States › Arkansas › Chicot County

Chicot County, Arkansas

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 05017 · 10,019 residents (2021) · 637 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 137Tornado · 45Flood · 94Wind · 226Winter · 25

Chicot County within Arkansas. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Chicot County, Arkansas, has 555 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 87.1 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Arkansas figure of 94.2, and 553.9 per 10,000 residents against 161.8 statewide.

16 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 49 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $31M and crop damage at $31M.

FEMA has designated the county in 18 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 24 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 153 claims since 1978, of which 131 were paid, totalling $4.2M (about $32K per paid claim). FEMA counts 153 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($8.9M a year across 18 hazards).

20 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

16events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

555events since 19502 deaths, 49 injuries recorded

18disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

153NFIP flood claims$4.2M paid

Compared with Arkansas and the United States

Measure	Chicot County	Arkansas	US
Recorded events since 1950	555	48,966	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	87.1	94.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	553.9	161.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	16	1,151	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	668	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$31M	$6.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	15.3	3.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$32K	$27K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	13.7	23.0	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Wind: 4

Hail: 1Tornado: 9Wind: 5

Hail: 3Tornado: 1Wind: 13

Hail: 39Tornado: 6Flood: 4Wind: 23Winter: 2

Hail: 49Tornado: 12Flood: 19Wind: 50Winter: 5Tropical: 2Heat: 3Drought: 1

Hail: 33Tornado: 7Flood: 58Wind: 78Winter: 11Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 8Other: 3

Hail: 12Tornado: 9Flood: 13Wind: 52Winter: 7Tropical: 3Cold: 1Drought: 4Lightning: 1

21950s41960s151970s171980s741990s1412000s2002010s1022020s

Recorded events in Chicot County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 369 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 144 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind226

Hail137

Flood94

Tornado45

Winter25

Drought13

Tropical5

Heat4

Other3

Cold2

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	226	1	1.3%	detail
■ Hail	137	—	1.1%	detail
■ Flood	94	—	1.7%	detail
■ Tornado	45	1	1.8%	detail
■ Winter	25	—	0.5%	detail
■ Drought	13	—	0.7%
■ Tropical	5	—	1.8%
■ Heat	4	—	0.2%
■ Other	3	—	0.4%
■ Cold	2	—	0.4%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.3%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
22 Oct 1979	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	1	2	County
25 Apr 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	1	—	County
17 Feb 1976	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	36	County
21 Dec 2013	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$100K	—	—	2	County
11 Nov 1995	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$30K	—	—	2	County
19 Nov 1988	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	2	County
3 Sep 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	$13M	—	—	County
13 Mar 2016	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$2.5M	—	—	1	County
11 Jan 2020	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$1.0M	$400K	—	1	County
30 Mar 2016	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$110K	—	—	1	County
28 Mar 1977	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	1	County
28 Apr 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	61 mph	—	—	—	1	County
29 Aug 2005	Hurricane (Typhoon)	Tropical	—	$200K	$5.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
3 Sep 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	$3.0M	—	—	County
1 Oct 2006	Drought	Drought	—	—	$3.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
5 May 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	$200K	—	—	County
12 Aug 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$600K	$1.2M	—	—	County
2 May 2008	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$1.5M	$200K	—	—	County
12 Oct 2009	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	$1.0M	—	—	County
1 Oct 2023	Drought	Drought	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
24 Jan 2026	EM-3636	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
5 Apr 2025	EM-3627	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
27 Aug 2020	EM-3541	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Laura	Public assistance
3 Apr 2020	DR-4518	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3461	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
8 Jun 2019	DR-4441	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
30 May 2019	EM-3414	Emergency	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
6 May 2016	DR-4270	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
2 May 2011	DR-1975	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 Jun 2009	DR-1845	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
18 Sep 2008	DR-1793	Major disaster	Hurricane	Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Hurricane Gustav	Public assistance
2 Sep 2005	EM-3215	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
6 Jun 2003	DR-1472	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Jan 1999	DR-1266	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Ar Severe Weather 1-21-99	Public assistance
28 Feb 1994	DR-1011	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Public assistance
30 May 1991	DR-907	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
23 Nov 1988	DR-817	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
27 Apr 1973	DR-375	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Chicot County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978153

Paid claims131

Total paid$4.2M

Average paid claim$32K

Repetitive-loss properties206 severe

Residential policies in force1533.0% of 5,140 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	2	2	$22,249	$11,125
2024	2	2	$310,252	$155,126
2022	2	1	$2,301	$2,301
2021	1	0	$0	—
2020	2	0	$0	—
2019	9	8	$268,092	$33,511
2018	3	3	$53,639	$17,880
2016	23	17	$452,173	$26,598
2013	1	1	$12,567	$12,567
2011	45	41	$2,444,322	$59,618
2009	7	6	$47,290	$7,882
2008	18	17	$424,936	$24,996
2005	1	1	$6,660	$6,660
2004	1	0	$0	—
2002	2	2	$26,311	$13,155
2001	1	1	$3,400	$3,400
1999	2	2	$3,558	$1,779
1997	7	6	$43,994	$7,332
1996	2	1	$821	$821
1995	1	1	$7,202	$7,202
1994	1	1	$2,014	$2,014
1991	8	7	$28,373	$4,053
1990	1	1	$9,473	$9,473
1989	2	2	$5,949	$2,975
1983	4	4	$12,406	$3,101

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 43.8 of 100

Expected annual loss$8.9MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$4,151,534
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$950,832
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$877,987
Tornado	Relatively Low	$799,278
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$576,061
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$526,151
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$392,506
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$241,440
Hail	Relatively Low	$166,231
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$131,076
Lightning	Relatively Low	$57,564
Winter weather	Very Low	$4,301
Wildfire	Very Low	$1,700
Landslide	Very Low	$146

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles20

Tracks within 50 miles6

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ida	2021	87 mi	40 mph
Laura	2020	98 mi	63 mph
Delta	2020	53 mi	40 mph
Danny	1985	97 mi	46 mph
Elena	1985	99 mi	52 mph
Camille	1969	70 mi	58 mph
Betsy	1965	42 mi	40 mph
Audrey	1957	6 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	58 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	87 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	64 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	30 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	64 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1909	13 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1905	19 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1898	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1891	65 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	29 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1886	93 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1860	77 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

71653 106
71640 30
71638 23

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Chicot County, AR?

NCEI records 137 hail events in Chicot County since 1950, in 39 different years; that is about 1.8 recorded events a year. 36 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Chicot County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 45 tornadoes in Chicot County since 1950, 8 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 1.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Chicot County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 18 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Chicot County, and how much was paid?

153 NFIP claims since 1978, 131 of them paid, for $4.2M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Chicot County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Chicot County compare with the rest of Arkansas?

87.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 94.2 statewide, and 15.3 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 3.4. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 29 Sep 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.