Natural hazards · Ward

Ward, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Ward comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2015. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Ward?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Ward to be higher than in 86% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding42%Tornadoes18%Earthquakes16%Heat waves7%Strong wind6%Everything else11%

By hazard

What Ward faces

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

Inland flooding

42% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 57 years in the area

Earthquakes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 84% of U.S. places

Heat waves

7% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 71% of U.S. places

Recorded about 18 times a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about 3 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningDrought

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 Ward flood?

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

1paid claims since 2015

$669paid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20152026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Lonoke County.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

25storm safe rooms built

Disasters that hit Ward

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WardDeclared for Lonoke County only

2023

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes

$39K to the City of Ward for repairs

2023

Severe Storms and Tornadoes

9 households applied for aid $700 aid approved

2011

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding

3 households applied for aid $12K aid approved

2008

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

4 households applied for aid $41K aid approved

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$9K to the City of Ward for repairs

Lonoke County has had 25 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and tornadoes.

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