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Medina-Main-Street-tnPhoto: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Medina · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Medina faces more hazard damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns, led by earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Medina gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns, #163 of 177 in Tennessee. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (43%), then river and rain flooding (41%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Earthquakes 43%River and rain flooding 41%Tornadoes 11%

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

more than 83%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#163 of 177 in Tennessee
Hazard risk
C−#163 of 177
in Tennessee · higher than 83% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
43% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
8
of 21 declared for Gibson County
By hazard

What Medina faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

43%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

41%of expected building damage
About average · higher than 55% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

11%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Ice storms Winter storms top 3% Hurricanes Hail Lightning Wildfire 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 cold waves at 12% of Medina’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), 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 Medina’s grade

Earthquakes are 43% of the building damage FEMA expects in Medina, and Medina’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts. Tornadoes add 11%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Medina sits
Medina
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− #163 of 177 in Tennessee; higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes43%River and rain flooding41%Tornadoes11%Everything else5%

The typical Tennessee town has higher expected damage than 53% of U.S. towns; within the state, Medina has more expected damage per building than 92% of Tennessee towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.5M a year in losses across Medina: $1.5M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Medina’s 5,126 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 Medina flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Medina. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Medina isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Gibson County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
3storm safe rooms built
Disasters

8 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Medina

Disasters that paid out in Medina itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Medina), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2026Severe Winter Storm3 households applied for aid$300 aid approved
  2. 2019Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$21K to the City of Medina for repairs
  3. 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Associated Flooding1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved$4K to the City of Medina for repairs
  4. 2011Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding3 households applied for aid$1K aid approved$6K to the City of Medina for repairs
  5. 2010Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes14 households applied for aid$16K aid approved$79K to the City of Medina for repairs
  6. 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding5 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
Show all 8
  1. 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding6 households applied for aid$27K aid approved
  2. 2002Severe Storms and Tornados10 households applied for aid$278 aid approved$20K to the City of Medina for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in MedinaGibson County only

Gibson County has had 21 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 Medina after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Medina archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Medina faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
Tornado warnings
  • 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.
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 Medina

Is Medina at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Medina has higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #163 of 177 in Tennessee. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (43%) and river and rain flooding (41%). 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 Medina 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 Gibson County, 14% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Medina?

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

By FEMA money that reached Medina, Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes (2010): 14 households applied for aid, $16K approved, and $79K to the City of Medina for repairs.

Is Medina at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (43%), and Medina’s rate for it is higher than 90% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Medina.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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