Natural hazards · Palmdale

Palmdale, PA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palmdale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 19 claims here since 1979.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Palmdale?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Palmdale to be higher than in 40% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding72%Hurricanes9%Everything else19%

By hazard

What Palmdale faces

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

Inland flooding

72% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 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 Palmdale flood?

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

19paid claims since 1979

$868Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19792026

Biggest named events

Tropical Storm Lee: 10 claims, $794K
Not a named storm: 4 claims, $2K
Tropical Storm Ivan: 1 claim, $6K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Dauphin County.

Disasters that hit Palmdale

Federal disasters declared here

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

Brought FEMA money into PalmdaleDeclared for Dauphin County only

Dauphin County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.

Around Palmdale

Palmdale and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Palmdalemostly inland floodingModerate

North Londonderrymostly inland floodingLow

Derrymostly inland floodingLow

Palmyramostly inland floodingVery low

Hersheymostly inland floodingVery low

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. Palmdale covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Palmdale’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Palmdale. 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 Palmdale total about $1.0M 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.