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Natural hazards · Palermo

Palermo, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palermo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 13 claims here since 1995. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Palermo?

86
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Palermo to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding54%Wildfire26%Earthquakes14%Everything else6%
By hazard

What Palermo faces

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

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

26% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

14% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesAvalanchesTsunamis
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 Palermo flood?

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

13paid claims since 1995
$215Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19952026

Biggest named events

  • Pineapple Express - Southern: 1 claim, $6K
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. 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: Butte County.
Disasters that hit Palermo

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PalermoDeclared for Butte County only
2023

Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

1 household applied for aid
2020

Wildfires

4 households applied for aid
2018

Wildfires

1 household applied for aid
2017

Wildfires

8 households applied for aid
Butte County has had 33 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.
Around Palermo

Palermo and the towns around it

Oroville East: High, mostly inland floodingSouth Oroville: High, mostly inland floodingOroville: High, mostly inland floodingBangor: Very high, mostly droughtKelly Ridge: High, mostly inland floodingThermalito: High, mostly inland floodingLoma Rica: Very high, mostly inland floodingPalermo: Very high, mostly inland flooding PalermoOroville EastSouth OrovilleOrovilleBangor
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Bangormostly droughtVery high
Palermomostly inland floodingVery high
Oroville Eastmostly inland floodingHigh
South Orovillemostly inland floodingHigh
Orovillemostly inland floodingHigh
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. Palermo covers 1 census tract, combined by population.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Palermo’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Palermo. 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 Palermo total about $2.2M 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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