Natural hazards · McDonald

McDonald, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in McDonald comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is McDonald?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in McDonald to be higher than in 42% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding47%Tornadoes20%Earthquakes13%Cold waves9%Everything else11%

By hazard

What McDonald faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

20% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 43 years in the area

Earthquakes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Cold waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years 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 McDonald flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bradley County.

Disasters that hit McDonald

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into McDonaldDeclared for Bradley County only

2020

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

1 household applied for aid $4K aid approved

2011

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

3 households applied for aid

Bradley County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around McDonald

McDonald and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

McDonaldmostly inland floodingModerate

South Clevelandmostly tornadoesLow

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