140 flood insurance claims·$2.7M paid·3 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 Miller 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 dominates the flood character of Miller County, accounting for the vast majority of historical flood events over the last 30 years compared to river floods and tropical storms. Recent historical events include flash flooding driven by stationary fronts and atmospheric lift in March 2024 and April 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that properties located in FEMA flood Zone A experience the most severe impacts, accounting for 92 claims with an average payout of $33,969 and an average recorded water depth of 10 inches. By comparison, unshaded Zone X properties recorded 33 claims with an average payout of $11,190 and an average water depth of 2 inches, while shaded Zone X, standard Zone X, and unknown zones recorded fewer claims with lower average payouts and average water depths ranging between 1 and 3 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within Zone A, where historical claims demonstrate significantly higher payouts and greater average water depths than properties in other zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
27% of Miller County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
126 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 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 1998, with 52 claims and $966,005 paid.
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 Miller County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 3 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 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Apr 9, 2009 |
| Tropical Storm Ike | Sep 13, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
53 since 1996: 47 flash floods and 4 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 15, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 8, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Oct 4, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 9, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 26, 2021 | — |
| Tropical Storm | Aug 27, 2020 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 6, 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 · Apr 4, 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 · Mar 15, 2024. Strong and deep convection became widespread over the Ark-La-Tex and downstream portions of southern Arkansas on March 15th. This occurred along an outflow boundary on the southwestern flank of a decaying MCS, and a favorable environment encouraged increased training over several hours. The mesoscale environment was characterized by ML CAPE of 1000-2000 J/kg, PWATs of 1.5-1.8 inches, and deep layer shear of 30-50…
Flood · Feb 8, 2023. A surface low was accompanied by a stalled frontal boundary that extended near and along the Interstate 30 corridor of Southwest Arkansas, Southeast Oklahoma, and far Northeast Texas. Aloft, a closed low was positioned across eastern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle with a trailing trough well south into northern and central Mexico. This pattern allowed for plentiful Pacific moisture to combine with Gulf of Mex…
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 Miller 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.