32 flood insurance claims·$890,988 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 Clark 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.
Clark County experiences a flood risk profile dominated by regular river floods and flash floods, supported by historical records showing 72 flood events and 65 flash flood events over the last 30 years, alongside occasional tropical systems.
Recent occurrences illustrate these impacts. In January 2025, heavy rainfall caused both the Ouachita River at Arkadelphia and the Little Missouri River at Boughton to enter minor flood stages. A subsequent multiday severe weather event in April 2025 brought widespread flash flooding and river flooding across the state, with total rainfall amounts reaching between half a foot and over one foot in many locations and keeping points along the Ouachita River in flood through the end of the month.
Property owners and real estate professionals should pay the most attention to locations within high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas designated as Zone A. FEMA records show Zone A accounts for the vast majority of local claims with 25 filed, resulting in an average payout of $44,608 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. While fewer claims originate from moderate-to-low risk zones such as Zone X_UNSHADED, residents across all designated zones should evaluate their specific property risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
17% of Clark County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
30 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 2 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 2009, with 9 claims and $162,792 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding and Severe Storms and 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.
49 NOAA storm reports from Clark County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
24 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 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 7, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 25, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
145 since 1996: 65 flash floods and 72 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 31, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 24, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 23, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 13, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. The Little Missouri River at Boughton did enter minor flood stage for a brief period in late January. The river at this site did experience a crest and did fall back below flood stage before the month of January ended.
Flood · Jan 31, 2025. The Ouachita River at Arkadelphia entered minor flood stage in late January. The river at this site did experience a crest before the end of January. The river did remain in minor flood stage entering the month of February.
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Widespread heavy rains brought flooding to portions of the Ouachita, Saline, Fouche LaFave, Black, White, and Little Red Rivers during the middle of February.
Flood · Apr 5, 2025. Heavy rainfall over a multiday period brought flooding to many rivers across Arkansas. Points along the White, Black, Cache, and Ouachita Rivers remained in flood through the remainder of the month.
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 Clark 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.