18 flood insurance claims·$588,002 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 Van Buren 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 from severe weather and heavy rain events dominates the flood profile of Van Buren County, accounting for 36 of the 42 recorded flood events over the last 30 years alongside six general flood events. Recent documented instances include flash flooding driven by a slowly lifting warm front in January 2025, and severe thunderstorms along a moving cold front in June 2025 that brought widespread flash flooding and wind damage to the region.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that damage claims have been filed across multiple zones. Properties in Zone X recorded nine claims with an average payout of $29,064 and an average water depth of 8 inches. Zone A properties recorded four claims averaging $38,295 with an average water depth of 2 inches, while properties with an unknown zone designation logged five claims with an average payout of $46,275 and an average water depth of 8 inches.
Homeowners, real estate agents, and journalists should pay the closest attention to properties located within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas such as Zone A, as well as properties in Zone X and unmapped areas where past claimants have experienced damaging water depths during heavy precipitation events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
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 1982, with 5 claims and $231,377 paid, the year of Severe Storms, Tornadoes & 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 Van Buren County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
25 federal disaster declarations since 1976, 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 Winter Storm | Dec 5, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | May 30, 2013 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Oct 29, 2009 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 26, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
42 since 1996: 36 flash floods and 6 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Jan 30, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 25, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 7, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 8, 2023 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 29, 2021 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 16, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 29, 2019 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 11, 2019 | — |
— = 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 · May 25, 2025. Heavy rains brought isolated flash flooding to portions of Arkansas.
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.
Flood · Feb 8, 2023. Heavy to excessive rain was in the forecast on February 7th/8th, especially in northern and western Arkansas. This was ahead of a storm system in the southern Plains, and north of a nearly stationary front draped across central sections of the state. South of the front, increasing warmth/moisture set the stage for the possibility of severe thunderstorms toward evening on the 8th.||The placement of the front was ob…
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 Van Buren 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.