64 flood insurance claims·$969,986 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 Pope 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 Pope County, accounting for 37 out of 51 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside 14 general flood events. This pattern is driven by slow-moving frontal systems and multi-day severe weather periods that produce heavy rainfall, as observed during significant events in January, April, May, and June of 2025.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood impacts extend well beyond designated high-risk areas. Properties in Zone A recorded 23 claims with an average water depth of 11 inches and an average payout of $13,986. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded an identical 23 claims with an average water depth of 6 inches and an average payout of $15,357, and unshaded Zone X properties recorded 13 claims with an average water depth of 2 inches and an average payout of $24,087. Shaded Zone X properties recorded 2 claims with an average water depth of 2 inches and an average payout of $40,917.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties in both traditional high-risk riverine zones and moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas, where significant claim history demonstrates that damaging water depths occur outside of mapped special flood hazard areas.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
39% of Pope County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
38 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 11 claims and $141,013 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.
22 NOAA storm reports from Pope County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
19 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 And Flooding | May 21, 2019 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Mar 18, 2008 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Feb 5, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
51 since 1996: 37 flash floods and 14 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 13, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 17, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Mar 24, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 8, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jan 2, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2021 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Jan 30, 2025. A slowly lifting warm front across Arkansas led to a significant rain event across central and northern Arkansas during a period of several days. Rainfall totals mounted across the northern half of the state and by January 30th locations across central and northern Arkansas experienced Flash Flooding after receiving additional rainfall.
Flash Flood · Jun 13, 2025. A stationary front across the Mid-West portion of the CONUS led to a ample warm sector with plenty of moisture and warm air streaming into the Natural State which led to multiple days of severe weather which included tornadoes, wind damage, and several instances of flash flooding across the state as Arkansas saw several days of moderate to heavy rainfall.
Flood · Apr 4, 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 · May 17, 2024. Another period of active weather ensued from the May 13th through the 17th. During this time, rounds of showers and thunderstorms moved across the state. Heavy rains brought flash flooding to some locations.
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 Pope 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.