Earthquake Risk in Tennessee

All Tennessee counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index earthquake score

Earthquake risk — ground shaking from sudden movement along geologic faults — is rated for 95 of 95 Tennessee counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Shelby County carries the state's highest earthquake score at 99.5, with $215M in expected annual earthquake losses.

3 Tennessee counties are rated High or Very High for earthquake, and expected annual losses from earthquake total roughly $746M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Earthquake

#CountyEarthquake ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Shelby County
99.5
High 0.01 / yr $215M
2 Davidson County
98.2
High 0.00 / yr $58M
3 Madison County
98.2
High 0.01 / yr $46M
4 Dyer County
97.6
Medium 0.02 / yr $31M
5 Gibson County
97.1
Medium 0.01 / yr $27M
6 Knox County
96.8
Medium 0.00 / yr $30M
7 Obion County
96.6
Medium 0.02 / yr $20M
8 Tipton County
95.8
Medium 0.01 / yr $13M
9 Hamilton County
95.7
Medium 0.00 / yr $17M
10 Weakley County
95.7
Medium 0.01 / yr $18M
11 Lauderdale County
95.5
Medium 0.01 / yr $11M
12 Montgomery County
95.3
Medium 0.01 / yr $18M
13 Fayette County
95.3
Medium 0.01 / yr $13M
14 Henry County
94.9
Medium 0.01 / yr $10M
15 Haywood County
94.9
Medium 0.01 / yr $9M
16 Rutherford County
94.8
Medium 0.00 / yr $17M
17 Carroll County
94.4
Medium 0.01 / yr $10M
18 Crockett County
93.7
Medium 0.01 / yr $7M
19 Hardeman County
93.4
Medium 0.01 / yr $6M
20 Blount County
93.1
Medium 0.01 / yr $10M
21 Lake County
93.1
Medium 0.02 / yr $6M
22 Henderson County
92.6
Medium 0.01 / yr $7M
23 Bradley County
91.9
Medium 0.00 / yr $8M
24 Sumner County
91.7
Medium 0.00 / yr $9M
25 Hardin County
90.3
Medium 0.00 / yr $4M
26 McNairy County
90.3
Medium 0.01 / yr $5M
27 Chester County
90.1
Low 0.01 / yr $5M
28 Sevier County
90.0
Low 0.00 / yr $4M
29 Maury County
89.8
Low 0.00 / yr $6M
30 Loudon County
89.7
Low 0.01 / yr $4M
31 Williamson County
89.4
Low 0.00 / yr $8M
32 Lawrence County
89.2
Low 0.00 / yr $4M
33 Monroe County
89.1
Low 0.01 / yr $3M
34 Dickson County
89.1
Low 0.00 / yr $5M
35 McMinn County
88.9
Low 0.01 / yr $4M
36 Wilson County
88.8
Low 0.00 / yr $6M
37 Robertson County
88.7
Low 0.00 / yr $5M
38 Benton County
88.4
Low 0.01 / yr $3M
39 Anderson County
87.8
Low 0.00 / yr $3M
40 Coffee County
87.4
Low 0.00 / yr $3M
41 Sullivan County
87.2
Low 0.00 / yr $3M
42 Roane County
86.3
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
43 Hamblen County
85.9
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
44 Putnam County
85.7
Low 0.00 / yr $3M
45 Cumberland County
85.4
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
46 Humphreys County
84.8
Low 0.01 / yr $2M
47 Greene County
84.2
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
48 Washington County
84.0
Low 0.00 / yr $3M
49 Decatur County
83.4
Low 0.01 / yr $2M
50 Warren County
83.1
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
51 Bedford County
83.0
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
52 Jefferson County
82.6
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
53 Stewart County
82.6
Low 0.01 / yr $2M
54 Hickman County
82.2
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
55 Franklin County
80.8
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
56 Lincoln County
80.4
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
57 Cheatham County
79.8
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
58 Wayne County
77.5
Low 0.00 / yr $936K
59 Campbell County
77.1
Low 0.00 / yr $901K
60 Cocke County
76.9
Low 0.00 / yr $841K
61 Giles County
76.6
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
62 Rhea County
75.9
Low 0.00 / yr $1M
63 Marshall County
75.8
Low 0.00 / yr $2M
64 Hawkins County
74.2
Low 0.00 / yr $794K
65 Macon County
72.8
Low 0.00 / yr $749K
66 Claiborne County
72.6
Low 0.00 / yr $718K
67 Perry County
72.5
Low 0.00 / yr $609K
68 Houston County
72.3
Low 0.01 / yr $881K
69 Lewis County
71.4
Low 0.00 / yr $815K
70 Polk County
70.8
Low 0.00 / yr $560K
71 Carter County
70.6
Low 0.00 / yr $568K
72 Marion County
70.1
Low 0.00 / yr $651K
73 DeKalb County
69.0
Low 0.00 / yr $658K
74 White County
68.8
Low 0.00 / yr $608K
75 Grainger County
67.6
Low 0.00 / yr $525K
76 Meigs County
65.6
Low 0.00 / yr $459K
77 Grundy County
64.2
Low 0.00 / yr $338K
78 Fentress County
60.2
Low 0.00 / yr $303K
79 Bledsoe County
60.2
Low 0.00 / yr $335K
80 Union County
60.0
Low 0.00 / yr $419K
81 Morgan County
58.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $381K
82 Scott County
57.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $297K
83 Overton County
53.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $310K
84 Cannon County
53.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $289K
85 Sequatchie County
52.3
Very Low 0.00 / yr $271K
86 Smith County
50.6
Very Low 0.00 / yr $392K
87 Moore County
47.5
Very Low 0.00 / yr $213K
88 Johnson County
46.9
Very Low 0.00 / yr $147K
89 Jackson County
46.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $138K
90 Clay County
44.2
Very Low 0.00 / yr $151K
91 Hancock County
44.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $114K
92 Unicoi County
43.8
Very Low 0.00 / yr $169K
93 Trousdale County
38.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $184K
94 Pickett County
34.1
Very Low 0.00 / yr $76K
95 Van Buren County
33.0
Very Low 0.00 / yr $107K

95 Tennessee counties with measurable earthquake risk. See the national earthquake ranking or all Tennessee counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Tennessee county has the highest earthquake risk?

Shelby County has the highest FEMA earthquake risk score in Tennessee at 99.5 (High), with $215M in expected annual losses and about 0.01 events per year.

How many Tennessee counties face significant earthquake risk?

95 Tennessee counties record measurable earthquake risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 3 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Tennessee

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