3 flood insurance claims·$17,729 paid·1 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 Meigs 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 river flooding equally dominate the historical flood profile of Meigs County, supplemented by occasional tropical storm impacts. Over a thirty-year period, NOAA records document 12 flood events, 12 flash flood events, and 2 tropical storm events. Severe weather systems frequently drive these occurrences, such as a potent storm system that produced heavy rain in January 2024, and a warm front that generated training showers, thunderstorms, and locally heavy rainfall in July 2023.
Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Program records show limited historical claims, reflecting the localized nature of many events. Zone X accounts for 2 claims with an average payout of $15,213 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches. Zone A accounts for 1 claim with an average payout of $2,516 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas like Zone A, as well as homes in Zone X that remain vulnerable to heavy rainfall and localized flash flooding from intense summer storms.
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 1 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 2017, with 1 claims and $15,213 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.
2 NOAA storm reports from Meigs County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
19 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 1 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, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 16, 2004 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
26 since 1996: 12 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 9, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 20, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 11, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 24, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Jul 21, 2018 | $2,000 |
| Flood | Dec 25, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 11, 2014 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 9, 2024. A potent storm system with abundant Gulf moisture produced heavy rain, mainly along the spine of the Appalachians thanks to upslope flow in western North Carolina. The heaviest rain impacted streams uphill from Gatlinburg, producing flooding in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and points downstream.
Flash Flood · Jul 20, 2023. A warm front lifting northward through the area produced training showers and thunderstorms, which produced strong to severe damaging winds and locally heavy rainfall in East Tennessee.
Flash Flood · Jul 11, 2021. A warm and humid air mass remained in place. Diurnal convection produced isolated flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2018. Repeat convection along a slow moving frontal boundary over a lengthy period generated wind damage and flash flooding across Southeast Tennessee from the evening hours into the following morning.
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 Meigs 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.