Natural hazards · Ooltewah

Ooltewah, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ooltewah comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low 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 Ooltewah?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ooltewah to be higher than in 33% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding52%Tornadoes23%Earthquakes13%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Ooltewah faces

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

Inland flooding

52% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 42% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

13% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Ooltewah flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Hamilton County.

Disasters that hit Ooltewah

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into OoltewahDeclared for Hamilton County only

2020

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

282 households applied for aid $702K aid approved

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and

184 households applied for aid $73K aid approved

2011

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

160 households applied for aid $59K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

31 households applied for aid $80K aid approved

Hamilton County has had 22 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Ooltewah

Ooltewah and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Collegedalemostly inland floodingModerate

Ooltewahmostly inland floodingLow

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