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B+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Palmyra · FEMA

FEMA puts Palmyra’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 70% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palmyra gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%), then hurricanes (28%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 56%Hurricanes 28%Ice storms 11%

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

less than 70%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B+
in Maine · lower than 70% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
56% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
11
of 25 declared for Somerset County
By hazard

What Palmyra 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

56%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

28%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Ice storms

11%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hail Winter storms Lightning Tornadoes Wildfire Strong wind Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 32% of Palmyra’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Palmyra’s grade

River and rain flooding is 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palmyra, and Palmyra’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 11%, at a rate in the top 2% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Palmyra sits
Palmyra
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B+ lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Palmyra’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding56%Hurricanes28%Ice storms11%Everything else5%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $868K a year in losses across Palmyra: $409K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Palmyra’s 1,924 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Detroit town (885 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Palmyra flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Palmyra. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Palmyra isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Somerset County.
Disasters

11 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Palmyra

Disasters that paid out in Palmyra itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Palmyra), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2023Severe Storm and Flooding4 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
  2. 2008Severe Storms and Flooding$34K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
  3. 2007Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding$20K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
  4. 2005Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt, and Ice Jams$6K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
  5. 2005Snow$8K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
  6. 2005Record And/or Near Record Snow$7K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
Show all 11
  1. 2003Snow$3K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
  2. 2003Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow Melt and Ice Jams$9K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
  3. 2003Snow$2K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
  4. 2001Snow$5K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
  5. 2000Severe Storms, Flooding, and Ice Jams$3K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in PalmyraSomerset County only

Somerset County has had 25 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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Palmyra after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Palmyra archive →
Next door

Palmyra and its neighbors

Palmyra is 2nd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Hartland: hazard risk C+St. Albans: hazard risk B+Newport: hazard risk A−Pittsfield: hazard risk C+Detroit: not gradedHartlandSt. AlbansNewportPittsfieldDetroitPalmyra
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
NewportA−less damage than 77%river and rain flooding—
PalmyraB+less damage than 70%river and rain flooding0
St. AlbansB+less damage than 65%river and rain flooding—
PittsfieldC+more damage than 56%river and rain flooding10
HartlandC+more damage than 56%river and rain flooding3
Detroit—650 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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Palmyra faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Hurricane season
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Ice storms
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Palmyra

Is Palmyra at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palmyra has lower expected damage per building than 70% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (56%) and hurricanes (28%). 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 Palmyra 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 Somerset County, 0.6% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Palmyra?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Palmyra’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 Palmyra?

By FEMA money that reached Palmyra, Severe Storms and Flooding (2008): $34K to the Town of Palmyra for repairs.

Is Palmyra at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Palmyra’s rate for it is lower than 76% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palmyra.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palmyra’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.