Natural hazards · Palmyra

Palmyra, NE 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. 3 federal disasters 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 and tornadoes.

Inland flooding34%Tornadoes16%Hail14%Drought11%Strong wind7%Cold waves5%Everything else13%

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

34% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

16% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Hail

14% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Drought

11% of expected damage

Recorded about 16 times a year in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Cold waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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?

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

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: Otoe County.

Disasters that hit Palmyra

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PalmyraDeclared for Otoe County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$16K to the Village of Palmyra for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

$4K to the Village of Palmyra for repairs

2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

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

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