Natural hazards · Elkins

Elkins, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elkins comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2008. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elkins?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elkins to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and heat waves.

Inland flooding46%Heat waves30%Tornadoes8%Everything else15%

By hazard

What Elkins faces

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

Inland flooding

46% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Heat waves

30% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

8% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 49% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 79 years in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesStrong windLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Elkins flood?

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

7paid claims since 2008

$75Kpaid to owners

3homes flooded more than once

20082026

Biggest named events

March storm: 3 claims, $21K
Mid-spring storms: 2 claims, $11K

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Washington County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

5storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Elkins

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into ElkinsDeclared for Washington County only

2017

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

11 households applied for aid $22K aid approved $17K to the City of Elkins for repairs

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding

20 households applied for aid $14K aid approved $17K to the City of Elkins for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$18K to the City of Elkins for repairs

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

27 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2004

Sever Storms, Flooding and Landslides

$10K to the City of Elkins for repairs

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

Around Elkins

Elkins and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Elkinsmostly inland floodingVery high

Fayettevillemostly heat wavesModerate

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