7 flood insurance claims·$112,499 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 Madison 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 dominates Madison County's flood risk, accounting for 60 events and 7 deaths over the last 30 years. NOAA storm records illustrate this hazard, noting that strong to severe thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall across northwestern Arkansas during an unseasonably moist and unstable air mass in events such as November 2024.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have been filed across multiple zones. Properties located in Zone A recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $16,585 and an average recorded water depth of 6 inches. Properties in Zone X recorded 2 claims with an average payout of $39,364 and an average recorded water depth of 2 inches, while 1 claim with an average payout of $601 and an average recorded water depth of 0 inches was logged in an unknown zone.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the most attention to properties situated in Zone A and Zone X, where historical claims demonstrate that structures have sustained flood damages ranging from minor water accumulation to significant depths during severe storm 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 2011, with 5 claims and $104,955 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated 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.
14 NOAA storm reports from Madison County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
30 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 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 Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 24, 2024 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 23, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 26, 2017 |
| 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.
60 since 1996: 60 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Nov 4, 2024 | $5,000 |
| Flash Flood | Nov 4, 2024 | $10,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 13, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 7, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 27, 2018 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 21, 2018 | $50,000 |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2017 | — · 2 killed |
| Flash Flood | Apr 26, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Nov 4, 2024. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed into and across northwestern Arkansas during the afternoon of the 4th, in an unseasonably moist and unstable air mass ahead of an approaching cold front. The atmosphere became very unstable ahead of the thunderstorms. The deep-layer and low-level wind shear strengthened during the afternoon, in response to a strong storm system translating into the Southern Plains from the…
Flash Flood · Apr 13, 2022. A line of thunderstorms developed into northwestern Arkansas during the morning of the 13th, as a cold front moved into the area. A strong thunderstorm within the line produced hail up to nickel size. More impactfully, this line of showers and thunderstorms was slow-moving, with individual cells within the line moving northeasterly repeatedly across the same areas, which resulted in locally heavy rainfall. Two to…
Flash Flood · Feb 7, 2019. A strong cold front moved through the region during the early morning hours of the 7th. Strong thunderstorms occurred along and ahead of the front, with a few of the storms producing severe wind gusts.
Flash Flood · Mar 27, 2018. Widespread thunderstorms developed across eastern Oklahoma during the evening of the 26th as a cold front moved into the area. These thunderstorms slowly spread into northwestern Arkansas during the morning of the 27th. The strongest storms produced a tornado and damaging wind gusts across portions of west-central Arkansas. The heavy rainfall from these thunderstorms resulted in isolated flash flooding across port…
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 Madison 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.