palm River-Clair Mel flood? Yes: 257 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Palm River-Clair Mel, from FEMA’s records: 23.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Helene65 claims · $6.3M
- Hurricane Milton58 claims · $4.8M
- Hurricane Josephine18 claims · $241K
Palm River-Clair Mel isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hillsborough County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Palm River-Clair Mel
Disasters that paid out in Palm River-Clair Mel itself (aid to households or repair grants to Palm River-Clair Mel), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Hurricane Irma5 households applied for aid$3K aid approved4 flood claims paid that year
Hillsborough County has had 34 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 Hillsborough County, 1999–2001.
Old photos of Palm River-Clair Mel after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Palm River-Clair Mel archive →Palm River-Clair Mel and its neighbors
Palm River-Clair Mel has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm River-Clair Mel | C+more damage than 65% | hurricanes | 257 |
| Tampa | Cmore damage than 67% | hurricanes | 7,067 |
| Brandon | Cmore damage than 71% | hurricanes | 85 |
| Progress Village | Cmore damage than 71% | river and rain flooding | 128 |
| Riverview | Cmore damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 233 |
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 River-Clair Mel 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.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Palm River-Clair Mel
Is Palm River-Clair Mel at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm River-Clair Mel has higher expected damage per building than 65% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #120 of 638 in Florida. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (49%) and river and rain flooding (38%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Palm River-Clair Mel flood?
Flood insurance has paid 257 claims in Palm River-Clair Mel since 1979, $12.9M in all, or 23.9 per 1,000 homes, more than 86% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Helene (65).
Is Palm River-Clair Mel 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 Hillsborough County, 61% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 12.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Palm River-Clair Mel?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Palm River-Clair Mel’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 Palm River-Clair Mel?
By FEMA money that reached Palm River-Clair Mel, Hurricane Irma (2017): 5 households applied for aid, $3K approved. By flood claims, Hurricane Helene: 65 paid, $6.3M.
Is Palm River-Clair Mel at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (49%), and Palm River-Clair Mel’s rate for it is in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palm River-Clair Mel.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palm River-Clair Mel’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.