323 flood insurance claims·$4.6M 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 Lauderdale 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 and general flooding driven by slow-moving cold fronts and heavy rainfall dominate the flood history of Lauderdale County, with 15 flash flood events and 8 general flood events recorded over the last 30 years alongside one tropical depression.
Historical events illustrate these risks. In February 2018, a prolonged period of rainfall along a slow-moving cold front caused widespread areal flooding and road closures, followed days later by a strong cold front that generated severe weather and flash flooding. Earlier, in September 2014, a slow-moving cold front supported by a low-level jet produced widespread rainfall totals of 5 to 6 inches—with localized amounts reaching 7 to 10 inches—causing widespread flash flooding and road closures.
National Flood Insurance Program records show the heaviest claim activity in designated Special Flood Hazard Areas. Zone A accounts for 219 claims with an average payout of $20,377 and an average recorded water depth of 12 inches. Properties in Zone X also report significant impacts, averaging $24,311 per claim with an average recorded water depth of 17 inches across 23 claims. Homeowners and real estate agents working with properties in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Lauderdale County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
219 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 10 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 2011, with 58 claims and $1.9M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, 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.
11 NOAA storm reports from Lauderdale County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 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 | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Apr 30, 2010 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
24 since 1996: 15 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 24, 2018 | $500 |
| Flood | Feb 22, 2018 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 17, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 11, 2014 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 7, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Dec 5, 2011 | $1,000 |
| Flood | May 1, 2011 | $750,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 24, 2018. A strong cold front interacted with a very unstable airmass across the Midsouth during the afternoon and evening hours of February 24h. All facets of severe weather occurred.
Flood · Feb 22, 2018. A prolonged period of rainfall was generated along the backside of a slow moving cold front across portions of West Tennessee during the late evening hours of February 21st continuing into February 22nd. Another round of rain moved through parts of West Tennessee during the late evening of February 22 into the morning hours of February 23rd. Areal flooding was common across West Tennessee during this period with m…
Flash Flood · Aug 18, 2014. An upper level low pressure system tracked southeastward from the St. Louis area through the Mid-South on August 17th-18th, 2014. The upper level low interacted with daytime heating to produce showers and thunderstorms across the area during the afternoon and evening hours on both days. Some storms became severe producing large hail and flash flooding. The storms diminished after sunset due to the loss of daytime…
Flash Flood · Aug 17, 2014. An upper level low pressure system tracked southeastward from the St. Louis area through the Mid-South on August 17th-18th, 2014. The upper level low interacted with daytime heating to produce showers and thunderstorms across the area during the afternoon and evening hours on both days. Some storms became severe producing large hail and flash flooding. The storms diminished after sunset due to the loss of daytime…
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 Lauderdale 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.