English, J. Colin, School · Photo: Wknight94 · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Palmona Park than in 90% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palmona Park gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (73%), then river and rain flooding (24%). Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2022.
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 Palmona Park 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 Palmona Park’s grade
Hurricanes are 73% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palmona Park, and Palmona Park’s rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts. Coastal flooding adds 1%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
D higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Palmona Park’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $774K a year in losses across Palmona Park: $714K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Palmona Park flood? Rarely: 7 flood claims since 2022
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Palmona Park, from FEMA’s records: 16.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
- Hurricane Ian7 claims · $72K
Palmona Park isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Lee County.The storms Palmona Park remembers
None of the 30 disasters declared for Lee County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Palmona Park itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20227 flood claims paidThe year of Hurricane Nicole, declared for Lee County
Lee County has had 30 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 Lee County, 1999–2017.
Old photos of Palmona Park after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Palmona Park archive →Get ready for what Palmona Park 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 Palmona Park
Is Palmona Park at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palmona Park has higher expected damage per building than 90% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (73%) and river and rain flooding (24%). 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 Palmona Park flood?
Flood insurance has paid 7 claims in Palmona Park since 2022, $72K in all, or 16.6 per 1,000 homes, more than 82% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Ian (7).
Is Palmona Park 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 Lee County, 47% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 24.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Palmona Park?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Palmona Park’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 Palmona Park?
By flood claims, Hurricane Ian: 7 paid, $72K.
Is Palmona Park at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (73%), and Palmona Park’s rate for it is in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palmona Park.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palmona Park’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.