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Natural hazards · Bigelow

Bigelow, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bigelow comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Bigelow?

86
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bigelow to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding47%Tornadoes24%Ice storms6%Heat waves6%Everything else19%
By hazard

What Bigelow faces

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

Inland flooding

47% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

24% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 9 years in the area

Ice storms

6% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Heat waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 70% of U.S. places
Recorded about 17 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong 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 Bigelow flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bigelow.

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Bigelow isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Perry County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

14flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1storm safe rooms built
Disasters that hit Bigelow

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BigelowDeclared for Perry County only
2019

Severe Storms and Flooding

92 households applied for aid $798K aid approved $52K to the Town of Bigelow for repairs
2017

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

2 households applied for aid
2015

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

66 households applied for aid $415K aid approved $75K to the Town of Bigelow for repairs
2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding

1 household applied for aid
2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

$3K to the Town of Bigelow for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

2 households applied for aid $7K aid approved $11K to the Town of Bigelow for repairs
2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$2K to the Town of Bigelow for repairs
Perry 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. Bigelow is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Bigelow’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Bigelow. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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