Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Penney Farms
Penney Farms isn’t graded for hazard risk: Penney Farms has 642 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 30 claims here since 1992.
What Penney Farms faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Hurricanes
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.
Does Penney Farms flood? Sometimes: 30 flood claims since 1992
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Penney Farms, from FEMA’s records.
- Hurricane Irma19 claims · $1.7M
- Tropical Storm Debby2 claims · $13K
- Hurricane Frances2 claims · $24K
Penney Farms isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Clay County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Penney Farms
Disasters that paid out in Penney Farms itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Penney Farms), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Hurricane Irma18 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$75K to the Town of Penney Farms for repairs19 flood claims paid for it, $1.7M
- 2009Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds$2K to the Town of Penney Farms for repairs
- 2008Tropical Storm Fay$21K to the Town of Penney Farms for repairs
- 2004Hurricane Jeanne3 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2004Hurricane Frances5 households applied for aid$3K aid approved$6K to the Town of Penney Farms for repairs2 flood claims paid for it, $24K
Clay County has had 24 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 Clay County, 1999–2026.
Old photos of Penney Farms after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Penney Farms archive →Get ready for what Penney Farms faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Penney Farms
Does Penney Farms flood?
Flood insurance has paid 30 claims in Penney Farms since 1992, $2.0M in all. The most claims came from Hurricane Irma (19).
Is Penney Farms 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 Clay County, 48% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 5.1% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Penney Farms?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Penney Farms’ 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 Penney Farms?
By FEMA money that reached Penney Farms, Hurricane Irma (2017): 18 households applied for aid, $2K approved, and $75K to the Town of Penney Farms for repairs. By flood claims, Hurricane Irma: 19 paid, $1.7M.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Penney Farms.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Penney Farms’ 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.