FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Palm Shores than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm Shores gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (80%), then river and rain flooding (17%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Palm 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 Shores’ grade
Hurricanes are 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palm Shores, and Palm Shores’ rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 17% (lower than 84% of U.S. census tracts).
D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Palm Shores’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $985K a year in losses across Palm Shores: $913K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Palm Shores flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Palm Shores. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Palm Shores isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Brevard County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Palm Shores
Disasters that paid out in Palm Shores itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Palm Shores), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Hurricane Irma14 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2008Tropical Storm Fay$15K to the Town of Palm Shores for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne1 households applied for aid$123K to the Town of Palm Shores 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 Shores after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Palm Shores archive →Palm Shores and its neighbors
Palm 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 Shores | Dmore damage than 90% | hurricanes | 0 |
| Melbourne | Dmore damage than 93% | hurricanes | 427 |
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 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Palm Shores
Is Palm Shores at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm Shores has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (80%) and river and rain flooding (17%). 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 Palm 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 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 Shores?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Palm Shores’ 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 Shores?
By FEMA money that reached Palm Shores, Hurricane Jeanne (2004): 1 households applied for aid, $0 approved, and $123K to the Town of Palm Shores for repairs.
Is Palm Shores at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Palm Shores’ rate for it is in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palm Shores.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palm 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.