4 flood insurance claims·$7,780 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 Cumberland 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 severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk in Cumberland County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA recorded 32 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 15 general flood events.
Recent weather patterns illustrate this hazard. On May 20, 2025, multiple rounds of thunderstorms impacted the region with damaging winds and tornadoes. Earlier, on July 20, 2023, training showers and thunderstorms preceding a strong squall line produced heavy rainfall across the Cumberland Plateau.
Property owners and real estate agents should pay the most attention to locations mapped within high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas, designated as Zone A. Federal flood insurance data shows historical claims in Zone A averaging 36 inches of recorded water depth with an average payout of $7,780. Homes and properties situated in these higher-risk zones face the greatest exposure to rising waters during intense precipitation events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 36 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 2019, with 2 claims and $0 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.
10 NOAA storm reports from Cumberland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 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, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Aug 7, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 27, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And | Feb 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 2, 2006 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
47 since 1996: 32 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 20, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2023 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | $20,000 |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | $10,000 |
| Flood | Apr 12, 2020 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 20, 2025. Multiple rounds of thunderstorms impacted Middle Tennessee on May 20, 2025. The first round of thunderstorms was a decaying mesoscale convective system (MCS) that produced damaging winds which downed a few trees. The next round was discrete supercells which produced large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes. The largest hail reported during this event was in Williamson County where hailstones of two to three inche…
Flash Flood · Mar 15, 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…
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2023. A very strong squall line made its way through Middle Tennessee during the morning and afternoon hours of July 20, 2023. Damaging straight-line winds were the primary threat associated with this line of thunderstorms with wind gusts of 65 to 80 mph common. The most significant damage was reported in Sumner and Wilson counties with numerous reports of downed trees and powerlines received. Meanwhile, training shower…
Flash Flood · Oct 6, 2021. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed in the afternoon hours on October 6th and lasted well into the evening hours. Multiple reports of damaging winds, flash flooding, some hail, and even a tornado were received.
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 Cumberland 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.