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B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Central · FEMA

FEMA expects about as much hazard damage per building in Central as in the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Central gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%). Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1999.

River and rain flooding 86%Earthquakes 8%Tornadoes 3%

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

less than 53%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in Tennessee · lower than 53% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
86% of expected building damage
Flood claims
3
paid since 1999 · $57K
Flood claims per home
3 per 1,000
fewer than 53% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Central 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

86%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

8%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Strong wind Ice storms Hurricanes Hail Lightning Wildfire Winter storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts strong wind at 10% of Central’s expected losses. Strong wind does little damage to buildings (0.8%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Central’s grade

River and rain flooding is 86% of the building damage FEMA expects in Central, and Central’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 8% (higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts).

Where Central sits
Central
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Central’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding86%Earthquakes8%Tornadoes3%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $390K a year in losses across Central: $272K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Central’s 2,114 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Central flood? Rarely: 3 flood claims since 1999

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Central, from FEMA’s records: 2.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 53% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
1999: 1 claim2000: 0 claims2001: 1 claim2002: 0 claims2003: 0 claims2004: 0 claims2005: 0 claims2006: 0 claims2007: 0 claims2008: 0 claims2009: 0 claims2010: 0 claims2011: 0 claims2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 0 claims2024: 1 claim2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims199920012024
19992026
Biggest named events
  • Hurricane Helene1 claim · $45K
3
paid claims since 1999
$57K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$19K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Central 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

The storms Central remembers

None of the 13 disasters declared for Carter County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Central itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 19991 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
  2. 20011 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms and Flooding, declared for Carter County
  3. 20241 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Helene, declared for Carter County
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in CentralCarter County only

Carter County has had 13 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Central after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Central archive →
Next door

Central and its neighbors

Central is 2nd of the 3 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Elizabethton: hazard risk B−Johnson City: hazard risk AElizabethtonJohnson CityCentral
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Johnson CityAless damage than 91%river and rain flooding78
CentralB−less damage than 53%river and rain flooding3
ElizabethtonB−less damage than 51%river and rain flooding65

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Central faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Central

Is Central at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Central has lower expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (86%) and earthquakes (8%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Central flood?

Flood insurance has paid 3 claims in Central since 1999, $57K in all, or 2.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 53% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record. The most claims came from Hurricane Helene (1).

Is Central 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 Carter County, 20% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.4% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Central?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Central’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 Central?

By flood claims, Hurricane Helene: 1 paid, $45K.

Is Central at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (86%), and Central’s rate for it is higher than 68% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Central.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Central’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.