Townsend’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Townsend comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2020. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Townsend’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Townsend flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 2020
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Townsend, from FEMA’s records.
Townsend isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Blount County.How exposed is Townsend?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 59% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.
Rated higher than 267 of the 503 Tennessee towns we cover.
Townsend is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Townsend faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
Earthquakes
Landslides
1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Townsend
Disasters that paid out in Townsend itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Townsend) and its biggest flood years.
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding10 households applied for aid$20K aid approved
Blount County has had 15 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.
Old photos of Townsend after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Townsend archive →Get ready for what Townsend actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Most disasters here begin in February–April
The month each of Blount County’s 15 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Townsend’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Townsend.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Townsend.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.