117 flood insurance claims·$1.2M paid·6 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 Marion 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.
Marion County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by flash flooding and river flooding driven by heavy rainfall events. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 18 flash flood events resulting in 3 deaths, alongside 11 general flood events and 1 tropical storm.
Recent events illustrate these hazards. Heavy rains and widespread rainfall totals of 2 to 3 inches led to flooding along rivers in east Tennessee between February 12th and 14th, 2025, with some locations reaching moderate to major flood stages. Similarly, a low pressure system produced heavy rainfall across the southern Tennessee Valley and southern Plateau, resulting in flooding on the evening of March 17th and early morning of March 18th, 2021.
NFIP claim data shows that properties in high-risk Zone A have filed the highest number of claims (75 claims, averaging $15,882 with an average recorded water depth of 10 inches). However, properties outside designated high-risk areas also face vulnerability, with Zone X recording 16 claims averaging an average water depth of 26 inches, and Zone UNKNOWN recording 11 claims averaging an average water depth of 22 inches. Zone X_UNSHADED recorded 9 claims with an average water depth of 17 inches, and Zone X_SHADED recorded 6 claims with an average water depth of 6 inches. Property owners in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Marion County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
90 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 13 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 27 claims and $408,399 paid, the year of Severe Storms and Flooding and 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.
7 NOAA storm reports from Marion County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 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 Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Jun 5, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And | Jun 18, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
30 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 11 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Mar 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 13, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 2, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 17, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 12, 2020 | — · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Apr 12, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | $17,000 |
| Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | $3.5M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Mar 16, 2025. A strong upper trough and low pressure system helped generate a powerful low level jet of winds that led to both high wind reports and wind damage. However, potential energy in the atmosphere was lacking, with severe storms only generating a handful of damage reports and funnel clouds.
Flood · Feb 13, 2025. Heavy rains, categorized by widespread 2 to 3 inch rainfall totals, affected the Morristown forecast area and broader southern Appalachian region on February 11th and 12th. This lead to flooding along some rivers in east Tennessee between February 12th and 14th, during which time some locations reached moderate to major flood stages.
Flash Flood · Mar 2, 2023. A moist, southwesterly fetch aloft paralleled a stationary front draped across northeast Tennessee to produce areas of heavy rainfall and flooding, along with severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Flood · Mar 17, 2021. A low pressure system produced high winds in the mountains and foothills of East Tennessee during the early morning hours of March 18. Heavy rainfall also occurred across the southern Tennessee Valley and southern Plateau, resulting in flooding on the evening of the 17th and early morning of the 18th. Later in the day on the 18th, thunderstorms moved across the area, some of which produced large hail.
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 Marion 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.