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Natural hazards · Palestine

Palestine, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palestine comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2011. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Palestine?

76
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Palestine to be higher than in 76% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes40%Inland flooding25%Drought11%Earthquakes8%Heat waves5%Strong wind5%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Palestine faces

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

Tornadoes

40% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Heat waves

5% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about 23 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

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

Does Palestine flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Palestine, from FEMA’s records.

1paid claims since 2011
$51Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20112026

Biggest named events

  • Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $51K
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Palestine isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: St. Francis County.
Disasters that hit Palestine

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PalestineDeclared for St. Francis County only
2025

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

11 households applied for aid $66K aid approved
2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding

23 households applied for aid $21K aid approved $22K to the City of Palestine for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

6 households applied for aid
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $5K to the City of Palestine for repairs
2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$24K to the City of Palestine for repairs
St. Francis County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
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. Palestine is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Palestine’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Palestine. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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