206 flood insurance claims·$3.6M 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 Desha 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 and thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Desha County, alongside standard river flooding, tropical storms, and tropical depressions. Over the last 30 years, NOAA records document 37 flash flood events, 12 flood events, 3 tropical storm events, and 3 tropical depression events. A severe weather event in April 2025 brought multiday flash and river flooding driven by half a foot to over a foot of rainfall across the region. Earlier storms, such as those in June 2021, also produced heavy localized rainfall and standing water on roads.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risk impacts properties across multiple zones, with the highest concentration of claims occurring in high-risk areas. Properties located in Zone A have accounted for 152 claims with an average payout of $20,152 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X have recorded 20 claims with an average payout of $44,668 and an average water depth of 9 inches, while shaded and unshaded X zones have recorded additional claims with average water depths ranging from 2 to 7 inches. Homeowners and real estate agents in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these risks, as properties in both high-risk and moderate-to-low-risk zones have experienced costly flood damages and measurable water depths.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
16% of Desha County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
182 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 1994, with 31 claims and $222,169 paid.
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.
25 NOAA storm reports from Desha County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 6 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 30, 2023 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 21, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 8, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
55 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 12 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 9, 2021 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2021 | $100,000 |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 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.
Flash Flood · Jul 17, 2021. Late on the 16th and into the 17th, downpours developed and remained over the southeast for several hours. By 800 am to 900 am CST on the 17th, the observer at Kelso (Desha County) reported 6.49 inches of precipitation, and Rohwer (Desha County) had 6.55 inches. Near the latter location, Highway 1 was inundated with water and became impassible.||It was the wettest July day at Rohwer (Desha County), and the fourth…
Flash Flood · Jun 10, 2021. Hit and miss thunderstorms ramped up on the 6th. Two to more than three inches of rain was measured at Cane Creek State Park (Lincoln County), Fordyce (Dallas County), Monticello (Drew County), Nashville (Howard County), and Pine Bluff (Jefferson County). Several roads were under water between Avilla (Saline County) and Ferndale (Pulaski County), and also at Monticello (Drew County).||During the predawn hours of t…
Flash Flood · Jun 9, 2021. Hit and miss thunderstorms ramped up on the 6th. Two to more than three inches of rain was measured at Cane Creek State Park (Lincoln County), Fordyce (Dallas County), Monticello (Drew County), Nashville (Howard County), and Pine Bluff (Jefferson County). Several roads were under water between Avilla (Saline County) and Ferndale (Pulaski County), and also at Monticello (Drew County).||During the predawn hours of t…
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 Desha 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.