40 flood insurance claims·$655,368 paid·3 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 Drew 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 storms represents the dominant flood hazard in Drew County, driven by 50 recorded flash flood events over the last 30 years compared to 6 general floods, 5 tropical storms, and 2 tropical depressions.
Recent history highlights these localized threats, such as a multiday severe weather event in April 2025 that brought half a foot to over one foot of rain, causing widespread flash and river flooding across the state. Additionally, on July 6, 2023, nearly three inches of rain dumped in Monticello, sending high water across Highway 278 and forcing a temporary road closure.
Homeowners and real estate professionals should pay the closest attention to properties located within FEMA flood zones A and X. Zone A accounts for the majority of NFIP insurance claims with 28 filings averaging $22,197 per payout and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Meanwhile, unshaded Zone X properties have recorded 10 claims averaging $8,988 with an average water depth of 5 inches, and standard Zone X areas have recorded 2 claims averaging $54,166 with an average water depth of 2 inches.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
26% of Drew County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
38 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 2009, with 14 claims and $282,219 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding and Severe Storms 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.
25 NOAA storm reports from Drew County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
20 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 3 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, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Oct 29, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
63 since 1996: 50 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 6, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 3, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 10, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 6, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 26, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jul 6, 2025. Heavy rainfall and isolated strong storms impacted portions of southeast Arkansas.
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 6, 2023. Almost three inches of rain dumped in Monticello (Drew County) on the 6th, and high water flowed across Highway 278. The road had to be closed temporarily. It was the same story at Greenbrier (Faulkner County), with numerous roads under water.
Flash Flood · Jan 3, 2023. A few strong to severe thunderstorms moved across Arkansas on the afternoon and evening of the 2nd. Damaging winds and a tornado occurred over portions of far southeast Arkansas. Over central and northern Arkansas, storms occurred but damage was highly localized. Another tornado moved through Jessieville causing damage.
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 Drew 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.