FEMA NRI 1.19.0Updated Nov 2023 · Coverage 2014–2023Methodology

Tennessee Disaster Risk

Natural disaster risk data for all 95 counties.

Avg FEMA Rating

Relatively Low

Avg Percentile

53th

Counties with Data

of 95 total

County risk atlas

Tennessee hazard exposure by county

A compact 2.5D surface of FEMA National Risk Index percentiles. Toggle composite, flood, wildfire, hurricane, tornado, and earthquake risk to see which counties carry the highest relative exposure without loading the full national explorer dataset.

Counties

95/95

Avg composite

53th

Risk layers

Highest Risk Counties

Shelby County

Relatively High

99th percentile

Davidson County

Relatively High

97th percentile

Hamilton County

Relatively Moderate

93th percentile

Knox County

Relatively Moderate

92th percentile

Madison County

Relatively Moderate

92th percentile

Lowest Risk Counties

Van Buren County

Very Low

3th percentile

Pickett County

Very Low

5th percentile

Trousdale County

Very Low

6th percentile

Moore County

Very Low

10th percentile

Unicoi County

Very Low

11th percentile

All Tennessee Counties

County	Percentile	FEMA Rating	Flood	Wildfire	Tornado	Earthquake
Shelby County	99th	Relatively High	98.7	71.1	99.8	99.5
Davidson County	97th	Relatively High	98.2	57.5	97.9	98.2
Hamilton County	93th	Relatively Moderate	94.9	70.6	98.6	95.7
Knox County	92th	Relatively Moderate	92.8	63.0	96.7	96.8
Madison County	92th	Relatively Moderate	72.6	43.3	97.2	98.2
Rutherford County	92th	Relatively Moderate	93.4	43.4	95.0	94.8
Sumner County	88th	Relatively Moderate	88.6	37.8	95.5	91.7
Montgomery County	87th	Relatively Moderate	84.5	28.2	91.9	95.3
Dyer County	87th	Relatively Moderate	37.8	24.6	88.4	97.6
Gibson County	86th	Relatively Moderate	52.9	18.5	91.7	97.1
Williamson County	85th	Relatively Moderate	88.2	39.8	88.9	89.4
Henry County	85th	Relatively Moderate	38.8	23.5	83.9	94.9
Obion County	81th	Relatively Moderate	38.1	14.7	70.6	96.6
Tipton County	81th	Relatively Moderate	53.9	32.0	92.8	95.8
Wilson County	80th	Relatively Low	82.1	37.3	85.8	88.8
Maury County	79th	Relatively Low	74.6	33.2	94.0	89.8
Sevier County	77th	Relatively Low	84.1	78.7	70.9	90.0
Fayette County	76th	Relatively Low	51.6	61.4	89.4	95.3
Blount County	74th	Relatively Low	74.0	69.4	67.4	93.1
Weakley County	74th	Relatively Low	21.9	13.8	77.9	95.7
Bradley County	73th	Relatively Low	69.1	47.2	88.4	91.9
Anderson County	73th	Relatively Low	77.7	54.3	80.0	87.8
Carroll County	73th	Relatively Low	27.2	20.2	87.1	94.4
Lauderdale County	72th	Relatively Low	25.2	19.1	84.4	95.5
Sullivan County	71th	Relatively Low	81.6	36.5	47.2	87.2
Hardin County	71th	Relatively Low	54.4	28.9	76.0	90.3
Lawrence County	70th	Relatively Low	56.9	14.1	91.3	89.2
Bedford County	69th	Relatively Low	70.2	19.0	83.1	83.0
Roane County	69th	Relatively Low	69.9	47.7	71.9	86.3
Loudon County	68th	Relatively Low	71.6	44.1	67.0	89.7
Cumberland County	67th	Relatively Low	58.4	72.6	86.1	85.4
Putnam County	66th	Relatively Low	60.2	27.1	86.9	85.7
Haywood County	65th	Relatively Low	24.9	10.4	66.9	94.9
Coffee County	64th	Relatively Low	56.0	11.5	86.3	87.4
Warren County	63th	Relatively Low	57.0	23.6	85.0	83.1
Carter County	63th	Relatively Low	77.4	60.8	45.4	70.6
Henderson County	63th	Relatively Low	32.8	19.4	80.0	92.6
Hardeman County	63th	Relatively Low	30.3	34.9	83.7	93.4
Washington County	61th	Relatively Low	71.1	42.8	50.1	84.0
Giles County	61th	Relatively Low	60.8	19.8	85.2	76.6
Monroe County	61th	Relatively Low	65.1	68.6	63.8	89.1
Robertson County	60th	Relatively Low	53.1	23.6	73.2	88.7
McMinn County	60th	Relatively Low	62.6	49.2	71.2	88.9
Lincoln County	59th	Relatively Low	57.0	15.5	85.6	80.4
Marion County	58th	Relatively Low	61.4	59.7	81.8	70.1
Campbell County	58th	Relatively Low	65.7	78.9	71.1	77.1
Franklin County	58th	Relatively Low	58.3	17.3	77.4	80.8
Greene County	56th	Relatively Low	63.5	45.0	61.8	84.2
Hawkins County	56th	Relatively Low	64.7	50.7	49.9	74.2
Cocke County	55th	Relatively Low	68.5	61.8	50.2	76.9
