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Natural hazards · Memphis

Memphis, IN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Memphis comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations
Expected damage

How exposed is Memphis?

65
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Memphis to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding54%Tornadoes25%Strong wind8%Cold waves7%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Memphis faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

54% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

25% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 29 years in the area

Strong wind

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Memphis flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Memphis.

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Memphis isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Clark County.
Disasters that hit Memphis

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Memphis itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Memphis.

Brought FEMA money into MemphisDeclared for Clark County only
2018

Severe Storms and Flooding

2 households applied for aid
2012

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

37 households applied for aid $5K aid approved
2008

Severe Storms and Flooding

44 households applied for aid $12K aid approved
2004

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

5 households applied for aid $16K aid approved
Clark County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Memphis is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Memphis’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Memphis. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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