9 flood insurance claims·$617,724 paid·5 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 Hempstead 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 storms and heavy rainfall dominates the flood risk profile in Hempstead County, Arkansas. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 67 flash flood events, alongside two tropical storm events and two general flood events. Recent activity includes heavy rainfall driven by a stationary front and an intensifying low-level jet in January 2024, as well as an expanding cluster of thunderstorms that produced flash flooding in May 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that flood risks affect properties differently depending on their designated zone. Properties located in high-risk Zone A have accounted for 5 claims with an average payout of $118,697 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties in moderate- to low-risk Zone X have accounted for 4 claims with an average payout of $8,079 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties situated within Zone A, where historical claims demonstrate significantly higher financial impacts and greater average water depths during flood events.
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 4 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 2015, with 4 claims and $545,067 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, 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.
42 NOAA storm reports from Hempstead County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
26 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 5 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, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 7, 2015 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2009 |
| Tropical Storm Ike | Sep 13, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 18, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
71 since 1996: 67 flash floods and 2 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 12, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 12, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 5, 2025. A stationary front extended across portions of Northeast Texas and Southwest Arkansas during the early morning hours on April 4th, but lifted north into Southeast Oklahoma and Western Arkansas during the day. This was in response to an intensifying low level jet that developed ahead of a large upper trough that extended from the Intermountain West into the Plains, which provided the necessary lift across the very…
Flash Flood · May 23, 2024. An expanding cluster of thunderstorms shifted across Southwest Arkansas during the morning hours on May 23rd. Some bowing became evident within these thunderstorms, suggesting at least a slightly organized cold pool. This convection occurred in tandem with a weak cyclonic mid-level circulation evident in water vapor imagery, and near the nose of an associated 40 knot southerly low-level jet. The forcing aloft, co-…
Flash Flood · Jan 23, 2024. A deep upper-level trough axis became entrenched across the western U.S. early on January 23rd, enhancing a deep southwesterly flow pattern across the Middle Red River Valley. Multiple disturbances aloft ejected northeast within the southwesterly flow and combined with a stalled surface frontal boundary to provide a nearly ideal environment for heavy rainfall across the Ark-La-Tex region. The axis of heaviest rain…
Flash Flood · May 12, 2023. A small complex of showers and thunderstorms spread southeast into the northern sections of Southwest Arkansas during the morning hours of May 12th with the passage of an upper level disturbance. While these showers and thunderstorms remained non-severe as they moved into Southwest Arkansas, a very moist air mass coupled with the slow movement of these storms allowed for the development of locally heavy rainfall w…
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 Hempstead 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.