States › Arkansas › Desha County

Desha 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 05041 · 11,090 residents (2021) · 741 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 59Tornado · 26Flood · 49Wind · 131Winter · 41

Desha 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 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 359 events for Desha County, Arkansas, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 48.4 events per 100 square miles, below the Arkansas figure of 94.2, and 323.7 per 10,000 residents against 161.8 statewide.

4 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 34 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $56M and crop damage at $4.0M.

FEMA has designated the county in 21 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 206 claims since 1978, of which 167 were paid, totalling $3.6M (about $22K per paid claim). FEMA counts 200 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($6.5M a year across 18 hazards).

17 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.

4events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

359events since 19500 deaths, 34 injuries recorded

21disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

206NFIP flood claims$3.6M paid

Compared with Arkansas and the United States

Measure	Desha County	Arkansas	US
Recorded events since 1950	359	48,966	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	48.4	94.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	323.7	161.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	4	1,151	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	668	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$56M	$6.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	18.6	3.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$22K	$27K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	25.0	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: 3Wind: 1

Hail: 2

Tornado: 7Wind: 7

Hail: 3Tornado: 3Wind: 19

Hail: 15Tornado: 1Wind: 28Winter: 1

Hail: 21Tornado: 7Flood: 17Wind: 33Winter: 12Tropical: 3Heat: 1Cold: 2Drought: 1Lightning: 1Other: 2

Hail: 14Tornado: 3Flood: 18Wind: 29Winter: 23Tropical: 2Heat: 9Drought: 21Lightning: 1Other: 5

Hail: 4Tornado: 2Flood: 14Wind: 14Winter: 5Tropical: 1Other: 4

41950s21960s141970s251980s451990s1002000s1252010s442020s

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

Trend: 205 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 118 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

Wind131

Hail59

Flood49

Winter41

Tornado26

Drought22

Other11

Heat10

Tropical6

Cold2

Lightning2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	131	—	0.8%	detail
■ Hail	59	—	0.5%	detail
■ Flood	49	—	0.9%	detail
■ Winter	41	—	0.9%	detail
■ Tornado	26	—	1.0%	detail
■ Drought	22	—	1.2%
■ Other	11	—	1.6%
■ Heat	10	—	0.4%
■ Tropical	6	—	2.2%
■ Cold	2	—	0.4%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.5%

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
24 Feb 2007	Tornado	Tornado	EF3	$45M	—	—	28	County
24 Apr 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	2	County
28 Jan 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	2	County
28 Oct 1955	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25K	—	—	1	County
13 Apr 1991	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
1 May 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$500K	$3.0M	—	—	County
13 Apr 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$1.5M	$25K	—	—	County
13 Apr 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$1.5M	$25K	—	—	County
28 May 2019	Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	$500K	—	—	County
22 Mar 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	$50K	—	—	County
2 Sep 2008	Tropical Depression	Tropical	—	$575K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Aug 2012	Tropical Depression	Tropical	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Sep 2008	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$375K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
20 Jul 1953	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
1 Mar 1972	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
3 Dec 1978	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
11 Apr 1979	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
29 Jan 2008	Strong Wind	Wind	52 mph	$250K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
30 Oct 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	92 mph	$250K	—	—	—	County
13 Oct 2009	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County

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
21 May 2025	DR-4873	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
5 Apr 2025	EM-3627	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
4 Apr 2023	DR-4700	Major disaster	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
27 Aug 2020	EM-3541	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Laura	Public assistance
10 Jul 2020	DR-4556	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds	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	Individual assistance, 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
26 Mar 2008	DR-1751	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Sep 2005	EM-3215	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
29 Dec 2000	DR-1354	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Dec 2000	EM-3159	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	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
15 May 1990	DR-865	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance
13 Dec 1982	DR-673	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	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 Desha County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978206

Paid claims167

Total paid$3.6M

Average paid claim$22K

Repetitive-loss properties293 severe

Residential policies in force2004.2% of 4,762 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	15	13	$699,925	$53,840
2024	1	0	$0	—
2023	2	1	$3,399	$3,399
2021	12	10	$457,833	$45,783
2020	1	1	$2,101	$2,101
2019	17	15	$553,239	$36,883
2018	1	1	$26,603	$26,603
2017	1	1	$12,759	$12,759
2016	27	24	$554,529	$23,105
2015	8	6	$125,977	$20,996
2014	1	1	$1,759	$1,759
2013	1	0	$0	—
2011	23	12	$533,082	$44,424
2009	7	6	$32,260	$5,377
2008	6	4	$51,755	$12,939
2006	1	1	$1,051	$1,051
2002	24	20	$190,954	$9,548
2001	7	7	$48,922	$6,989
2000	1	1	$3,803	$3,803
1997	1	1	$10,300	$10,300
1994	31	28	$222,169	$7,935
1992	2	1	$1,843	$1,843
1991	6	6	$61,478	$10,246
1990	4	4	$6,112	$1,528
1989	1	0	$0	—

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 riskVery Lowscore 32.9 of 100

Expected annual loss$6.5MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Very Low	$2,386,150
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$1,538,960
Tornado	Relatively Low	$929,677
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$434,549
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$337,306
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$265,028
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$204,731
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$181,923
Hail	Relatively Low	$157,742
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$57,857
Lightning	Very Low	$40,277
Winter weather	Very Low	$9,750
Wildfire	Very Low	$691
Landslide	Very Low	$60

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 miles17

Tracks within 50 miles4

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Laura	2020	82 mi	40 mph
Delta	2020	92 mi	40 mph
Camille	1969	72 mi	58 mph
Betsy	1965	67 mi	40 mph
Audrey	1957	37 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	65 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	91 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	67 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	9 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	66 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1909	46 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	96 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1905	47 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1891	61 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	50 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	87 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1860	75 mi	46 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

71654 121
71639 52
72379 13
71674 10
71630 8

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 Desha County, AR?

NCEI records 59 hail events in Desha County since 1950, in 29 different years; that is about 0.8 recorded events a year. 16 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Desha County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 26 tornadoes in Desha County since 1950, 9 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Desha County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 21 declarations since 1953.

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

206 NFIP claims since 1978, 167 of them paid, for $3.6M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Desha County compare with the rest of Arkansas?

48.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 94.2 statewide, and 18.6 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 1 Oct 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 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.