27 flood insurance claims·$279,413 paid·6 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 Conway 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 general river flooding dominate the severe weather hazards in Conway County, supported by historical records showing 33 flash flood events, 29 flood events, and occasional impacts from tropical systems over the last thirty years.
Recent history illustrates these threats. In April 2025, a multiday severe weather event produced total rainfall amounts ranging from half a foot to over a foot across the state, resulting in widespread flash flooding and prolonged river flooding. Earlier, a slow-moving cold front in July 2024 dropped 4 to 9 inches of rain in a short period, leading to significant flash flooding across north-central and central portions of Arkansas.
Property owners located in Special Flood Hazard Areas designated as Zone A should pay the closest attention to these risks. FEMA records show Zone A accounts for the vast majority of insurance claims in the county, totaling 24 claims with an average payout of $14,705 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. By comparison, Zone X properties have recorded only 2 claims with an average payout of $7,288 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
Less than 1% of Conway County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
24 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 3 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 2003, with 9 claims and $81,034 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, 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.
32 NOAA storm reports from Conway County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 6 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 And Flooding | May 21, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Oct 29, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
67 since 1996: 33 flash floods and 29 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 28, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 28, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 7, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 28, 2025. River flooding was noted along the Spring, White, Fourche LaFave, Arkansas, and Ouachita Rivers.
Flash Flood · Aug 28, 2025. Heavy rains impacted portions of the state along a narrow corridor oriented from northwest Arkansas, to central Arkansas, into portions of southeast Arkansas.
Flood · Apr 6, 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.
Flood · Apr 3, 2025. Severe weather, including widespread flash flooding occurred over a five day period across the entire state. This multiday event featured tornadoes, damaging winds, and very large hail. But by far and large, flash flooding and river flooding were the biggest impacts taken away from this unsettled period of weather due to total rainfall amounts between half a foot to over one foot in many locations.
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 Conway 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.