Natural hazards · Alma

Alma, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Alma comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2020. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Alma?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Alma to be higher than in 57% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding43%Heat waves17%Tornadoes15%Cold waves6%Ice storms6%Everything else13%

By hazard

What Alma faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

43% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

17% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 24 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 77% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 70 years in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 65% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Alma flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Alma, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 2020

$161Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20202026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Alma isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Crawford County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

38storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Alma

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Alma itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Alma.

Brought FEMA money into AlmaDeclared for Crawford County only

2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

6 households applied for aid $29K aid approved

2015

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

14 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding

7 households applied for aid $6K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

508 households applied for aid $97K aid approved $30K to the City of Alma for repairs

Crawford County has had 20 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Alma covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Alma’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Alma. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Alma total about $3.2M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.