Natural hazards · Bell Buckle

Bell Buckle, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bell Buckle comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bell Buckle?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bell Buckle to be higher than in 44% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding44%Cold waves19%Tornadoes18%Earthquakes7%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Bell Buckle faces

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

Inland flooding

44% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Earthquakes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 75% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

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 Bell Buckle flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bedford County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Bell Buckle

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Bell BuckleDeclared for Bedford County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

1 household applied for aid $3K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $6K aid approved $4K to the Town of Bell Buckle for repairs

2002

Severe Storms and Tornados

1 household applied for aid

Bedford County has had 15 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. Bell Buckle 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 Bell Buckle’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bell Buckle. 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.