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Natural hazards · Brownsville

Brownsville, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Brownsville comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 58 claims here since 1987. 9 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Brownsville?

80
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Brownsville to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes59%Inland flooding15%Cold waves10%Tornadoes8%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Brownsville faces

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

Earthquakes

59% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

10% of expected damage
Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 34 years in the area

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 Brownsville flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Brownsville, from FEMA’s records.

58paid claims since 1987
$1.4Mpaid to owners
2homes flooded more than once
19872026

Biggest named events

  • Late spring storms: 41 claims, $1.1M
  • Late winter severe storms: 1 claim, $6K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

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

What’s been done with FEMA grants

15flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
4storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Brownsville

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BrownsvilleDeclared for Haywood County only
2026

Severe Winter Storm

1 household applied for aid $300 aid approved
2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

96 households applied for aid $118K aid approved
2022

Severe Winter Storm

$15K to the City of Brownsville for repairs
2014

Severe Winter Storm

$126K to the City of Brownsville for repairs
2010

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

730 households applied for aid $2.0M aid approved $75K to the City of Brownsville for repairs
2009

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

$64K to the City of Brownsville for repairs
2008

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

25 households applied for aid
2006

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

26 households applied for aid $7K aid approved $14K to the City of Brownsville for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

31 households applied for aid $7K aid approved
Haywood County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter 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. Brownsville 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 Brownsville’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Brownsville. 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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