61 flood insurance claims·$2.2M 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 Cross 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 summer thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood history of Cross County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 11 flash flood events and 4 general flood events, resulting in 1 recorded death. Severe weather impacts are exemplified by events such as the May 22, 2024 flash flood, driven by a slow-moving cold front and moisture surge, and the February 11, 2019 flooding caused by a slow-moving storm system producing heavy rain across northeast Arkansas.
Federal flood insurance claims data shows impacts across multiple zones. Properties in Zone A recorded 39 claims with an average payout of $51,622 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Zone X recorded 8 claims with an average payout of $81,475 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches, while Zone X_SHADED recorded 9 claims averaging $7,590 with an average water depth of 3 inches. An additional 5 claims in unknown zones averaged an 11,000 payout with a 6-inch average water depth.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, which accounts for the vast majority of historical insurance claims in the area.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
19% of Cross County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
48 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 6 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 16 claims and $1.1M 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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Cross County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
24 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 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 And Tornadoes | Mar 31, 2023 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2017 |
| 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.
15 since 1996: 11 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | May 22, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Feb 11, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Mar 13, 2015 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 31, 2013 | $914,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 17, 2013 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2011 | $200,000 · 1 killed |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2010 | $20,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · May 22, 2024. A decaying MCS/MCV moved through the Mid-South during the overnight/early morning hours of May 22. A slow moving cold front was stretched over the Missouri Bootheel and moisture surged northward allowing for plentiful instability. This instability collided with remnant outflow boundaries from previous convection. Peak diurnal heating hours, moisture, and enough lift caused damaging winds, large hail, and flash flo…
Flash Flood · Feb 23, 2019. A strong cold front produced training of thunderstorms that led to flash flooding across portions of northeast Arkansas during the late morning and early evening hours of February 23rd.
Flood · Feb 11, 2019. A slow moving storm system in the Lower Mississippi Valley produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding, extensive areal and river flooding of adjacent areas over portions of northeast Arkansas on February 11th.
Flood · Mar 13, 2015. Subtropical moisture streamed north in advance of an upper level low pressure system. The ground was already saturated due to the melting of snow and ice from an earlier winter storm along with recent rainfall. Showers and isolated thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall across the area on March 12th and 13th resulting in flooding across parts of East Central Arkansas and Northwest Tennessee.
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 Cross 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.