Natural hazards · Lafayette

Lafayette, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lafayette comes from tornadoes, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Lafayette?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lafayette to be higher than in 27% of U.S. communities, mostly from tornadoes and inland flooding.

Tornadoes24%Inland flooding21%Earthquakes19%Cold waves16%Strong wind10%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Lafayette faces

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

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

21% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 11% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

19% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Lafayette flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Macon County.

Disasters that hit Lafayette

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into LafayetteDeclared for Macon County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

114 households applied for aid $68K aid approved $253K to the City of Lafayette for repairs

2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

15 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2010

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

112 households applied for aid $275K aid approved $71K to the City of Lafayette for repairs

2008

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

466 households applied for aid $1.5M aid approved $324K to the City of Lafayette for repairs

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Macon County has had 18 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. Lafayette 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 Lafayette’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Lafayette. 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.