89 flood insurance claims·$1.3M 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 Lonoke 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 and river flooding dominate the flood risk profile in Lonoke County, driven by 71 flash flood events compared to 15 general flood events, 3 tropical storms, and 3 tropical depressions over the last 30 years. This history includes 1 recorded death from flooding. Severe weather in April 2025 produced widespread flash flooding and river flooding during a multiday event that brought total rainfall amounts between half a foot to over one foot in many locations alongside tornadoes, damaging winds, and very large hail.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that property damage occurs across multiple zones. Zone A accounts for 45 claims with an average payout of $24,709 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X records 32 claims with an average payout of $16,698 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches. Additionally, Zone UNKNOWN records 6 claims with an average payout of $1,664 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch, while Zone X_UNSHADED accounts for 6 claims with an average payout of $1,566 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, where claim frequency and payout averages are highest, as well as properties in Zone X that have experienced measurable water depths during high-rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
12% of Lonoke County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
51 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 1 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 32 claims and $433,333 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.
44 NOAA storm reports from Lonoke County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 4 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, And Tornadoes | Jun 25, 2023 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Mar 31, 2023 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Dec 25, 2012 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 23, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
92 since 1996: 71 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 18, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Dec 10, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 27, 2020 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 18, 2019 | — |
— = 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.
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 · 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 · May 18, 2021. Early on the 17th, over four inches of rain came down in a hurry across southern Perry and northwest Saline Counties. A couple of miles southwest of Houston (Perry County), water inundated Highway 216. It was the same story to start the next morning in western White and northern Lonoke Counties. This time, Highway 319 was flooded two miles northwest of Ward (Lonoke County). A few trees were knocked down on the 18t…
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 Lonoke 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.