Buffalo Church · Photo: Coal town guy · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Reedy
Reedy isn’t graded for hazard risk: Reedy has 292 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 37 claims here since 1978.
What Reedy 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
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.
Does Reedy flood? Sometimes: 37 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Reedy, from FEMA’s records.
Reedy isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Roane County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Reedy
Disasters that paid out in Reedy itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Town of Reedy), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2024Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides15 households applied for aid$92K aid approved1 flood claim paid that year
- 2016Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides2 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
- 2004Severe Storms, Flooding, and Landslides4 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
- 2003Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides21 households applied for aid$19K aid approved4 flood claims paid that year
- 2000Flooding, Severe Storms, and Landslides$19K to the Town of Reedy for repairs12 flood claims paid that year
Roane 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.
Old photos of Reedy after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Reedy archive →Get ready for what Reedy 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.
- 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 Reedy
Does Reedy flood?
Flood insurance has paid 37 claims in Reedy since 1978, $311K in all. 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Is Reedy 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 Roane County, 11% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Reedy?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Reedy’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 Reedy?
By FEMA money that reached Reedy, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2024): 15 households applied for aid, $92K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Reedy.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Reedy’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.