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Natural hazards · Palo

Palo, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palo comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 51 claims here since 1993. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Palo?

51
Moderate
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Palo to be higher than in 51% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding53%Tornadoes17%Strong wind8%Hail7%Cold waves6%Everything else9%
By hazard

What Palo faces

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

Inland flooding

53% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 61% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 16 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 59% of U.S. places
Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Palo flood?

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

51paid claims since 1993
$1.6Mpaid to owners
4homes flooded more than once
19932026

Biggest named events

  • Storm: 3 claims, $426K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Palo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Linn County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

18flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
2storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Palo

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PaloDeclared for Linn County only
2020

Severe Storms

119 households applied for aid $57K aid approved $589K to the City of Palo for repairs
2016

Severe Storms and Flooding

$622K to the City of Palo for repairs
2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$45K to the City of Palo for repairs
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

441 households applied for aid $4.9M aid approved $7.9M to the City of Palo for repairs
2007

Severe Winter Storms

$3K to the City of Palo for repairs
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

37 households applied for aid $29K aid approved $5K to the City of Palo for repairs
1999

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$2K to the City of Palo for repairs
Linn County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.
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. Palo 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 Palo’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Palo. 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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