513 flood insurance claims·$25.3M 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 Cheatham 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 dominates the flood risk profile in Cheatham County, accounting for 44 events and 1 death over the last 30 years alongside 8 general flood events resulting in 1 death. Recent severe weather events, such as the potent storm system on March 16, 2025, and the major flooding and heavy rainfall event on February 15-16, 2025, illustrate the recurring threat of intense rainfall across the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood risks extend beyond high-risk areas. High-risk Zone A properties have experienced the heaviest impacts with 397 claims averaging a $62,254 payout and an average recorded water depth of 15 inches. However, properties outside designated high-risk zones also face documented hazards. Zone X properties recorded 61 claims with an average payout of $59,248 and an average water depth of 6 inches, while Shaded Zone X logged 22 claims averaging a $46,199 payout with an average water depth of 15 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties recorded 12 claims with an average payout of $23,975 and an average water depth of 3 inches, and unknown zones recorded 21 claims averaging a $5,707 payout with an average water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in high-risk Zone A, as well as properties located in Zone X and shaded Zone X where significant water depths and claim histories demonstrate that flood risk exists outside designated high-risk flood zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
8% of Cheatham County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
431 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 13 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 2010, with 209 claims and $21.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes.
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.
25 NOAA storm reports from Cheatham County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1975, 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, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2024 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Dec 9, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
52 since 1996: 44 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Mar 28, 2021 | — · 1 killed |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 16, 2025. A potent storm system brought multiple rounds of thunderstorms and severe weather to Middle Tennessee on March 15, 2025. The main risk for severe weather was associated with a line of thunderstorms that tracks east across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours. This line produced one EF-1 tornado near Christiana. As this line moved towards the Cumberland Plateau, it strengthened and caused wind da…
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. A major severe weather and flooding event unfolded across Middle Tennessee on February 15-16, 2025. As well above average moisture spread into the area, this helped set the stage for very heavy rainfall across Middle Tennessee. Showers and thunderstorms began early during the day on February 15th, and the primary threat with this first round was flooding. The most significant flooding was reported in Montgomery an…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. A major severe weather and flooding event unfolded across Middle Tennessee on February 15-16, 2025. As well above average moisture spread into the area, this helped set the stage for very heavy rainfall across Middle Tennessee. Showers and thunderstorms began early during the day on February 15th, and the primary threat with this first round was flooding. The most significant flooding was reported in Montgomery an…
Flood · Apr 6, 2025. A major and historic multi-day severe weather event unfolded across Middle Tennessee during early April 2025. This event began during the afternoon hours of April 2nd and continued through April 6th. These first couple rounds of thunderstorms brought damaging winds and large hail along with a tornado risk. The corridor from southwest Middle Tennessee into the Nashville metro area was hit particularly hard with mul…
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 Cheatham 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.