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 Searcy 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 driven by heavy rainfall and severe weather dominates the flood history of Searcy County, accounting for 25 of the 40 recorded flood events over the last 30 years, with general river floods making up the remaining 15.
Recent history highlights the severity of these multi-hazard systems. A multiday severe weather event in April 2025 brought widespread flash flooding and river flooding across Arkansas, driven by rainfall totals ranging from half a foot to over a foot. This followed a dangerous slow-moving front in July 2024 that dropped 4 to 9 inches of rain in a short period, leading to significant flash flooding across north-central Arkansas. Heavy rain at the end of April 2017 similarly caused major flooding throughout the region.
Property owners located near rivers and streams, as well as residents in low-lying areas prone to rapid runoff and flash flooding, should pay the closest attention to these risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
11 NOAA storm reports from Searcy County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
26 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 Winter Storm | Jan 30, 2023 |
| Hurricane Laura | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | May 21, 2019 |
| 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, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | May 7, 2015 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
40 since 1996: 25 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 4, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 17, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Nov 5, 2024 | — |
| Flood | Mar 25, 2023 | — |
| Flood | Apr 29, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Apr 30, 2017 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
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.
Flash 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 · Jul 17, 2024. A slow moving cold front, located near the Arkansas and Missouri borders, set the stage for a dangerous flood event to unfold on the night of the 16th into the morning of the 17th across north-central into central portions of Arkansas. Rainfall amounts of 4 to 9 inches were measured. This much rain in a relatively short amount of time lead to flash flooding, some of which was significant.
Flood · Nov 5, 2024. Heavy rains led to river flooding on the Buffalo River in early November.
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 Searcy 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.