87 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 Prairie 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.
River flooding and flash flooding from frequent storms dominate the flood history of Prairie County, supported by 58 general flood events and 35 flash flood events over the last 30 years, alongside impacts from tropical systems. Recent conditions illustrate these risks, such as heavy multiday rainfall in April 2025 that brought prolonged flooding along the White, Black, Cache, and Ouachita Rivers, as well as severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in June 2025 that triggered widespread flash flooding.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties situated in Special Flood Hazard Area Zone A experience the heaviest financial impact, accounting for 79 claims with an average payout of $37,871 and an average recorded water depth of 8 inches. Properties with unknown flood zones also face significant hazards, averaging 39 inches of recorded water depth across 5 claims with an average payout of $21,840. Meanwhile, unshaded Zone X properties record fewer claims, averaging 3 claims with a $7,912 payout and an average water depth of 2 inches. Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located near rivers and within designated Zone A flood areas, where historical claims and water depths are highest.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
4% of Prairie County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
82 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 10 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 46 claims and $2.0M 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.
29 NOAA storm reports from Prairie County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 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 | Apr 26, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Mar 8, 2016 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 23, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Oct 29, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
98 since 1996: 35 flash floods and 58 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 29, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 14, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 8, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 4, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · May 29, 2025. River flooding was noted along the Spring, White, Fourche LaFave, Arkansas, and Ouachita Rivers.
Flash Flood · Jun 14, 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 · Feb 8, 2025. Heavy rains brought flooding to portions of the middle to lower White River during the early to middle portion of February.
Flash Flood · Jun 7, 2025. A cold front swept from northwest to southeast across Arkansas which initiated strong to severe thunderstorms ahead of the line. Of these storms, some would reach severe criteria producing a swath of wind damage and numerous instances of flash flooding across the state of Arkansas.
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 Prairie 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.