30 flood insurance claims·$457,221 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 Giles 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 dominates the flood profile of Giles County, Tennessee, accounting for 43 of the 49 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 6 general floods that resulted in 2 deaths. Severe weather events, such as the potent storm system in March 2025 and scattered thunderstorms in May 2025, regularly bring heavy rainfall and moisture to the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across both high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk areas. Zone A properties experienced 19 claims with an average payout of $25,580 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties recorded 10 claims with an average payout of $13,470 and an average water depth of 2 inches, and unshaded Zone X recorded 1 claim averaging $3,451 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA Zone A, which accounts for the highest claim frequency and financial payouts, while remaining aware that properties in Zone X also face flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Giles County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
20 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 2 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 2003, with 4 claims and $10,745 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding.
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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Giles County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
24 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, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Mar 31, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| 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 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
49 since 1996: 43 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 16, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 2, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 31, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2020 | $25,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 5, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
— = 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…
Flash Flood · May 2, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon of May 2, 2025. With abundant instability and moisture and with the help of a front moving through the area, all the ingredients were present to allow for these thunderstorms to become severe. Several reports of large hail were received, especially near the Nashville metro area. The most significant damage was reported near Monterey wer…
Flash Flood · Jul 12, 2022. The largest severe weather event of summer 2022 affected much of Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours on July 12, with numerous severe thunderstorms producing large hail and wind damage. Up to softball size hail was reported in the Chapel Hill area of Marshall County, which is the largest hail reported in Middle Tennessee in many years.
Flash Flood · Mar 31, 2021. Numerous showers and thunderstorms affected southern Middle Tennessee during the early morning hours of March 31, 2021. Thunderstorms repeatedly moved across Wayne, Lawrence, and Giles Counties for many hours, causing widespread 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 Giles 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.