111 flood insurance claims·$1.8M paid·2 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 Decatur 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 weather events dominates the flood risk profile in Decatur County, Tennessee, accounting for 43 of the 47 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 3 general floods and 1 tropical storm.
Recent occurrences illustrate this recurring threat. A multi-day event in April 2025 produced record flooding and tornadoes across the region. Additionally, slow-moving, moisture-rich thunderstorms caused flash flooding in July 2023, while a warm front brought heavy rain and flash flooding in March 2021.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties situated in FEMA Zone A face the highest concentration of risk, accounting for 104 historical claims with an average payout of $19,023 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. By comparison, Zone X properties recorded 6 claims with an average payout of $10,261 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located within Zone A should pay the most attention to flood risk and mitigation.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Decatur County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
104 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 6 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 80 claims and $1.5M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides and Severe Storm and Straight-line Winds.
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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Decatur County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
28 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 2 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 | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 3, 2020 |
| Severe Storm And Straight-line Winds | Oct 26, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
47 since 1996: 43 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 27, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 13, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 2, 2013 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 3, 2025. A significant multi-hazard, multi-day event occurred across the Mid-South from April 2, 2025, to April 8, 2025, producing 35 tornadoes, record flooding, and numerous reports of damaging winds and large hail. A large upper-level trough covered the Western U.S. in early April. A significant piece of energy rotated around the base of the trough and ejected into the Southern Plains and the Middle-Upper Mississippi Va…
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2023. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed along and south of I-40 due to diurnal heating during the late afternoon on July 4, 2023. Weak wind shear combined with deep moisture produced slow-moving, highly efficient rainfall-producing thunderstorms. There were several reports of flash flooding across the area.
Flash Flood · Mar 27, 2021. A warm front lifted north across the Mid-South during the morning hours of March 27th. Numerous thunderstorms resulted in heavy rain near the Tennessee/Mississippi line and some flash flooding along with an isolated damaging wind report. The front continued to lift north during the morning along with the complex of showers of thunderstorms. After a brief break during the early afternoon, thunderstorms started to r…
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2016. The combination of a very humid airmass and a weak surface front allowed for thunderstorms to develop during the afternoon of June 27th. A few severe storms produced damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding.
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 Decatur 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.