134 flood insurance claims·$3.0M 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 White 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 and flash flooding dominate the hazard profile in White County, supported by 107 flood events and 87 flash flood events recorded in the NOAA Storm Events Database over the last 30 years, alongside occasional tropical storm and depression impacts. Severe multi-day weather events in April 2025 brought widespread flash flooding and river flooding, with heavy rainfall producing totals ranging from half a foot to over one foot and keeping points along the White, Black, Cache, and Ouachita Rivers in flood through the remainder of the month.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that properties situated in high-risk Zone A face the heaviest loss frequency, accounting for 94 claims with an average payout of $26,711 and an average recorded water depth of 9 inches. Homeowners, journalists, and real estate agents should note that properties outside high-risk zones also experience losses; Zone X recorded 25 claims averaging $21,226 with an average water depth of 2 inches, unshaded Zone X recorded 10 claims averaging $36,393 with an average water depth of 2 inches, and properties with unknown zones recorded 5 claims averaging $16,189 with an average water depth of 23 inches. Residents near rivers and in designated flood zones should pay the closest attention to flood risk.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
10% of White County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
104 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 2011, with 34 claims and $789,984 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.
61 NOAA storm reports from White County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Arkansas flood stories →
29 federal disaster declarations since 1968, 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 | Dec 26, 2015 |
| Severe Storms,tornadoes, And Flooding | Apr 27, 2014 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding | Apr 14, 2011 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Dec 23, 2009 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
200 since 1996: 87 flash floods and 107 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | May 30, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 15, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 9, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Feb 7, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 7, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Apr 5, 2025 | — |
| Flood | May 1, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 1, 2025 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Feb 15, 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 9, 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.
Flood · Feb 7, 2025. Heavy rains brought flooding to portions of the middle to lower White River during the early to middle portion of February.
Flood · Apr 7, 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 White 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.