Natural hazards · Palmer

Palmer, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palmer comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Palmer?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Palmer to be higher than in 91% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes.

Earthquakes94%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Palmer faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

94% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Lower here

Inland floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHeat wavesStrong windDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Palmer flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Palmer.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Palmer isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

42flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

5buildings retrofitted against wind

Disasters that hit Palmer

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Palmer itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Palmer.

Brought FEMA money into PalmerDeclared for Matanuska-Susitna Borough only

2025

Severe Storm

$29K to the City of Palmer for repairs

2022

Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds

$497K to the City of Palmer for repairs

2018

Earthquake

570 households applied for aid $1.4M aid approved

2003

Severe Winter Storm, Including High Winds and Freezing Temperatures

182 households applied for aid $203K aid approved $15K to the City of Palmer for repairs

Matanuska-Susitna Borough has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Palmer

Palmer and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Palmermostly earthquakesVery high

Farm Loopmostly avalanchesVery high

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Palmer covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Palmer’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Palmer. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Palmer total about $6.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.