More hazard damage per building is expected in Royal Palm Estates than in 75% of U.S. towns, mostly from hurricanes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Royal Palm Estates gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is hurricanes (60%), then river and rain flooding (38%). 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 Royal Palm Estates 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 Royal Palm Estates’ grade
Hurricanes are 60% of the building damage FEMA expects in Royal Palm Estates, and Royal Palm Estates’ rate of hurricanes damage is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 38% (lower than 63% of U.S. census tracts).
C higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Royal Palm Estates’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $487K a year in losses across Royal Palm Estates: $428K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Royal Palm Estates flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Royal Palm Estates. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Royal Palm Estates isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Palm Beach County.1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Royal Palm Estates
Disasters that paid out in Royal Palm Estates itself (aid to households or repair grants to Royal Palm Estates), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2017Hurricane Irma2 households applied for aid$1K aid approved
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 Royal Palm Estates after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Royal Palm Estates archive →Royal Palm Estates and its neighbors
Royal Palm Estates is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haverhill | Cmore damage than 72% | hurricanes | 6 |
| Royal Palm Estates | Cmore damage than 75% | hurricanes | 0 |
| Lake Belvedere Estates | C−more damage than 76% | hurricanes | — |
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 Royal Palm Estates 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 Royal Palm Estates
Is Royal Palm Estates at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Royal Palm Estates has higher expected damage per building than 75% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is hurricanes (60%) and river and rain flooding (38%). 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 Royal Palm Estates 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 Royal Palm Estates?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Royal Palm Estates’ 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 Royal Palm Estates?
By FEMA money that reached Royal Palm Estates, Hurricane Irma (2017): 2 households applied for aid, $1K approved.
Is Royal Palm Estates at risk from hurricanes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (60%), and Royal Palm Estates’ rate for it is in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Royal Palm Estates.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Royal Palm Estates’ 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.