Natural hazards · Harlem

Harlem, FL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Harlem comes from hurricanes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Harlem?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Harlem to be higher than in 70% of U.S. communities, mostly from hurricanes and inland flooding.

Hurricanes51%Inland flooding18%Cold waves10%Lightning7%Strong wind5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Harlem faces

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

Hurricanes

51% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 35% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lightning

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingIce stormsWinter weatherAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Harlem flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hendry County.

Disasters that hit Harlem

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into HarlemDeclared for Hendry County only

2017

Hurricane Irma

1 household applied for aid

Hendry County has had 30 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and fires.

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. Harlem 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 Harlem’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Harlem. 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.