Natural hazards · Sweetwater

Sweetwater, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sweetwater comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1999. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sweetwater?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sweetwater to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding36%Earthquakes30%Tornadoes12%Cold waves7%Strong wind7%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Sweetwater faces

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

Inland flooding

36% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

30% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

12% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places

Cold waves

7% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Sweetwater flood?

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

3paid claims since 1999

$16Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19992026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Monroe County.

Disasters that hit Sweetwater

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SweetwaterDeclared for Monroe County only

2015

Severe Winter Storm and Flooding

$82K to the City of Sweetwater for repairs

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and

2 households applied for aid

2011

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

14 households applied for aid $510 aid approved

2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

19 households applied for aid $33K aid approved $1K to the City of Sweetwater for repairs

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

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