Natural hazards · Cosby

Cosby, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Cosby comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high 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 Cosby?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Cosby to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding66%Cold waves13%Tornadoes6%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Cosby faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 54% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 51% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 68 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Cosby flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Cocke County.

Disasters that hit Cosby

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into CosbyDeclared for Cocke County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

253 households applied for aid $771K aid approved

2011

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

17 households applied for aid $10K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

Cocke County has had 20 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. Cosby 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 Cosby’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Cosby. 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.