Natural hazards · Ponca

Ponca, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ponca comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ponca?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ponca to be higher than in 77% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding40%Tornadoes18%Lightning12%Cold waves10%Ice storms8%Strong wind5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What Ponca faces

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

Inland flooding

40% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Lightning

12% of expected damage

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

Cold waves

10% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 47% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Ice storms

8% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Strong wind

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslides

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 Ponca flood?

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

Disasters that hit Ponca

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PoncaDeclared for Newton County only

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

3 households applied for aid $5K aid approved

Newton County has had 25 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. Ponca 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 Ponca’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Ponca. 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.