1,019 flood insurance claims·$25.1M 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 Shelby 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 driven by heavy summer thunderstorms and severe weather systems dominates the flood risk profile in Shelby County, Tennessee, accounting for 193 events and 4 deaths over the last 30 years, alongside 21 general flood events resulting in 2 deaths and 1 tropical storm. Recent NOAA records illustrate these severe weather mechanisms, including heavy rain and training storms driven by a slow-moving front on April 5, 2025, and persistent convection developing along an outflow boundary on June 19, 2025.
Federal insurance claims data demonstrates that flood risk extends across multiple zones, with Zone X recording 430 claims averaging an 8-inch water depth and $47,481 payouts, while Zone A recorded 331 claims with an average 6-inch water depth and $28,906 payouts. Additional claims occurred in unshaded Zone X with an average 10-inch water depth, shaded Zone X with an average 2-inch water depth, and unknown zones averaging 4 inches of water.
Property owners in both designated special flood hazard areas and standard zones should pay close attention to this risk, particularly given that substantial flood claims and water depths occur frequently outside of traditional high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
15% of Shelby County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
394 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 6 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 121 claims and $7.2M 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.
74 NOAA storm reports from Shelby County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
28 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 And Straight-line Winds | Jul 18, 2023 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 25, 2023 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 22, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 3, 2022 |
| Severe Winter Storms | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 27, 2017 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
215 since 1996: 193 flash floods and 21 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jun 30, 2025 | $1,000 |
| Flood | Jun 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2025 | $15,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 19, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 8, 2025 | $5,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jun 30, 2025. A round of showers and thunderstorms occurred late Monday night into Tuesday morning just ahead of a cold front. Combined lift and better shear resulted in a few strong storms. Moisture pooled, resulting in PWATs climbing above 2 inches areawide, which led to high rainfall rates and some minor flooding in urbanized areas.
Flood · Jun 28, 2025. A weak MCV moved slowly from the Southern Plains into the Mid-South and resulted in increased storm coverage during the afternoon and evening hours. The unstable and moist airmass supported some stronger storms with gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall and isolated flooding. The airmass was very moist with PWs approaching 2 inches.
Flash Flood · Sep 23, 2025. A warm front was situated across the Mid-South during the evening of September 23, 2025. Deep moisture combined with sufficient shear and instability near the front resulted in large clusters of showers and thunderstorms. These slow-moving storms produced very heavy rain and caused flash flooding in the Memphis metropolitan area.
Flash Flood · Jun 19, 2025. A very warm, moist, and unstable airmass was in place across the Mid-South ahead of an approaching cold front. Dewpoints ranged from 75 to 80 degrees across the area. As the cold front sagged south, an upper-level disturbance pushed into the region, causing an increase in shear. Convection developed along an old outflow boundary during the late afternoon and evening hours on June 18, 2025. Additional development o…
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 Shelby 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.