48 flood insurance claims·$716,057 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 Franklin 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 driven by severe thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Franklin County, Arkansas. Over a 30-year period, NOAA records show 69 flash flood events compared to 15 general flood events and one tropical storm event. Recent occurrences include multiple rounds of strong thunderstorms that produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding in April 2025, as well as storms fueled by a passing cold front that brought localized flash flooding in September 2025.
FEMA National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks extend across different zones. Zone X properties account for 32 claims with an average payout of $23,778 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches. Zone A properties represent 15 claims with an average payout of $7,085 and an average recorded water depth of 7 inches, while one claim in an unknown zone recorded an average water depth of 16 inches with a $12,813 average payout.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties in both mapped high-risk areas and moderate-to-low risk Zone X locations, where significant flood claims and standing water depths demonstrate that damaging inundation can occur outside traditional special flood hazard areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 7 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 2004, with 12 claims and $129,146 paid, the year of Sever Storms, Flooding and Landslides 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.
31 NOAA storm reports from Franklin County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1972, 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 And Flooding | May 21, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 7, 2015 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 5, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 24, 2011 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
85 since 1996: 69 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 23, 2025 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jul 8, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Nov 5, 2024 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 5, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 23, 2025. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed into northwestern Arkansas from the northwest during the afternoon of the 23rd, and additional thunderstorms developed across the area during the late afternoon and evening as a cold front moved through the region. The strongest storms produced large hail to ping pong ball size and damaging wind gusts. Locally heavy rainfall from these thunderstorms produced some flash floo…
Flash Flood · Jul 8, 2025. A slow-moving cluster of thunderstorms developed across portions of west central Arkansas during the morning of the 8th, as an upper level disturbance approached the area from the northwest. The atmosphere was unusually moist, which enhanced the rainfall rates from the slow-moving thunderstorms. Locally heavy rainfall resulted in some flash flooding.
Flood · Apr 5, 2025. Strong thunderstorms developed across portions of northwestern Arkansas during the early morning hours of the 4th, as lift associated with an approaching upper level disturbance increased north of a stationary front across northeastern Oklahoma and southern Arkansas. Additional rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms occurred across the area during the evening of the 4th, and then again during the early morning h…
Flash Flood · Apr 4, 2025. Strong thunderstorms developed across portions of northwestern Arkansas during the early morning hours of the 4th, as lift associated with an approaching upper level disturbance increased north of a stationary front across northeastern Oklahoma and southern Arkansas. Additional rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms occurred across the area during the evening of the 4th, and then again during the early morning h…
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 Franklin 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.