64 flood insurance claims·$1.6M 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 Houston 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 dominates the flood history of Houston County, accounting for 28 out of 31 recorded flood events over the last 30 years according to the NOAA Storm Events Database.
Recent historic events illustrate this risk. A major multi-day severe weather event in April 2025 brought rounds of thunderstorms and heavy rainfall across the region. Additionally, severe thunderstorms on May 22, 2024, produced flash flooding in Houston County that required water rescues to be performed at a daycare.
NFIP claim data shows that properties in mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas and moderate-to-low risk zones alike experience significant impacts. Zone A claims averaged a payout of $50,441 with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches, while Zone X claims averaged $51,319 with an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Properties with unknown flood zones also face risk, averaging 32 claims with an average payout of $3,468 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within mapped high-risk zones, moderate-risk zones, and areas with unmapped or unknown flood designations subject to intense convective rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Houston County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
25 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 1981, with 22 claims and $61,157 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Houston County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
28 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, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Aug 21, 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 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 5, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
31 since 1996: 28 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 22, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 21, 2021 | $612,990 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2016 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 27, 2013 | $4.0M |
| Flash Flood | Apr 27, 2011 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 4, 2011 | $1,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 3, 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…
Flash Flood · May 22, 2024. An active May pattern continued into May 22, 2024, as additional severe thunderstorms impacted Middle Tennessee. Damaging winds were the primary threat with this activity with numerous trees, mainly in eastern Middle Tennessee, uprooted or snapped. Flash flooding was also reported in Houston County where water rescues had to be performed at a daycare.
Flash Flood · Feb 28, 2021. Numerous showers and thunderstorms affected Middle Tennessee during the evening hours on February 27, then again during the afternoon and evening hours on February 28. Several storms became severe and produced damaging winds, large hail, and flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Aug 21, 2021. The deadliest flash flood to ever affect Middle Tennessee, and one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the state, struck the region on Saturday, August 21, 2021. Occurring only a few months after another deadly and disastrous flash flood impacted the Nashville metro area on March 27-28, 2021 and killed 7 people, this flash flood left catastrophic damage across several counties in western Middle Tennes…
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 Houston 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.