States › Arkansas › Monroe County

Monroe 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 05095 · 6,683 residents (2021) · 607 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 90Tornado · 22Flood · 106Wind · 139Winter · 52

Monroe 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 449 events for Monroe County, Arkansas, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 73.9 events per 100 square miles, below the Arkansas figure of 94.2, and 671.9 per 10,000 residents against 161.8 statewide.

3 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 8 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $53M and crop damage at $24M.

FEMA has designated the county in 27 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 170 claims since 1978, of which 142 were paid, totalling $4.4M (about $31K per paid claim). FEMA counts 104 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" ($7.6M a year across 18 hazards).

13 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.

3events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

449events since 19500 deaths, 8 injuries recorded

27disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

170NFIP flood claims$4.4M paid

Compared with Arkansas and the United States

Measure	Monroe County	Arkansas	US
Recorded events since 1950	449	48,966	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	73.9	94.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	671.9	161.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	3	1,151	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	668	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$53M	$6.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	25.4	3.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$31K	$27K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	17.3	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

Wind: 1

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 8Wind: 6

Hail: 3Tornado: 2Wind: 17

Hail: 41Tornado: 3Flood: 2Wind: 31Winter: 3

Hail: 26Tornado: 3Flood: 19Wind: 28Winter: 15Tropical: 2Heat: 1Cold: 3Drought: 1Lightning: 1

Hail: 12Tornado: 4Flood: 52Wind: 43Winter: 28Tropical: 2Heat: 9Drought: 15Wildfire: 1Lightning: 1Other: 3

Hail: 5Tornado: 1Flood: 33Wind: 11Winter: 6Other: 1

11950s51960s151970s221980s801990s992000s1702010s572020s

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

Trend: 281 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 132 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

Wind139

Flood106

Hail90

Winter52

Tornado22

Drought16

Heat10

Tropical4

Other4

Cold3

Lightning2

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	139	—	0.8%	detail
■ Flood	106	—	1.9%	detail
■ Hail	90	—	0.7%	detail
■ Winter	52	—	1.1%	detail
■ Tornado	22	—	0.9%	detail
■ Drought	16	—	0.9%
■ Heat	10	—	0.4%
■ Tropical	4	—	1.5%
■ Other	4	—	0.6%
■ Cold	3	—	0.6%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.5%
■ Wildfire	1	—	0.6%

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
9 Feb 1965	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25K	—	—	5	County
1 May 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$35M	$15M	—	—	County
24 Feb 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	75 mph	$100K	—	—	1	County
30 May 2013	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$100K	—	—	1	County
4 Apr 2011	Lightning	Lightning	—	$1K	—	—	1	County
2 Jul 1994	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$5.0M	—	—	—	County
1 Jul 2014	Flood	Flood	—	$25K	$4.5M	—	—	County
18 Mar 2008	Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	$50K	—	—	County
1 Nov 2009	Flood	Flood	—	—	$3.0M	—	—	County
2 Apr 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	—	County
29 Jun 2014	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.3M	$250K	—	—	County
15 Oct 2009	Flood	Flood	—	—	$1.0M	—	—	County
2 Jul 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
30 Aug 2012	Tropical Depression	Tropical	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Sep 2008	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$375K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
22 Jan 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$300K	—	—	—	County
17 Oct 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$300K	—	—	—	County
26 Apr 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$275K	—	—	—	County
29 Jun 2014	Flood	Flood	—	$25K	$250K	—	—	County
23 Nov 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$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	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
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
2 May 2011	DR-1975	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Associated Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Feb 2010	DR-1872	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
3 Dec 2009	DR-1861	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
16 Jun 2009	DR-1845	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
28 Jan 2009	EM-3301	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public 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
24 Jan 2002	DR-1400	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	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
23 Jan 1999	DR-1266	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Ar Severe Weather 1-21-99	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Apr 1997	DR-1176	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding, Severe Storms	Public assistance
28 Feb 1994	DR-1011	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Public assistance
15 May 1990	DR-865	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
31 Dec 1987	DR-807	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance
13 Dec 1982	DR-673	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance
23 Apr 1982	EM-3085	Emergency	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
7 Jun 1975	DR-471	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Apr 1973	DR-375	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 May 1968	DR-239	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes, 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 Monroe County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978170

Paid claims142

Total paid$4.4M

Average paid claim$31K

Repetitive-loss properties221 severe

Residential policies in force1042.7% of 3,887 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2022	1	0	$0	—
2021	6	4	$30,810	$7,703
2020	1	0	$0	—
2019	1	1	$549	$549
2018	4	2	$5,973	$2,986
2017	5	4	$94,874	$23,719
2014	6	5	$113,927	$22,785
2011	79	73	$3,436,136	$47,070
2009	7	6	$12,968	$2,161
2008	32	26	$577,581	$22,215
2004	1	1	$2,564	$2,564
2003	1	1	$4,552	$4,552
2001	2	1	$5,898	$5,898
1997	1	1	$3,767	$3,767
1992	1	1	$5,000	$5,000
1991	3	3	$15,202	$5,067
1989	5	5	$10,781	$2,156
1987	2	1	$12,000	$12,000
1986	1	0	$0	—
1984	2	0	$0	—
1983	9	7	$27,565	$3,938

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 36.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$7.6MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$2,960,581
Inland flooding	Very Low	$2,181,314
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,326,501
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$233,432
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$232,201
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$168,595
Cold wave	Very Low	$158,764
Hail	Relatively Low	$111,131
Drought	Relatively Low	$99,058
Lightning	Relatively Low	$55,380
Hurricane	Very Low	$45,692
Winter weather	Very Low	$12,426
Wildfire	Very Low	$5,054
Landslide	Very Low	$31

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 miles13

Tracks within 50 miles1

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Laura	2020	76 mi	40 mph
Camille	1969	68 mi	40 mph
Audrey	1957	95 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	91 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	68 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	93 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	77 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1909	23 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	74 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1905	61 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1891	92 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	63 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1879	82 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

72069 104
72029 33
72021 29

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 Monroe County, AR?

NCEI records 90 hail events in Monroe County since 1950, in 29 different years; that is about 1.2 recorded events a year. 21 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Monroe County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 22 tornadoes in Monroe County since 1950, 7 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Monroe County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 27 declarations since 1953.

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

170 NFIP claims since 1978, 142 of them paid, for $4.4M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Monroe 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 Monroe County compare with the rest of Arkansas?

73.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 94.2 statewide, and 25.4 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.