Natural hazards · Gates

Gates, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Gates comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very 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 Gates?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

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

Earthquakes53%Tornadoes17%Inland flooding11%Cold waves7%Heat waves5%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Gates faces

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

Earthquakes

53% of expected damage

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

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 25 years in the area

Inland flooding

11% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 28% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 18% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 80% of U.S. places

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Gates flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lauderdale County.

Disasters that hit Gates

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into GatesDeclared for Lauderdale County only

2011

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

5 households applied for aid

2010

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

6 households applied for aid $21K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $2K aid approved

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