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Chimney Rock FarmChimney Rock Farm · Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
Natural hazards in Pounding Mill · FEMA

Storms, floods and disasters in Pounding Mill

Pounding Mill isn’t graded for hazard risk: Pounding Mill has 222 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.

Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
4
of 22 declared for Tazewell County
By hazard

What Pounding Mill 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

93%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 3 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Strong wind Tornadoes Hurricanes Wildfire Hail Winter storms Cold waves Lightning Ice storms Landslides Avalanches top 1%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHeat wavesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 12% of Pounding Mill’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.1%), 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.
Flood insurance claims

Does Pounding Mill flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pounding Mill. 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

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

Insurance rates: Tazewell County.
Disasters

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Pounding Mill

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

  1. 2024Tropical Storm Helene151 households applied for aid$75K aid approved
  2. 2004Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding9 households applied for aid$19K aid approved
  3. 2003Severe Storms and Flooding8 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
  4. 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snowfall, Heavy Rain,floodind, and Mudslide2 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Pounding MillTazewell County only

Tazewell County has had 22 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.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Pounding Mill archive →
Next door

Pounding Mill and its neighbors

How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Claypool Hill: hazard risk C−Claypool HillPounding Mill
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Claypool HillC−more damage than 76%river and rain flooding—

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 Pounding Mill 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 ↗
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 Pounding Mill

Is Pounding Mill 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 Tazewell County, 32% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.7% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Pounding Mill?

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

By FEMA money that reached Pounding Mill, Tropical Storm Helene (2024): 151 households applied for aid, $75K approved.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Pounding Mill.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

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