Natural hazards · St. Francis

St. Francis, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in St. Francis comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very 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 St. Francis?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in St. Francis to be higher than in 84% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and drought.

Earthquakes29%Drought27%Cold waves14%Inland flooding10%Tornadoes7%Heat waves5%Everything else9%

By hazard

What St. Francis faces

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

Earthquakes

29% of expected damage

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

Drought

27% of expected damage

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Cold waves

14% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 21% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

10% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 7 years in the area

Heat waves

5% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 19 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightning

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 St. Francis flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Clay County.

Disasters that hit St. Francis

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into St. FrancisDeclared for Clay County only

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding

3 households applied for aid $18K aid approved $4K to the City of St. Francis for repairs

2009

Severe Winter Storm

$15K to the City of St. Francis for repairs

2002

Severe Ice Storm

$4K to the City of St. Francis for repairs

Clay County has had 21 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around St. Francis

St. Francis and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

St. Francismostly earthquakesVery high

Unionmostly earthquakesVery high

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