17 flood insurance claims·$256,764 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 Monroe 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 from severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall dominate the flood profile in Monroe County, TN, with NOAA records detailing 21 flash flood events and 18 flood events over the last 30 years. Recent destructive weather patterns are documented in the narratives, including a closed low and trailing cold front that caused significant flooding across the region in August 2023, followed by severe thunderstorms that produced flash flooding on May 2, 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks affect properties across different designated zones. Properties in Zone X account for 8 claims with an average payout of $31,431 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone A account for 7 claims with an average payout of $7,097 and an average recorded water depth of 50 inches. Two additional claims were filed under an unknown zone with an average payout of $632 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located in both designated high-risk riverine areas (Zone A) and moderate-to-low risk areas (Zone X), as both zones have recorded historical flood claims and significant water depths.
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 23 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 2020, with 4 claims and $50,197 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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 Monroe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
18 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 | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds And | Feb 29, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Associated Flooding | Apr 25, 2011 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
39 since 1996: 21 flash floods and 18 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 2, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 30, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Aug 15, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2023 | $10.0M |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Aug 31, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 14, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 12, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 2, 2025. An area of thunderstorms moved into eastern Tennessee during the afternoon hours on May 2, 2025. Damaging wind reports were seen throughout the Cumberland plateau and Tennessee valley, but the strongest storms and greatest concentration of severe weather reports were mainly in the southern Tennessee valley. Flash flooding, damaging winds, and even some severe sized hail were seen there.
Flash Flood · Jul 30, 2024. An upper level shortwave coupled with strong wind fields brought multiple rounds of severe weather to East Tennessee, including two mesoscale convective systems. Flash flooding occurred in Knox county.
Flood · Aug 15, 2023. A highly anomalous weather pattern involving a closed low and a trailing cold front brought discrete thunderstorms and multicell clusters in multiple rounds to east Tennessee. Repeat events as well as training of cells resulted in flash flooding, some of it significant.
Flash Flood · Aug 14, 2023. A highly anomalous weather pattern involving a closed low and a trailing cold front brought discrete thunderstorms and multicell clusters in multiple rounds to east Tennessee. Repeat events as well as training of cells resulted in flash flooding, some of it significant.
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 Monroe 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.