Natural hazards · Tazewell

Tazewell, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Tazewell comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Tazewell?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Tazewell to be higher than in 47% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.

Inland flooding49%Cold waves20%Tornadoes9%Strong wind6%Earthquakes5%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Tazewell faces

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

Inland flooding

49% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 48% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 76 years in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

5% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesLightning

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 Tazewell flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Claiborne County.

Disasters that hit Tazewell

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TazewellDeclared for Claiborne County only

2012

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and

2 households applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and

$113K to the Town of Tazewell for repairs

Claiborne County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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