60 flood insurance claims·$1.3M paid·3 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 Blount 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.
Flooding in Blount County is characterized predominantly by regular flood and flash flood events driven by heavy rainfall and severe storm systems. Over the past 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 25 flood events and 19 flash flood events. Recent incidents include a potent storm system in January 2024 that brought heavy rain and downstream flooding, and catastrophic flash and river flooding caused by Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records show varying impacts across different zones. Zone A accounts for 40 claims with an average payout of $12,810 and an average recorded water depth of 11 inches. Zone X includes 12 claims with an average payout of $10,771 and an average recorded water depth of 29 inches. Additionally, Zone X_UNSHADED records 8 claims with an average payout of $133,388 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED where lower-frequency events can still result in substantial payouts or significant water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Blount County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
48 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 14 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 2020, with 15 claims and $260,728 paid.
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 Blount County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 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 Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 27, 2017 |
| East Miller Cove Fire | Nov 17, 2016 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 25, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
44 since 1996: 19 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 10, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 2, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 29, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 13, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Feb 5, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 25, 2024. Tropical Storm Helene caps off a several day heavy rainfall event in association with a stalled closed upper low that drew a stream of tropical moisture into the area on the 25th and 26th. The arrival of Helene on the 27th yielded catastrophic flash flooding and river flooding, as well as significant wind damage as wet soils and strong wind gusts led to forest damage.
Flood · Jan 9, 2024. A potent storm system with abundant Gulf moisture produced heavy rain, mainly along the spine of the Appalachians thanks to upslope flow in western North Carolina. The heaviest rain impacted streams uphill from Gatlinburg, producing flooding in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and points downstream.
Flash Flood · Aug 10, 2023. Highly anomalous low level jet associated with a strong upper level shortwave brought an early morning thunderstorm complex through Tennessee, with flash flooding around Knoxville and damaging straight line winds in the southernmost counties.
Flash Flood · Mar 2, 2023. A moist, southwesterly fetch aloft paralleled a stationary front draped across northeast Tennessee to produce areas of heavy rainfall and flooding, along with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
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 Blount 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.