Enter any address in Sevier County, Arkansas to see its FEMA flood zone
Flash flooding driven by heavy rainfall and frontal systems dominates the flood history of Sevier County. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 31 flash flood events, alongside 4 general floods and 1 tropical storm. Recent documented events include a flash flood on January 30, 2025, driven by a warm front and an upper-level low pressure system, and heavy rainfall events on December 16, 2024, and February 8, 2023, caused by advancing cold fronts and stalled boundaries interacting with deep Gulf and Pacific moisture.
National Flood Insurance Program records reflect claims across multiple zones. Zone A properties account for 16 claims with an average payout of $48,564 and an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Two claims in unknown zones averaged $50,830 with an average water depth of 1 inch, while a single claim in Zone X recorded an average payout of $89,344 and an average water depth of 44 inches. Homeholders and real estate agents working with properties located in designated Zone A, as well as those in Zone X who may face unexpected high-water events during severe convective storms, should pay the closest attention to flood risk and mitigation.
Summary generated from NOAA storm narratives and NFIP claim data for this county. Not predictive.
21 NOAA storm reports from this county describe what happened, in the words of the meteorologists who were there.
Sevier County, Arkansas has recorded 36 flood-related events since 1996 according to NOAA's Storm Events Database, including 31 flash floods and 4 river or area floods. The county has received 18 federal disaster declarations, 3 of which involved flooding or coastal storms. Enter any address above to check its FEMA flood zone designation.
FEMA Disaster Declarations (1968–2026)
Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
| Declaration | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Winter Storm | Jan 23, 2026 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Apr 2, 2025 |
| Hurricane Laura | Hurricane | Aug 26, 2020 |
| Covid-19 | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Covid-19 Pandemic | Biological | Jan 20, 2020 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Severe Storm | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Severe Storm | May 7, 2015 |
| Severe Storms And Tornadoes | Tornado | Apr 9, 2009 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Hurricane | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Severe Storm | May 30, 2004 |
NOAA Storm Events Database (1996–2025)
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
| Type | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Dec 16, 2024 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Feb 8, 2023 | 0.00K |
| Flood | Feb 8, 2023 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2019 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Apr 11, 2017 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2016 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Nov 28, 2015 | 5.00K |
| Flood | Dec 28, 2015 | 0.00K |
| Flash Flood | Dec 27, 2015 | 0.00K |
Flash Flood — Jan 30, 2025
A closed upper level low pressure system shifted east from Southeast Colorado into the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandles into Western Oklahoma on January 30th, with an increased southerly low level flow allowing warm, humid, and very moist air to return back north across Northeast Texas, Southeast Oklahoma, and Southwest Arkansas with the passage of a warm front. Strong forcing near and north of the wa...
Flash Flood — Dec 16, 2024
A slowly advancing cold front across Southern Arkansas continued moving southward late into the evening on December 16th. Concurrently, warm sector southerly flow provided weak but sufficient surface convergence just ahead of the cold front. Strong convection with some weak QLCS features generally trained along the boundary/deep-layer moisture interface and was fed upstream by a sector of 1000-...
Flash Flood — Feb 8, 2023
A surface low was accompanied by a stalled frontal boundary that extended near and along the Interstate 30 corridor of Southwest Arkansas, Southeast Oklahoma, and far Northeast Texas. Aloft, a closed low was positioned across eastern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle with a trailing trough well south into northern and central Mexico. This pattern allowed for plentiful Pacific moisture to comb...
Flood — Feb 8, 2023
A surface low was accompanied by a stalled frontal boundary that extended near and along the Interstate 30 corridor of Southwest Arkansas, Southeast Oklahoma, and far Northeast Texas. Aloft, a closed low was positioned across eastern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle with a trailing trough well south into northern and central Mexico. This pattern allowed for plentiful Pacific moisture to comb...
Flash Flood — Mar 9, 2019
A large upper level trough moved out of the Intermountain West and into the Southern Plains during the early morning hours of March 9th, taking on a negative tilt as it lifted east northeast across much of Central and Eastern Texas into Northern Louisiana and Southwest Arkansas. The trough allowed for a dry line to mix east across Central and Eastern Oklahoma, as well as Central Texas, into a r...
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database.
Source: OpenFEMA NFIP Individual Claims (2.25M records analyzed).
FEMA assigns flood zone designations to areas in Sevier County, Arkansas:
AE High Risk — 1% annual chance of flooding. Insurance required.
VE Very High Risk — Coastal flooding with wave action.
X (Shaded) Moderate Risk — 500-year floodplain.
X Low Risk — Outside major floodplains.
Properties in Sevier County, Arkansas that are in FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (zones A and V) with a mortgage from a federally regulated or insured lender, or a federally backed loan, are required to carry flood insurance.
Even outside high-risk zones, flood insurance is recommended. From 2014 to 2024, nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area.
Visit FloodSmart.gov to find an agent and get a quote.