45 flood insurance claims·$509,587 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 Loudon 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 driven by summer thunderstorms and frontal systems dominates the flood character of Loudon County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 17 flash flood events compared to 7 general flood events. Recent incidents include a February 2016 event where a vigorous frontal system ushered Gulf moisture into the area, producing heavy rainfall, as well as an event in May 2018 caused by scattered diurnal convection in a warm and humid air mass.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood claims are distributed across multiple zones, with unshaded Zone X accounting for 20 claims averaging a payout of $7,591 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Zone X recorded 19 claims with an average payout of $25,473 and an average recorded water depth of 18 inches. Zone A accounts for 5 claims with an average payout of $13,455 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties located within Zone X and unshaded Zone X, which account for the vast majority of historical insurance claims in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
80% of Loudon 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 7 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 2002, with 8 claims and $118,336 paid, the year of Severe Storms 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.
3 NOAA storm reports from Loudon County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 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 | Aug 7, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 27, 2017 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And | Jun 18, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 25, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
24 since 1996: 17 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 22, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 3, 2016 | $3,000 |
| Flood | Jul 14, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jan 30, 2013 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Sep 26, 2009 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 17, 2009 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 15, 2009 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2006 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 22, 2018. A frontal boundary was over Kentucky while a warm and humid air mass was in place south of the front. Scattered diurnal convection produced isolated flooding.
Flash Flood · Feb 3, 2016. A vigorous frontal system ushered Gulf moisture into the area. A band of convection produced severe thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall as it swept through the area.
Flood · Jul 14, 2015. A continuation of severe weather from the previous day involved convection which developed early in the day in association with an overnight outflow boundary followed by the main event involving a meso-scale convective system driving southeast into a moderately to highly unstable air mass. An amplifying upper level trough building east through the Ohio Valley added sufficient wind energy for strong and organized s…
Flood · Jan 30, 2013. Heavy rain returned to the region. Though not as heavy as the event of the 15th-16th, the very wet soils enabled this event to produce widespread flooding as well.
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 Loudon 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.