Photo: The original uploader was Daniel Case at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Palm Tree than in 86% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm Tree gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns, #218 of 758 in New York. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then hurricanes (17%). 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 Palm Tree 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
Earthquakes
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 Palm Tree’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Palm Tree, and Palm Tree’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Next is hurricanes at 17% (higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts).
A #218 of 758 in New York; lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Palm Tree’s residents live in 6 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical New York town has lower expected damage than 69% of U.S. towns; within the state, Palm Tree has less expected damage per building than 71% of New York towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.7M a year in losses across Palm Tree: $1.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Palm Tree flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Palm Tree. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Palm Tree isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Orange County.The storms Palm Tree remembers
None of the 25 disasters declared for Orange County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Palm Tree itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Orange County has had 25 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then hurricanes and tropical storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees; the 2001 World Trade Center declarations.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Orange County, 1999–2024.
Palm Tree and its neighbors
Palm Tree 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiryas Joel | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Palm Tree | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Monroe | Aless damage than 86% | river and rain flooding | 52 |
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 Palm Tree 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Palm Tree
Is Palm Tree at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Palm Tree has lower expected damage per building than 86% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #218 of 758 in New York. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and hurricanes (17%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Palm Tree 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 Orange County, 31% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Palm Tree?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Palm Tree’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Palm Tree at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Palm Tree’s rate for it is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palm Tree.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Palm Tree’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.