Dickson County	53th	Relatively Low	44.6	20.5	75.4	89.1
Crockett County	53th	Relatively Low	14.1	7.8	55.2	93.7
McNairy County	51th	Relatively Low	33.3	26.5	60.3	90.3
Rhea County	49th	Relatively Low	62.7	48.3	56.5	75.9
Humphreys County	48th	Relatively Low	46.0	10.8	74.6	84.8
Lake County	48th	Relatively Low	8.8	1.8	53.7	93.1
Hickman County	47th	Relatively Low	46.8	12.0	82.2	82.2
Hamblen County	47th	Relatively Low	54.6	40.2	61.4	85.9
Cheatham County	46th	Relatively Low	54.5	14.8	67.0	79.8
Marshall County	45th	Relatively Low	49.7	20.8	76.2	75.8
Jefferson County	45th	Relatively Low	56.8	42.9	59.6	82.6
Chester County	44th	Relatively Low	21.8	14.5	71.8	90.1
Wayne County	43th	Relatively Low	47.7	12.2	73.9	77.5
Claiborne County	43th	Relatively Low	51.7	81.4	47.8	72.6
Sequatchie County	40th	Very Low	35.1	51.0	47.4	52.3
Benton County	39th	Very Low	20.2	15.8	55.9	88.4
White County	39th	Very Low	42.7	30.6	66.0	68.8
Decatur County	38th	Very Low	33.5	13.3	66.7	83.4
Macon County	35th	Very Low	31.2	12.0	68.9	72.8
Grundy County	34th	Very Low	29.4	56.1	74.5	64.2
Perry County	33th	Very Low	47.1	7.8	60.1	72.5
Polk County	31th	Very Low	42.6	75.6	50.7	70.8
Stewart County	29th	Very Low	22.8	7.6	65.0	82.6
Fentress County	28th	Very Low	21.3	68.5	47.6	60.2
Johnson County	28th	Very Low	47.2	54.9	25.4	46.9
Scott County	26th	Very Low	29.2	68.8	46.8	57.3
DeKalb County	25th	Very Low	34.5	7.7	48.9	69.0
Bledsoe County	24th	Very Low	27.9	57.0	55.0	60.2
Cannon County	23th	Very Low	39.5	4.2	57.6	53.1
Jackson County	23th	Very Low	37.0	7.0	53.1	46.8
Overton County	22th	Very Low	27.4	28.3	45.2	53.8
Morgan County	19th	Very Low	25.7	63.5	39.3	58.3
Smith County	19th	Very Low	31.6	5.9	49.8	50.6
Grainger County	19th	Very Low	33.6	48.7	39.2	67.6
Lewis County	14th	Very Low	13.3	9.4	59.2	71.4
Clay County	13th	Very Low	27.7	4.1	38.5	44.2
Houston County	13th	Very Low	14.0	3.0	45.9	72.3
Union County	13th	Very Low	26.0	50.4	35.3	60.0
Meigs County	13th	Very Low	21.3	32.3	35.6	65.6
Hancock County	12th	Very Low	32.7	48.8	20.2	44.0
Unicoi County	11th	Very Low	27.4	32.5	17.5	43.8
Moore County	10th	Very Low	19.2	2.4	50.5	47.5
Trousdale County	6th	Very Low	13.4	3.1	32.2	38.0
Pickett County	5th	Very Low	9.2	12.1	25.7	34.1
Van Buren County	3th	Very Low	7.5	36.3	27.4	33.0

Frequently Asked Questions

Which county in Tennessee has the highest natural disaster risk?

Shelby County has the highest natural disaster risk in Tennessee, rated Relatively High (99th percentile nationally), based on FEMA National Risk Index data.

Which county in Tennessee is the safest from natural disasters?

Van Buren County has the lowest natural disaster risk in Tennessee, rated Very Low (3th percentile nationally), based on FEMA NRI data.

What natural disasters are most common in Tennessee?

Tennessee counties face varying levels of risk from floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The FEMA National Risk Index scores each county across 18 hazard types. See individual county pages for detailed hazard breakdowns.

How is natural disaster risk measured by county?

The FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) measures natural disaster risk using expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Scores are normalized nationally, with ratings from Very Low to Very High across 18 natural hazard types.

Prepare your household for natural disasters

FEMA's Ready.gov provides county-specific preparedness checklists and emergency planning guides.

FEMA Ready Guide →

Data Source

Risk data sourced from the FEMA National Risk Index (NRI). Risk scores are relative rankings (0–100) across all US counties — not absolute risk measures. Higher scores indicate higher relative risk compared to other counties.

Disclaimer: This data is informational only. It is not financial, insurance, or legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making insurance or real estate decisions.

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