64 flood insurance claims·$1.3M paid·5 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 Unicoi 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 and tropical systems dominates the flood history of Unicoi County. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records document 14 flash flood events resulting in 9 deaths, alongside 7 general flood events resulting in 1 death. Significant recent events include a prolonged convective storm in April 2020 that produced widespread rainfall totals of three to four inches, and Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024, which brought catastrophic flash and river flooding after several days of heavy rainfall driven by a stalled upper low and tropical moisture.
National Flood Insurance Program records show claims across multiple zones with varying impacts. Zone A accounts for 35 claims with an average payout of $24,543 and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Zone X accounts for 10 claims with an average payout of $67,780 and an average recorded water depth of 51 inches. Zone X Unshaded records 9 claims with an average payout of $2,167 and an average water depth of 5 inches, while Zone X Shaded records 7 claims with an average payout of $2,524 and an average water depth of 2 inches. An additional 3 claims with unknown zones average a $6,145 payout with an average water depth of 5 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within designated high-risk Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X where claims have recorded significantly deeper average water levels.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
31% of Unicoi County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
51 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 2024, with 17 claims and $1.0M paid, the year of Tropical Storm Helene.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Unicoi County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
18 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 5 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 |
| Tropical Storm Helene | Sep 26, 2024 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Sep 16, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Jul 27, 2001 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
21 since 1996: 14 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 27, 2024 | $9.8M · 9 killed |
| Flash Flood | Apr 13, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2020 | $350,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | May 21, 2013 | $40,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2013 | $1,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2012 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 5, 2012 | $2,000 |
| Flash Flood | Aug 3, 2012 | $10,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 27, 2024. Tropical Storm Helene caps off a several day heavy rainfall event in association with a stalled closed upper low that drew a stream of tropical moisture into the area on the 25th and 26th. The arrival of Helene on the 27th yielded catastrophic flash flooding and river flooding, as well as significant wind damage as wet soils and strong wind gusts led to forest damage.
Flash Flood · Apr 13, 2020. A prolonged convective event with deep moist southerly flow in an unstable environment with strong wind shear generated supercell thunderstorms across Southeast Tennessee and Southwest North Carolina. The lengthy period of heavy rain resulted in widespread three to four inch rainfall totals across East Tennessee, Southwest North Carolina, and Southwest Virginia.
Flood · Feb 6, 2020. A cold front extending from the Texas coast to the southern Appalachians experienced little movement as low pressure systems moved northeastward along the boundary. This resulted in heavy rainfall of 5 to 6 inches across most of area.
Flash Flood · May 21, 2013. An outflow boundary from a complex of thunderstorms building across the Mid South interacted with moderate to strongly unstable air across Eastern Tennessee mainly north of interstate 40. The slow moving storms produced mainly wind damage with some hail as well as some flash 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 Unicoi 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.