Photo: Dclemens1971 · CC BY 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Lone Oak faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lone Oak gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then tornadoes (15%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Lone Oak 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
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
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 Lone Oak’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lone Oak, and Lone Oak’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 15%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
B− higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lone Oak’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $716K a year in losses across Lone Oak: $218K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lone Oak flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Lone Oak. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Lone Oak isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sequatchie County.The storms Lone Oak remembers
None of the 14 disasters declared for Sequatchie County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lone Oak itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Sequatchie County has had 14 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Sequatchie County, 1999–2016.
Lone Oak and its neighbors
Lone Oak is 2nd of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmount | Bless damage than 63% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Lone Oak | B−more damage than 55% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
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 Lone Oak 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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 Lone Oak
Is Lone Oak at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lone Oak has higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and tornadoes (15%). 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.
Is Lone Oak 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 Sequatchie County, 13% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lone Oak?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lone Oak’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lone Oak at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Lone Oak’s rate for it is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lone Oak.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lone Oak’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.