Natural hazards · Palmer

Palmer, MA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palmer comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 2005.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Palmer?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Palmer to be higher than in 48% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding70%Hurricanes14%Everything else16%

By hazard

What Palmer faces

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

Inland flooding

70% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Palmer flood?

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

4paid claims since 2005

$59Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20052026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hampden County.

Disasters that hit Palmer

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Hampden County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Palmer itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into PalmerDeclared for Hampden County only

Hampden County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

Around Palmer

Palmer and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Palmer Townmostly inland floodingModerate

Monsonmostly inland floodingModerate

Waremostly inland floodingModerate

Warrenmostly inland floodingLow

Brimfieldmostly inland floodingLow

Belchertownmostly 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. Palmer covers 3 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Palmer’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Palmer. 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 Palmer total about $3.1M 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.