37 flood insurance claims·$1.4M 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 Greene 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.
Greene County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by frequent flash floods and river floods, with the NOAA Storm Events Database recording 28 flash flood events and 26 flood events over the last 30 years, resulting in one death.
Recent history underscores this hazard, notably in September 2024 when a stalled closed upper low drew tropical moisture into the area, culminating in Tropical Storm Helene on September 27th. This event yielded catastrophic flash flooding, river flooding, and significant wind damage following several days of heavy rainfall.
Properties in both designated and non-designated zones face historical risk, as reflected in NFIP claims data. Zone X properties recorded 21 claims with an average water depth of 23 inches and an average payout of $55,428, while Zone A properties recorded 11 claims with an average water depth of 28 inches and an average payout of $54,393. Properties with unknown flood zones also logged 5 claims averaging 2 inches of water depth and $11,059 in payouts. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated in mapped flood hazard areas as well as those in Zone X, where historical claims demonstrate substantial flood depths and financial losses.
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 20 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 2024, with 7 claims and $1.1M paid, the year of Tropical Storm Helene.
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 Greene 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 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 26, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 22, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| 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.
54 since 1996: 28 flash floods and 26 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | $22.7M · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Sep 26, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 25, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 2, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 12, 2025. Diurnal showers and thunderstorms yielded a briefly severe storm in Campbell County.
Flood · Sep 27, 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.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 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 · Sep 26, 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.
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 Greene 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.