596 flood insurance claims·$13.8M paid·7 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 Jefferson 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 events dominates the flood history of Jefferson County, accounting for 61 of the 83 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, alongside 17 standard floods, 3 tropical depressions, and 2 tropical storms. Recent multiday severe weather periods, such as those in March 2023 and April 2025, brought heavy rainfall totals ranging from half a foot to over a foot in many locations, triggering widespread flash flooding and river flooding alongside tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data indicates that historical payouts and water depths vary significantly by zone. Zone A experienced the vast majority of claims with 476 filings, averaging $30,786 per payout with an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 26 claims with an average payout of $21,765 and a higher average recorded water depth of 20 inches. Smaller claim counts occurred in unknown zones, unshaded Zone X, and shaded Zone X, with average water depths ranging from 1 to 5 inches.
Homeowners and real estate agents with properties located within Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood risks, given the substantial claim volumes and recorded water depths associated with these areas during heavy rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7% of Jefferson County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
514 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 2019, with 84 claims and $5.9M paid, the year of 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.
36 NOAA storm reports from Jefferson County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1973, 7 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 | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 7, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
83 since 1996: 61 flash floods and 17 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 3, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 1, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 5, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 5, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 28, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 8, 2021 | — |
— = 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 · Apr 3, 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 · Mar 24, 2023. Several inches of rain fell across Arkansas associated with a storm system moving across the region. Flash flooding and some severe weather was noted.
Flash Flood · Mar 1, 2023. March certainly roared in like a lion across the state with back to back severe weather events on March 1st and 2nd into the 3rd. Storms on these days led to a few tornadoes as well as hail as large as 3 inches in diameter. Very heavy rainfall was noted across the area as well which led to flash flooding and widespread river flooding. One fatality occurred because of the flooding in Scott County on March 2nd. ||As…
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 Jefferson 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.