Natural hazards · Powhatan

Powhatan, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Powhatan comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1982. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Powhatan?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Powhatan to be higher than in 83% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding31%Tornadoes23%Earthquakes18%Cold waves8%Heat waves7%Ice storms6%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Powhatan faces

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

Inland flooding

31% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

23% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 8 years in the area

Earthquakes

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Cold waves

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 81% of U.S. places

Recorded about 18 times a year 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

Lower here

HurricanesHailWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Powhatan flood?

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

4paid claims since 1982

$72Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

Biggest named events

Mid-spring storms: 1 claim, $55K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lawrence County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

2storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Powhatan

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into PowhatanDeclared for Lawrence County only

2025

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

6 households applied for aid $16K aid approved

2017

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

1 household applied for aid

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding

3 households applied for aid $9K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid $205 aid approved

Lawrence County has had 19 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. Powhatan 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 Powhatan’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Powhatan. 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.