191 flood insurance claims·$3.9M 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 Obion 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.
Obion County, Tennessee is primarily impacted by flash flooding and river flooding driven by heavy regional rainfall and storms. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records show 33 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 13 general flood events, 1 tropical storm, and 1 tropical depression. Recent activity includes heavy rainfall from an upper-level trough and stalled warm fronts in February 2025, as well as an April 2025 event that brought total rainfall amounts of 10 to 15 inches across the region. This severe April rainfall resulted in widespread river flooding for several days, including major flooding on the Obion River and the North Fork Forked Deer River.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property owners in FEMA Zone A have filed the highest number of claims at 144, with an average payout of $25,104 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Properties in Zone X_SHADED accounted for 18 claims with an average payout of $23,832 and an average water depth of 4 inches, while Zone X properties saw 17 claims averaging $29,847 with an average water depth of 3 inches. Residents and property owners located in high-risk zones, particularly near rivers and within Zone A, should pay the closest attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
13% of Obion County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
167 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 4 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 2025, with 23 claims and $936,305 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Obion County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
22 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 Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Dec 10, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 3, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 19, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
48 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 13 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | $5.0M |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | $1.5M |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | $300,000 |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | $100,000 |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | $125,000 |
| Flash Flood | May 24, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Feb 16, 2025. An upper-level trough crossed the Four Corners region and dipped into northern Mexico on February 14, 2025. In response, deep southwesterly flow set up over the Lower Mississippi Valley and advected Gulf moisture poleward. Showers and thunderstorms blossomed across the region during the early morning hours on February 15, 2025. Meanwhile, a warm front quickly accelerated northward during the morning of February 15…
Flash Flood · Feb 15, 2025. An upper-level trough crossed the Four Corners region and dipped into northern Mexico on February 14, 2025. In response, deep southwesterly flow set up over the Lower Mississippi Valley and advected Gulf moisture poleward. Showers and thunderstorms blossomed across the region during the early morning hours on February 15, 2025. Meanwhile, a warm front quickly accelerated northward during the morning of February 15…
Flood · Feb 15, 2025. An upper-level trough crossed the Four Corners region and dipped into northern Mexico on February 14, 2025. In response, deep southwesterly flow set up over the Lower Mississippi Valley and advected Gulf moisture poleward. Showers and thunderstorms blossomed across the region during the early morning hours on February 15, 2025. Meanwhile, a warm front quickly accelerated northward during the morning of February 15…
Flood · Apr 6, 2025. Total rainfall amounts of 10-15 inches occurred across parts of east Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel, West Tennessee, and extreme northwest Mississippi during the April 2- April 5 event. This resulted in widespread river flooding for several days following the event including major flooding on the Obion River and the North Fork Forked Deer River.
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 Obion 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.