Natural hazards · Rockvale

Rockvale, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Rockvale comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2013. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Rockvale?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Rockvale to be higher than in 34% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding48%Cold waves22%Tornadoes14%Earthquakes9%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Rockvale faces

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

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 53% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

22% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

14% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 31 years in the area

Earthquakes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 76% of U.S. places

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 Rockvale flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Rockvale, from FEMA’s records.

7paid claims since 2013

$409Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20132026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Rutherford County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2flood-prone properties bought out and cleared

Disasters that hit Rockvale

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into RockvaleDeclared for Rutherford County only

2026

Severe Winter Storm

2 households applied for aid

2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

4 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2010

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

30 households applied for aid $91K aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid

Rutherford County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

Around Rockvale

Rockvale and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Murfreesboromostly inland floodingModerate

Rockvalemostly 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. Rockvale covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Rockvale’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Rockvale. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Rockvale total about $1.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.