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Natural hazards · Parsons

Parsons, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Parsons comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Parsons?

61
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Parsons to be higher than in 61% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding26%Tornadoes21%Earthquakes21%Cold waves21%Everything else11%
By hazard

What Parsons faces

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

Inland flooding

26% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 50% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

21% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 41 years in the area

Earthquakes

21% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Cold waves

21% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 44% 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 Parsons flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Parsons isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Decatur County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Parsons

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ParsonsDeclared for Decatur County only
2026

Severe Winter Storm

76 households applied for aid $92K aid approved $62K to the City of Parsons for repairs
2021

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

$32K to the City of Parsons for repairs
2010

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

41 households applied for aid $143K aid approved
2009

Severe Storms and Flooding

$92K to the City of Parsons for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $11K aid approved
2002

Severe Storms and Flooding

$16K to the City of Parsons for repairs
1999

Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding

$4K to the City of Parsons for repairs
Decatur County has had 23 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. Parsons 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 Parsons’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Parsons. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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