States › Arkansas › Poinsett County

Poinsett 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 05111 · 22,660 residents (2021) · 758 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 131Tornado · 48Flood · 43Wind · 185Winter · 57

Poinsett 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.

Poinsett County, Arkansas, has 634 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 83.6 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Arkansas figure of 94.2, and 279.8 per 10,000 residents against 161.8 statewide.

41 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 16 deaths and 107 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $69M and crop damage at $25K.

FEMA has designated the county in 32 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 70 claims since 1978, of which 56 were paid, totalling $1.7M (about $31K per paid claim). FEMA counts 63 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 "Relatively Low" ($25M a year across 18 hazards).

9 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.

41events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

634events since 195016 deaths, 107 injuries recorded

32disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

70NFIP flood claims$1.7M paid

Compared with Arkansas and the United States

Measure	Poinsett County	Arkansas	US
Recorded events since 1950	634	48,966	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	83.6	94.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	279.8	161.8	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	41	1,151	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	16	668	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$69M	$6.4B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	3.1	3.4	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$31K	$27K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	33.3	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

Hail: 1Tornado: 5Wind: 2

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 2Tornado: 5Wind: 10

Hail: 7Tornado: 8Wind: 19

Hail: 24Tornado: 7Flood: 3Wind: 30

Hail: 40Tornado: 6Flood: 21Wind: 37Winter: 17Tropical: 1Heat: 1Cold: 2Drought: 3Lightning: 2Other: 2

Hail: 24Tornado: 3Flood: 13Wind: 39Winter: 26Heat: 48Drought: 15Other: 1

Hail: 31Tornado: 13Flood: 6Wind: 46Winter: 14Heat: 75Cold: 10Drought: 9Other: 1

81950s51960s171970s341980s641990s1322000s1692010s2052020s

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

Trend: 430 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 138 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

Wind185

Hail131

Heat124

Winter57

Tornado48

Flood43

Drought27

Cold12

Other4

Lightning2

Tropical1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	185	—	1.1%	detail
■ Hail	131	—	1.0%	detail
■ Heat	124	—	4.7%
■ Winter	57	4	1.2%	detail
■ Tornado	48	8	1.9%	detail
■ Flood	43	—	0.8%	detail
■ Drought	27	—	1.5%
■ Cold	12	—	2.6%
■ Other	4	3	0.6%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.5%
■ Tropical	1	1	0.4%

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
15 Mar 1984	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$25M	—	5	12	County
21 Mar 1952	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	2	39	County
23 Dec 2008	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	2	—	Forecast zone
23 Jan 2024	Heavy Rain	Other	—	—	—	2	—	County
21 Mar 1952	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	1	5	County
2 Mar 2014	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	1	Forecast zone
26 Jan 2009	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$164K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
14 Sep 2008	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$60K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
28 Apr 2009	Heavy Rain	Other	—	—	—	1	—	County
26 May 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$25K	—	—	25	County
26 Sep 1959	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	10	County
21 Oct 2019	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$350K	—	—	3	County
23 Nov 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	3	County
15 Mar 1984	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$25M	—	—	—	County
8 Apr 2020	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$250K	—	—	2	County
7 May 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	2	County
21 Jun 1988	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	2	County
15 Dec 1971	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	1	County
23 Nov 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
4 Mar 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	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
14 Nov 2023	DR-4748	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes	Public assistance
23 Dec 2021	DR-4633	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual 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
15 Jun 2017	DR-4318	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
25 Jun 2013	DR-4124	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	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
6 Feb 2009	DR-1819	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	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
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
6 Jan 2003	DR-1450	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Ice Storm	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
14 Apr 1997	DR-1176	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding, Severe Storms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Mar 1997	DR-1162	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Nov 1988	DR-817	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms & Tornadoes	Individual assistance
31 Dec 1987	DR-807	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance
29 May 1973	DR-389	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Apr 1973	DR-375	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
15 Feb 1969	DR-254	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 Poinsett County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197870

Paid claims56

Total paid$1.7M

Average paid claim$31K

Repetitive-loss properties111 severe

Residential policies in force630.7% of 9,298 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	2	1	$29,336	$29,336
2025	2	1	$37,000	$37,000
2021	1	0	$0	—
2020	4	2	$118,812	$59,406
2019	4	4	$220,404	$55,101
2017	8	8	$385,490	$48,186
2016	2	2	$46,291	$23,146
2015	1	1	$24,882	$24,882
2013	9	8	$285,803	$35,725
2011	6	4	$331,888	$82,972
2010	2	2	$44,213	$22,106
2009	2	2	$20,433	$10,216
2008	1	1	$1,826	$1,826
2007	2	1	$1,089	$1,089
2003	4	3	$60,799	$20,266
2001	1	1	$1,947	$1,947
1997	8	6	$86,585	$14,431
1990	1	1	$2,395	$2,395
1987	1	0	$0	—
1983	4	4	$20,437	$5,109
1982	2	2	$22,702	$11,351
1981	1	0	$0	—
1978	2	2	$2,921	$1,461

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 72.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$25MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$11,817,424
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$3,844,505
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$3,444,003
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$1,589,613
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$1,232,596
Ice storm	Relatively High	$1,030,692
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$951,363
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$313,317
Hail	Relatively Low	$174,947
Lightning	Relatively Low	$145,873
Hurricane	Very Low	$33,846
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$31,089
Wildfire	Very Low	$1,848
Landslide	Very Low	$886

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 miles9

Tracks within 50 miles3

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Olga	2019	89 mi	46 mph
Camille	1969	71 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	38 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	41 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	83 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	52 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1909	53 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1906	27 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	62 mi	63 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

72432 21
72472 19
72354 10
72365 9
72386 5
72479 5

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 Poinsett County, AR?

NCEI records 131 hail events in Poinsett County since 1950, in 40 different years; that is about 1.7 recorded events a year. 30 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Poinsett County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 48 tornadoes in Poinsett County since 1950, 14 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 8.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Poinsett County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 32 declarations since 1953.

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

70 NFIP claims since 1978, 56 of them paid, for $1.7M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Poinsett 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, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Poinsett County compare with the rest of Arkansas?

83.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 94.2 statewide, and 3.1 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.