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Natural hazards · Emerson

Emerson, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Emerson comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Emerson?

63
High
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Emerson to be higher than in 63% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and ice storms.

Inland flooding24%Ice storms21%Tornadoes13%Heat waves9%Strong wind9%Drought9%Everything else16%
By hazard

What Emerson faces

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

Inland flooding

24% of expected damage
Below average · higher than 33% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Ice storms

21% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

13% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 66% of U.S. places
Recorded about once every 4 years in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places
Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Strong wind

9% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places
Recorded about 5 times a year in the area

Drought

9% of expected damage
Recorded about 26 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Emerson flood?

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

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

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into EmersonDeclared for Columbia County only
2016

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

$28K to the Town of Emerson for repairs
2003

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

31 households applied for aid $23K aid approved
2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$11K to the Town of Emerson for repairs
Columbia County has had 18 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. Emerson 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 Emerson’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Emerson. 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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