Photo: Nyttend · Public domainPalermo’s building-damage rate from ice storms is in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palermo gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (47%), then hurricanes (36%). 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 Palermo 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
Ice storms
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 Palermo’s grade
River and rain flooding is 47% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palermo, and Palermo’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 10%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Palermo’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $538K a year in losses across Palermo: $373K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Palermo flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Palermo. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Palermo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Waldo County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Palermo
Disasters that paid out in Palermo itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Palermo), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2023Severe Storm and Flooding$48K to the Town of Palermo for repairs
- 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$6K to the Town of Palermo for repairs
- 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$3K to the Town of Palermo for repairs
- 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$24K to the Town of Palermo for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$30K to the Town of Palermo for repairs
Waldo County has had 22 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Palermo after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Palermo archive →Palermo and its neighbors
Palermo is 4th of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | A−less damage than 76% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Windsor | B+less damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Washington | Bless damage than 60% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Palermo | Bless damage than 56% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Liberty | — | 969 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Somerville | — | 837 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Palermo 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.
- Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
- Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
- Keep sand or salt by the door.
- 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 Palermo
Is Palermo at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palermo has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (47%) and hurricanes (36%). 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 Palermo 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 Waldo County, 29% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Palermo?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Palermo’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 Palermo?
By FEMA money that reached Palermo, Severe Storm and Flooding (2023): $48K to the Town of Palermo for repairs.
Is Palermo at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (47%), and Palermo’s rate for it is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palermo.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palermo’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.