Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Alcoa faces less hazard damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alcoa gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns, #51 of 177 in Tennessee. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (53%), then earthquakes (33%). Flood insurance has paid 12 claims here since 1981.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Alcoa faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Earthquakes
Tornadoes
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Alcoa’s grade
River and rain flooding is 53% of the building damage FEMA expects in Alcoa, and Alcoa’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Lightning adds 2%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
B #51 of 177 in Tennessee; lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Alcoa’s residents live in 9 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Tennessee town has higher expected damage than 53% of U.S. towns; within the state, Alcoa has less expected damage per building than 72% of Tennessee towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.3M a year in losses across Alcoa: $2.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Alcoa flood? Sometimes: 12 flood claims since 1981
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Alcoa, from FEMA’s records: 2.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 60% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Alcoa 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.6 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Alcoa
Disasters that paid out in Alcoa itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Alcoa), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2019Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$14K to the City of Alcoa for repairs4 flood claims paid that year
- 2017Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$215K to the City of Alcoa for repairs
- 2015Severe Winter Storm and Flooding$306K to the City of Alcoa for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Associated Flooding2 households applied for aid$222K to the City of Alcoa for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
- 2002Severe Storms and Flooding$12K to the City of Alcoa for repairs2 flood claims paid that year
Blount County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Blount County, 2016–2016.
Old photos of Alcoa after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Alcoa archive →Alcoa and its neighbors
Alcoa is 4th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville | B+less damage than 73% | river and rain flooding | 272 |
| Maryville | B+less damage than 68% | river and rain flooding | 8 |
| Eagleton Village | B+less damage than 67% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Alcoa | Bless damage than 64% | river and rain flooding | 12 |
| Louisville | Cmore damage than 72% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Rockford | — | 824 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Alcoa faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
- A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
- Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
- 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.
Questions about natural hazards in Alcoa
Is Alcoa at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Alcoa has lower expected damage per building than 64% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk, #51 of 177 in Tennessee. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (53%) and earthquakes (33%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Alcoa flood?
Flood insurance has paid 12 claims in Alcoa since 1981, $837K in all, or 2.1 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 60% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. 3 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Alcoa in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Blount County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Alcoa?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Alcoa’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Alcoa?
By FEMA money that reached Alcoa, Severe Winter Storm and Flooding (2015): $306K to the City of Alcoa for repairs.
Is Alcoa at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (53%), and Alcoa’s rate for it is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Alcoa.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Alcoa’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.