89 flood insurance claims·$1.4M paid·4 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Arkansas County, Arkansas. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding and river floods driven by severe weather dominate the historical flood profile of Arkansas County, as recorded by 48 flash flood events and 18 general flood events over the last 30 years, alongside impacts from tropical systems.
Recent occurrences illustrate these risks. In January 2023, severe thunderstorms brought localized damage and flooding to portions of the state. Subsequent river flooding occurred in early 2025, including heavy rains in February that flooded portions of the middle to lower White River, and minor flooding along the Cache River at Patterson in late January.
Residents in high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas, designated as Zone A, should pay the closest attention to flood preparedness, accounting for 73 NFIP claims with an average payout of $19,011 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. However, property owners outside designated high-risk zones also face exposure, as demonstrated by 13 claims in Zone X averaging $37,559 with an average water depth of 8 inches, as well as isolated claims in unshaded and unmapped zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
1% of Arkansas County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
74 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 9 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2011, with 24 claims and $570,339 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
31 NOAA storm reports from Arkansas County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 25, 2023 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 21, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 8, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
74 since 1996: 48 flash floods and 18 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 27, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Mar 22, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 5, 2022 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. The Cache River at Patterson re-entered minor flood stage on the final day of the month. The river at this site never reached a crest during this period.
Flood · May 27, 2025. River flooding was noted along the Spring, White, Fourche LaFave, Arkansas, and Ouachita Rivers.
Flash Flood · May 25, 2025. Heavy rains brought isolated flash flooding to portions of Arkansas.
Flood · Feb 6, 2025. Heavy rains brought flooding to portions of the middle to lower White River during the early to middle portion of February.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Arkansas County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.