453 flood insurance claims·$7.0M 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 Rutherford 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 from severe weather events dominates the flood risk profile in Rutherford County, accounting for 50 recorded events and one death over the last 30 years alongside 25 standard flood events. Recent events illustrate this pattern, including a widespread severe weather and flash flooding outbreak that impacted the area from May 8 to May 9, 2024, as well as heavy rainfall from slow-moving thunderstorms that caused flooding in far northeastern Rutherford County on August 19, 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood impacts extend across multiple zones. Properties in high-risk Zone A experienced the highest impact with 223 claims, an average payout of $23,805, and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Moderate and lower-risk areas also face vulnerability, with Zone X recording 162 claims averaging $19,598 and an average water depth of 5 inches, Zone X unshaded recording 29 claims averaging $11,783 and an average water depth of 3 inches, Zone X shaded recording 18 claims averaging $15,089 and an average water depth of 2 inches, and unknown zones recording 21 claims averaging $1,504 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, while recognizing that properties in Zone X and other lower-rated or unshaded zones also carry documented historical flood claims and standing water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Rutherford County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
270 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 5 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 2010, with 179 claims and $2.8M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes.
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.
28 NOAA storm reports from Rutherford County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
17 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 Tornadoes | Mar 31, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Apr 30, 2010 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 10, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 4, 2003 |
| Severe Storms And Tornados | Nov 9, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
75 since 1996: 50 flash floods and 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2024 | — · 1 killed |
| Flood | Aug 19, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Aug 10, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 3, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Sep 2, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Mar 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 27, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 8, 2024. A widespread severe weather event impacted Middle Tennessee beginning in the early morning hours of May 8, 2024, and continued through the early morning hours of May 9th. During this time frame, numerous rounds of severe weather moved through the area, causing widespread wind damage in nearly every county in Middle Tennessee, hail up to 3 inches in diameter, and four tornadoes. One of these tornadoes in Columbia p…
Flood · Aug 19, 2022. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours on August 19. A few storms were nearly stationary and dumped very heavy rainfall in a short amount of time. One such storm occurred in far northeastern Rutherford County with some flooding reported.
Flood · Aug 10, 2022. A line of showers and thunderstorms moved northwest across Middle Tennessee during the day on August 10. Several reports of flooding and wind damage were received.
Flash Flood · Sep 3, 2022. A large storm system stretching from the mid-Mississippi Valley northward into the Great Lakes region on September 2nd through September 4, 2022, along with an abundant amount of moisture resulted in scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms across middle Tennessee. Due to slow storm motions and training of thunderstorms, heavy rain and areas of flash flooding were the primary threat during this event with i…
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 Rutherford 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.