Natural hazards · Mercer

Mercer, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Mercer comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Mercer?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Mercer to be higher than in 65% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and tornadoes.

Earthquakes33%Tornadoes21%Cold waves19%Inland flooding18%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Mercer faces

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

Earthquakes

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 14 years in the area

Cold waves

19% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 43% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 46% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times 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 Mercer flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Madison County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Mercer

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into MercerDeclared for Madison County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

12 households applied for aid $31K aid approved

2010

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

10 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2008

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

5 households applied for aid

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

9 households applied for aid $7K aid approved

Madison County has had 20 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. Mercer 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 Mercer’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Mercer. 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.