Natural hazards · Watauga

Watauga, TN natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Watauga comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Watauga?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Inland flooding66%Strong wind11%Earthquakes6%Cold waves6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Watauga faces

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

Inland flooding

66% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 56% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

11% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce 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 Watauga flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Carter County.

Disasters that hit Watauga

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WataugaDeclared for Carter County only

2024

Tropical Storm Helene

38 households applied for aid $21K aid approved

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

Around Watauga

Watauga and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Wataugamostly inland floodingLow

Johnson Citymostly inland floodingVery low

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