Natural hazards · Palmyra

Palmyra, IL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palmyra comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 42 claims here since 1978. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Palmyra?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Palmyra to be higher than in 64% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding62%Tornadoes12%Cold waves11%Strong wind7%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Palmyra faces

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

Inland flooding

62% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 30 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 17% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce 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 Palmyra flood?

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

42paid claims since 1978

$217Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19782026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $9K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lee County.

Disasters that hit Palmyra

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PalmyraDeclared for Lee County only

2011

Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm

$12K to the Township of Palmyra for repairs

Lee County has had 8 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and winter storms.

Around Palmyra

Palmyra and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Palmyramostly inland floodingHigh

Dixonmostly inland floodingModerate

Nelsonmostly inland floodingModerate

Jordanmostly inland floodingModerate

Sterlingmostly inland floodingModerate

Woosungmostly inland floodingLow

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. Palmyra covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Palmyra’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Township of Palmyra. 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 Palmyra total about $2.9M 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.