55 flood insurance claims·$262,029 paid·4 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Anderson County, Tennessee. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from heavy rainfall events dominates the flood character of Anderson County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 22 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 13 general flood events and 1 tropical storm. Recent documented events include heavy rain triggered by a cold front in February 2023, and excessive rainfall from training cells anchored to higher terrain in July 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that losses occur across multiple zones, with the highest total claim volume concentrated in designated special flood hazard areas. Zone A accounts for 29 claims with an average payout of $4,928 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties have recorded 18 claims with an average payout of $12,500 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Shaded and unshaded Zone X designations account for a combined 7 claims with average payouts of $9,402 (averaging 3 inches of water) and $3,184 (averaging 4 inches of water), respectively.
Homeowners and real estate professionals in both designated high-risk zones and standard moderate-to-low risk zones should pay close attention to these patterns, as historical claims and flash flood risks extend beyond standard high-risk boundaries.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of Anderson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
36 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 3 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1998, with 20 claims and $128,183 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding and Severe Winter Storm.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
4 NOAA storm reports from Anderson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 5, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And | Jun 18, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
36 since 1996: 22 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Feb 23, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 21, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | $600,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 6, 2019 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Feb 10, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 1, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 16, 2023. Heavy rain was triggered by a cold front slowly displacing a warm sector whose precipitable water anomaly was near the maximum for the day.
Flood · Feb 23, 2022. A moist southwesterly flow aloft ran nearly parallel to a stalled cold front near east Tennessee on the 23rd. A surface low near Lake Charles LA would move up the boundary and produce a second round of rains on the 24th.
Flash Flood · Jul 21, 2022. A humid airmass remained in place beneath a west-northwesterly flow aloft. Weak boundaries triggered convection in WNW to ESE oriented bands, some which were anchored to higher terrain. The result was excessive rainfall with training cells.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2022. A humid airmass remained in place beneath a west-northwesterly flow aloft. Weak boundaries triggered convection in WNW to ESE oriented bands, some which were anchored to higher terrain. The result was excessive rainfall with training cells.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Anderson County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.