14 flood insurance claims·$346,246 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 Van Buren 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 summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Van Buren County, accounting for 18 recorded events and 1 death over the last 30 years alongside 3 standard flood events. Severe weather has been documented during events such as the scattered showers and thunderstorms on October 6, 2021, and summertime storms on July 28, 2024, which produced heavy rain and flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties situated in high-risk Zone A face the most severe financial impact, with 8 claims averaging $56,630 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. By comparison, properties located in Zone X and Zone X_UNSHADED experience significantly lower losses, recording 4 claims averaging $3,849 with an average 0 inches of recorded water depth, and 2 claims averaging $1,308 with an average 1 inch of recorded water depth, respectively.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, as these locations account for the vast majority of high-dollar flood insurance claims and significant payout averages in the county.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 1 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 2019, with 6 claims and $270,533 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides.
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 Van Buren County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
20 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 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Aug 7, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 14, 2003 |
| Severe Storms And Tornados | Nov 9, 2002 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
21 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 3 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 28, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2021 | $5,000 · 1 killed |
| Flood | Apr 23, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Dec 25, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 24, 2010 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2009 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 4, 2009 | $50,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 28, 2024. Summertime thunderstorms impacted Middle Tennessee on July 28, 2024. One of these typical summertime storms produced heavy rain in Macon County, causing flooding in the Lafayette area.
Flash Flood · Oct 6, 2021. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed in the afternoon hours on October 6th and lasted well into the evening hours. Multiple reports of damaging winds, flash flooding, some hail, and even a tornado were received.
Flood · Apr 23, 2017. Widespread showers and thunderstorms spread across Middle Tennessee in the early morning hours on April 22 and continued into the next day on April 23. One supercell thunderstorm developed and tracked across Wayne, Lawrence, and Giles Counties, producing many reports of large hail and wind damage. Heavy rainfall from all of the showers and thunderstorms also produced widespread reports of flooding.
Flood · Dec 25, 2015. Barely over one day after a major tornado outbreak affected Tennessee and surrounding states, another round of severe storms with one tornado, wind damage, large hail, and flooding impacted Middle Tennessee on Christmas Day. One brief EF1 tornado touched down in Shelbyville, TN in Bedford County, causing minor damage.
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 Van Buren 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.