Tennessee Natural Disaster Risk by County

FEMA National Risk Index rankings for all 95 counties

Counties
95
All ranked by NRI score
State Avg. Score
52.5
Medium risk
Total State EAL
$3B
Expected annual losses
Highest Risk
Shelby
Score 99.4 · High

Tennessee spans 95 counties with an average FEMA National Risk Index score of 52.5 (moderate risk) and roughly $3B in combined expected annual loss statewide. 2 counties are rated High or Very High risk.

Leading the state for risk is Shelby County (score 99.4, high), while Van Buren County (score 2.7) carries the lowest. Use the table below to compare every county by score, top hazard, and expected annual loss.

County Rankings

#CountyRisk ScoreRisk RatingTop HazardAnn. Loss
1Shelby County
99.4
High Cold Wave$555M
2Davidson County
97.2
High Earthquake$262M
3Hamilton County
93.3
Medium Tornado$140M
4Knox County
92.1
Medium Lightning$131M
5Madison County
92.1
Medium Earthquake$91M
6Rutherford County
91.7
Medium Cold Wave$135M
7Sumner County
87.7
Medium Tornado$87M
8Montgomery County
87.4
Medium Earthquake$78M
9Dyer County
86.6
Medium Earthquake$47M
10Gibson County
85.9
Medium Earthquake$49M
11Williamson County
85.1
Medium Cold Wave$98M
12Henry County
84.7
Medium Cold Wave$38M
13Obion County
81.3
Medium Earthquake$35M
14Tipton County
81.0
Medium Earthquake$34M
15Wilson County
80.0
Low Cold Wave$60M
16Maury County
79.3
Low Tornado$46M
17Sevier County
77.4
Low Landslide$32M
18Fayette County
76.0
Low Earthquake$30M
19Blount County
74.2
Low Landslide$37M
20Weakley County
74.0
Low Earthquake$35M
21Bradley County
73.4
Low Earthquake$36M
22Anderson County
73.2
Low Landslide$29M
23Carroll County
72.8
Low Earthquake$25M
24Lauderdale County
71.6
Low Earthquake$20M
25Sullivan County
71.5
Low Landslide$29M
26Hardin County
70.7
Low Landslide$20M
27Lawrence County
69.7
Low Tornado$22M
28Bedford County
69.2
Low Cold Wave$25M
29Roane County
69.0
Low Landslide$22M
30Loudon County
68.4
Low Earthquake$22M
31Cumberland County
67.2
Low Cold Wave$19M
32Putnam County
65.8
Low Lightning$24M
33Haywood County
64.7
Low Earthquake$16M
34Coffee County
63.5
Low Earthquake$23M
35Warren County
63.5
Low Tornado$18M
36Carter County
63.2
Low Landslide$16M
37Henderson County
63.1
Low Earthquake$19M
38Hardeman County
63.0
Low Earthquake$15M
39Washington County
61.2
Low Landslide$23M
40Giles County
60.9
Low Strong Wind$18M
41Monroe County
60.9
Low Landslide$16M
42Robertson County
60.4
Low Earthquake$24M
43McMinn County
60.2
Low Earthquake$18M
44Lincoln County
58.9
Low Tornado$16M
45Marion County
58.2
Low Strong Wind$16M
46Campbell County
58.0
Low Landslide$14M
47Franklin County
57.5
Low Earthquake$20M
48Greene County
56.3
Low Landslide$14M
49Hawkins County
55.8
Low Landslide$14M
50Cocke County
54.5
Low Landslide$12M
51Dickson County
53.5
Low Earthquake$19M
52Crockett County
52.6
Low Earthquake$13M
53McNairy County
50.5
Low Earthquake$15M
54Rhea County
49.2
Low Landslide$14M
55Humphreys County
48.3
Low Earthquake$13M
56Lake County
47.8
Low Earthquake$10M
57Hickman County
47.2
Low Earthquake$13M
58Hamblen County
47.1
Low Earthquake$12M
59Cheatham County
46.3
Low Earthquake$17M
60Marshall County
45.4
Low Tornado$20M
61Jefferson County
44.9
Low Landslide$12M
62Chester County
44.5
Low Earthquake$13M
63Wayne County
43.0
Low Earthquake$9M
64Claiborne County
42.8
Low Landslide$10M
65Sequatchie County
40.2
Very Low Cold Wave$11M
66Benton County
39.1
Very Low Earthquake$10M
67White County
38.5
Very Low Winter Weather$10M
68Decatur County
38.4
Very Low Earthquake$8M
69Macon County
34.6
Very Low Earthquake$9M
70Grundy County
34.3
Very Low Cold Wave$6M
71Perry County
33.4
Very Low Earthquake$7M
72Polk County
31.2
Very Low Landslide$7M
73Stewart County
29.4
Very Low Earthquake$7M
74Fentress County
28.4
Very Low Lightning$6M
75Johnson County
28.2
Very Low Landslide$6M
76Scott County
26.1
Very Low Landslide$6M
77DeKalb County
25.5
Very Low Earthquake$8M
78Bledsoe County
24.1
Very Low Landslide$6M
79Cannon County
22.9
Very Low Tornado$7M
80Jackson County
22.5
Very Low Landslide$5M
81Overton County
22.2
Very Low Lightning$7M
82Morgan County
19.1
Very Low Landslide$6M
83Smith County
18.8
Very Low Landslide$10M
84Grainger County
18.6
Very Low Landslide$5M
85Lewis County
13.9
Very Low Earthquake$5M
86Clay County
13.3
Very Low Landslide$4M
87Houston County
13.1
Very Low Earthquake$5M
88Union County
12.9
Very Low Landslide$5M
89Meigs County
12.7
Very Low Landslide$4M
90Hancock County
11.9
Very Low Landslide$3M
91Unicoi County
10.6
Very Low Landslide$4M
92Moore County
9.9
Very Low Tornado$4M
93Trousdale County
6.1
Very Low Earthquake$5M
94Pickett County
4.6
Very Low Landslide$2M
95Van Buren County
2.7
Very Low Landslide$3M

All 95 Tennessee counties, ranked by FEMA National Risk Index score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Tennessee county has the highest natural disaster risk?

Shelby County has the highest FEMA National Risk Index score in Tennessee at 99.4 (High), driven largely by cold wave.

What is the average natural disaster risk in Tennessee?

Tennessee counties average a National Risk Index score of 52.5 across 95 counties, with 2 rated High or Very High risk.

How much are expected annual losses across Tennessee?

FEMA estimates roughly $3B in combined expected annual loss from natural hazards across all Tennessee counties.

Tennessee Risk by Hazard

Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Hurricane Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Tornado Wildfire Winter Weather