Palisades’s biggest natural hazard is drought
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Palisades comes from drought, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2015. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Palisades’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Palisades flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2015
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Palisades, from FEMA’s records.
Palisades isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Randall County.How exposed is Palisades?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 87% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and wildfires.
Rated higher than 1,829 of the 1,859 Texas towns we cover.
Palisades is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Palisades faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Drought
Wildfire
Hail
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Tornadoes
1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Palisades
Disasters that paid out in Palisades itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Palisades) and its biggest flood years.
- 2000Severe Winter Ice Storm$2K to the Village of Palisades for repairs
Randall County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and hurricanes.
Old photos of Palisades after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Palisades archive →Get ready for what Palisades actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- On a well? Know how deep it is and watch for sputtering.
- Follow the town’s watering limits.
- Fix drips: they add up.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Palisades and its neighbors
How storm and flood risk compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palisades | Very high | drought | 1 |
| Timbercreek Canyon | Very high | drought | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in August–September
The month each of Randall County’s 14 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Palisades’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Palisades.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Palisades.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Weather alerts: National Weather Service. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.