43 flood insurance claims·$637,564 paid·3 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 Polk 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.
Flooding in Polk County, Tennessee, is predominantly characterized by river floods, with 10 flood events recorded over the last 30 years compared to 5 flash flood events.
Severe weather patterns drive these incidents, such as the slow-moving cold front over middle and western Tennessee that brought heavy rain upon nearly saturated soils on December 25, 2015, causing widespread flooding. Additionally, warm fronts stalled across the region, producing heavy rainfall and flooding into March 28, 2021, and cool fronts sliding south generated flash flooding during storms on July 6, 2018.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties located in high-risk Zone A require the most attention, accounting for 36 claims with an average payout of $16,849 and an average recorded water depth of 13 inches. Property owners in Zone X and areas with unknown zone classifications have also filed claims, with Zone X recording 5 claims averaging a $23,722 payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, and unknown zones recording 2 claims averaging a $10,372 payout and an average recorded water depth of 36 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Polk County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
36 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 15 claims and $222,191 paid, the year of 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Polk County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 3 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, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 8, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2020 |
| 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.
15 since 1996: 5 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Mar 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2018 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2018 | — |
| Flood | Dec 25, 2015 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Dec 2, 2015 | — |
| Flood | Jan 16, 2013 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 10, 2012 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2011 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Mar 28, 2021. Thunderstorms with large hail spread northward across East Tennessee during the early morning hours of March 27, reaching southwest Virginia by late morning. These storms were associated with a warm front, which later stalled across northeast Tennessee. This stalled front was the focus of additional thunderstorms that produced damaging wind gusts and flooding in the evening of March 27 and into March 28.
Flash Flood · Jul 6, 2018. Showers and thunderstorms formed along a cool front sliding south across East Tennessee during the late afternoon and evening hours. The storms produced damaging winds, flash flooding and frequent lightning. The lightning resulted in a fatality in Roane County.
Flood · Dec 25, 2015. Another unseasonably warm and moist air mass was prompted by deep upper level troughing over the Central Plains states, and a slow moving cold front over middle and western Tennessee. Heavy rain falling upon nearly saturated soils resulted in widespread flooding.
Flood · Dec 2, 2015. Persistent moist southwesterly flow aloft combined with a nearly stationary surface front to bring rains to the area from November 29th to December 2nd, resulting in flooding.
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 Polk 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.