234 flood insurance claims·$9.5M paid·4 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 Randolph 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 dominates the flood character of Randolph County, backed by 68 standard flood events and 31 flash flood events recorded over the last 30 years, alongside one tropical storm. Recent activity illustrates this pattern, including river flooding on the Black River at Pocahontas that began in December and continued into early January 2025, as well as a brief period of minor flooding on the Spring River at Imboden in late January 2025. Additionally, heavy rainfall over a multiday period in April 2025 brought prolonged flooding to points along the Black, White, Cache, and Ouachita Rivers.
NFIP claims data demonstrates that properties in designated flood zones face distinct financial and physical impacts. Zone A accounts for the highest claim volume with 156 claims averaging $39,979 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Meanwhile, Zone X records 60 claims with a higher average payout of $59,988 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches, while unshaded Zone X recorded 13 claims with an average payout of $20,602 and an average water depth of 11 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located near rivers, streams, and within mapped high-risk Special Flood Hazard Areas such as Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X where significant claim payouts and recorded water depths indicate substantial flood exposure outside of traditional high-risk zones.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Randolph County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
172 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 8 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 2017, with 98 claims and $6.3M paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and 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.
21 NOAA storm reports from Randolph County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
27 federal disaster declarations since 1969, 4 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 And Tornadoes | Mar 14, 2025 |
| Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 24, 2024 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| 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, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2014 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
100 since 1996: 31 flash floods and 68 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 25, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jan 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Dec 30, 2024 | — |
| Flood | May 29, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Jan 29, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 30, 2025. River flooding on the Spring River at Imboden would occur in late January. The river would quickly enter minor flood stage for a brief period of time with a crest taking place in minor flood stage before the river fell back below flood stage.
Flood · May 25, 2025. River flooding was noted along the Spring, White, Fourche LaFave, Arkansas, and Ouachita Rivers.
Flood · Feb 16, 2025. Widespread heavy rains brought flooding to portions of the Ouachita, Saline, Fouche LaFave, Black, White, and Little Red Rivers during the middle of February.
Flood · Apr 5, 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.
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 Randolph 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.