887 flood insurance claims·$12.8M 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 Crittenden 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 dominates the historical record in Crittenden County, accounting for 24 of the 32 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 8 standard flood events. Severe rainfall events are well-documented, such as the April 2025 storms driven by a slow-moving front and training storms that produced 10 to 15 inches of rain and subsequent widespread river flooding, as well as an October 2025 tropical low that dropped 4 to 6 inches of rain resulting in isolated flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood impacts extend across multiple zones. Zone A bears the heaviest burden with 601 claims, averaging a payout of $16,472 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X properties experienced significant risk with 198 claims, averaging a $24,395 payout and an average recorded water depth of 4 inches. Unshaded Zone X properties recorded 50 claims with an average payout of $11,574 and an average water depth of 2 inches. Zone UNKNOWN recorded 21 claims with an average payout of $4,959 and an average water depth of 1 inch, while Shaded Zone X logged 17 claims averaging $10,576 with an average water depth of 1 inch.
Property owners in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to flood risk, given the high concentration of historical claims and payouts in these areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of Crittenden County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
668 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 1987, with 215 claims and $2.0M paid, the year of Severe Storms & 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.
9 NOAA storm reports from Crittenden County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
21 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, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes | May 2, 2008 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 2, 2003 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
32 since 1996: 24 flash floods and 8 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Oct 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 3, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | $5,000 |
| Flood | Mar 4, 2018 | $1.0M |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2016 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Oct 6, 2025. A weak tropical low moved across the region during the evening of October 6th. Deep moisture was in place with precipitable water values of around 2 inches. Rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches resulted in isolated flash flooding.
Flood · Apr 6, 2025. Total rainfall amounts of 10-15 inches occurred across parts of east Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel, West Tennessee, and extreme northwest Mississippi during the April 2- April 5 event. This resulted in widespread river flooding for several days following the event.
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 2025. The front eventually sagged south back into the Mid-South during the early morning hours of April 5th. Strong low-level moisture transport into the frontal zone resulted in heavy rain and training storms across northern sections of the Mid-South, mainly north of I-40. A bow echo developed along and just south of the slowly advancing front. This feature crossed the entire forecast area producing 13 tornadoes, inclu…
Flash Flood · Mar 3, 2023. A powerful cold front raced across the Mid-South during the morning hours of March 3, 2023. Strong winds ahead of the front caused scattered damage across northeast Mississippi. Storms developed along the cold front producing damaging winds across northeast Mississippi and a weak tornado in Itawamba County, Mississippi. Behind the departing cold front, a very tight pressure gradient developed resulting in high win…
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 Crittenden 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.