Natural hazards · Dowelltown

Dowelltown, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dowelltown comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 11 claims here since 2002. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dowelltown?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding65%Tornadoes11%Cold waves9%Strong wind6%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Dowelltown faces

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

Inland flooding

65% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 10 years in the area

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times 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 Dowelltown flood?

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

11paid claims since 2002

$154Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

20022026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 2 claims, $16K
Late spring storms: 1 claim, $12K

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. Dowelltown isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: DeKalb County.

Disasters that hit Dowelltown

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DowelltownDeclared for DeKalb County only

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and

3 households applied for aid $772 aid approved

2010

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

10 households applied for aid $18K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

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