170 flood insurance claims·$3.8M paid·6 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 Monroe 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.
Monroe County is primarily characterized by river flooding, driven by over three decades of recorded flood events compared to fewer flash floods, tropical storms, and tropical depressions. Recent events illustrate this pattern: heavy multiday rainfall in April 2025 brought flooding to rivers across Arkansas, including the White, Black, Cache, and Ouachita Rivers, while river flooding on the White River at Clarendon began in early January 2025 and crested into mid-January.
National Flood Insurance Program claims data shows impacts across multiple zones, led by Zone A with 145 claims averaging a $29,114 payout and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Properties with unknown zones recorded 13 claims with an average payout of $10,781 and an average recorded water depth of 30 inches. Zone X properties recorded 6 claims averaging a $28,977 payout with an average water depth of 9 inches, while Zone X shaded and Zone X unshaded each recorded 3 claims with average payouts of $5,499 and $3,261 respectively, both averaging 1 inch of recorded water depth.
Properties near rivers, particularly in Zone A and unmapped or unknown zones, should pay the most attention to flood risk given the high concentration of historical river flooding and insurance claims.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Monroe County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
151 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 14 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 79 claims and $2.9M 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Monroe County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 6 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 And Straight-line Winds | Apr 12, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Oct 29, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
110 since 1996: 20 flash floods and 86 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jul 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 27, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Feb 1, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Apr 6, 2025. Heavy rainfall over a multiday period brought flooding to many rivers across Arkansas. Points along the White, Black, Cache, and Ouachita Rivers remained in flood through the remainder of the month.
Flood · May 1, 2025. River flooding which occurred in April carried over into May along the Cache, White, Black, and Ouachita Rivers.
Flood · Jun 1, 2025. River flooding continued from May into June along the Cache, White, Black, and Ouachita Rivers.
Flood · Jul 1, 2025. River flooding occurred along the White and Black Rivers.
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 Monroe 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.