37 flood insurance claims·$1.2M paid·1 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 Cleburne 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 from severe weather events dominates the flood history of Cleburne County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 33 flash flood events, alongside 5 general floods, 2 tropical storms, and 2 tropical depressions. Slow-moving cold fronts and saturated ground conditions frequently drive these occurrences. For instance, a slow-moving cold front produced 4 to 9 inches of rainfall that led to significant flash flooding on July 17, 2024. Similarly, saturated ground following six months of above-average precipitation set the stage for severe flooding across the region on February 11, 2019.
National Flood Insurance Program records highlight distinct impacts across different zones. Properties in Zone A have experienced 33 claims with an average payout of $45,012 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X has recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $73,014 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should note that property owners located within Zone A face the highest frequency of insurance claims and greater average water depths, requiring the closest attention to flood risk management.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Cleburne County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
33 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 8 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 2017, with 11 claims and $713,805 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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.
19 NOAA storm reports from Cleburne County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
23 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 1 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 | Apr 26, 2017 |
| Severe Storms,tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 30, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Oct 29, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 5 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 1, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 11, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 9, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2013 | $250,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Aug 30, 2012 | $500,000 |
| Tropical Depression | Sep 1, 2012 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2024. A slow moving cold front, located near the Arkansas and Missouri borders, set the stage for a dangerous flood event to unfold on the night of the 16th into the morning of the 17th across north-central into central portions of Arkansas. Rainfall amounts of 4 to 9 inches were measured. This much rain in a relatively short amount of time lead to flash flooding, some of which was significant.
Flash Flood · Jul 1, 2021. Showers and thunderstorms were hit and miss on the 1st as the cold front penetrated into the region from Missouri. Rain tended to be the most concentrated in northern/eastern sections of the state, and was the most spotty in the south. In fact, parts of the south got nothing at all.||In the twenty four hour period ending at 600 am CST on the 2nd, 2.04 inches fell at Hot Springs (Garland County), 1.80 inches at Alu…
Flash Flood · Feb 11, 2019. It was a perfect setup for flooding heading into mid-February. The ground was wet (and could not hold much additional water) following six straight months of above average precipitation. Rivers were running high. The atmosphere was loaded with moisture on the 10th/11th, and a storm system in the Plains was set to wring it out of the clouds. It was a bad situation. The forecast called for several inches of rain fro…
Flood · Mar 13, 2015. Heavy rainfall caused some areal flooding across portions of the state on the 13th. While less than 3 inches of rainfall was observed, dormant vegetation and saturated soils caused some flooding as standing water closed some roads.
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 Cleburne 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.