71 flood insurance claims·$1.8M paid·4 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 Wayne 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 heavy rainfall and slow-moving thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Wayne County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 44 flash flood events, resulting in 1 death, alongside 7 standard flood events.
Heavy rainfall events frequently threaten the area, such as in March 2021 when thunderstorms repeatedly moved across the region to cause widespread flash flooding. Another significant event occurred in July 2025, when slow-moving thunderstorms produced four to six inches of heavy rain across Lawrence and Wayne counties, triggering flooding in local areas like Iron City and St. Joseph.
Properties situated within designated flood zones require careful attention from homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists. FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records show claims filed across multiple zones, including 36 claims in Zone A with an average recorded water depth of 5 inches and an average payout of $28,895. Additionally, 24 claims were filed in Zone X with an average recorded water depth of 3 inches and an average payout of $31,694, while 9 claims in unknown zones averaged 4 inches of recorded water depth with a $23,116 average payout. Finally, 2 claims in unshaded Zone X recorded an average water depth of 0 inches and an average payout of $4,748.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
5% of Wayne County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
38 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 4 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 22 claims and $585,845 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes and Severe Storms 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.
16 NOAA storm reports from Wayne County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Tennessee flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 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, Straight-line Winds, And Tornado | Mar 1, 2023 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 25, 2021 |
| Severe Storm And Straight-line Winds | Oct 26, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Feb 19, 2019 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Feb 15, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
51 since 1996: 44 flash floods and 7 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 9, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 31, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 5, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 22, 2017 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2014 | — |
| Flood | Jun 28, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 18, 2010 | $8.0M |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 9, 2025. Scattered thunderstorms developed across portions of Middle Tennessee during the afternoon of July 9, 2025. Weak steering flow meant that these storms were generally slow-moving. This combined with above average atmospheric moisture meant that the stage was set for heavy rain and flooding. One thunderstorm in Lawrence and Wayne counties produced four to six inches of heavy rain which caused flooding in the Loretto…
Flash Flood · Mar 31, 2021. Numerous showers and thunderstorms affected southern Middle Tennessee during the early morning hours of March 31, 2021. Thunderstorms repeatedly moved across Wayne, Lawrence, and Giles Counties for many hours, causing widespread flash flooding.
Flash Flood · Mar 24, 2020. Numerous showers and thunderstorms developed across Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours of March 24, including one supercell thunderstorm that tracked through Wayne and Lawrence Counties. Although no severe weather was reported, several incidents of flash flooding occurred.
Flash Flood · Feb 5, 2020. After an unusually wet January, another strong storm system brought more heavy rainfall, flooding, and severe storms to parts of Middle Tennessee on February 5th. A line of strong to severe thunderstorms known as a QLCS (Quasi-linear Convective System) developed in northern Mississippi and moved across southern and eastern Middle Tennessee during the afternoon and evening hours. These storms spawned 6 weak tornado…
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 Wayne 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.