Natural hazards · Dresden

Dresden, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Dresden comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1998. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Dresden?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Dresden to be higher than in 79% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and cold waves.

Earthquakes50%Cold waves16%Tornadoes12%Inland flooding9%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Dresden faces

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

Earthquakes

50% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Inland flooding

9% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 16% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year 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 Dresden flood?

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

3paid claims since 1998

$15Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19982026

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

Insurance rates: Weakley County.

Disasters that hit Dresden

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into DresdenDeclared for Weakley County only

2021

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

230 households applied for aid $486K aid approved $5.2M to the Town of Dresden for repairs

2014

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

$47K to the Town of Dresden for repairs

2011

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

$10K to the Town of Dresden for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

13 households applied for aid $17K aid approved

Weakley County has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

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