Natural hazards · Chattanooga

Chattanooga, OK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Chattanooga comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Chattanooga?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Chattanooga to be higher than in 77% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding43%Tornadoes15%Cold waves11%Wildfire10%Drought8%Strong wind5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Chattanooga faces

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

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 6 years in the area

Cold waves

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Drought

8% of expected damage

Recorded about 100 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Chattanooga flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Chattanooga isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Comanche County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Chattanooga

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ChattanoogaDeclared for Comanche County only

2021

Severe Winter Storms

2 households applied for aid

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $15K aid approved

2010

Severe Winter Storm

$5K to the Town of Chattanooga for repairs

2007

Severe Winter Storms

$8K to the Town of Chattanooga for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$3K to the Town of Chattanooga for repairs

2007

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes

1 household applied for aid $18K aid approved

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$8K to the Town of Chattanooga for repairs

Comanche County has had 28 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and ice storms.

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. Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Chattanooga. 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.