Natural hazards · Des Arc

Des Arc, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Des Arc comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2004. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Des Arc?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Des Arc to be higher than in 85% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and earthquakes.

Inland flooding42%Earthquakes26%Tornadoes17%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Des Arc faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

26% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

17% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Des Arc flood?

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

7paid claims since 2004

$74Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20042026

Biggest named events

Late spring severe storms: 3 claims, $34K
Mid-spring storms: 2 claims, $33K

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Prairie County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

7storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Des Arc

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Des ArcDeclared for Prairie County only

2017

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

16 households applied for aid $54K aid approved $32K to the City of Des Arc for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding

204 households applied for aid $1.7M aid approved $80K to the City of Des Arc for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

66 households applied for aid $465K aid approved $70K to the City of Des Arc for repairs

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$36K to the City of Des Arc for repairs

Prairie County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

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. Des Arc 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 Des Arc’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Des Arc. 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.