Natural hazards · Winchester

Winchester, AR natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Winchester comes from drought, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2021. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Winchester?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Winchester to be higher than in 52% of U.S. communities, mostly from drought and inland flooding.

Drought42%Inland flooding16%Earthquakes11%Tornadoes11%Heat waves8%Everything else14%

By hazard

What Winchester faces

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

Drought

42% of expected damage

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

16% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 38% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Tornadoes

11% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 3 years in the area

Heat waves

8% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 72% of U.S. places

Recorded about 20 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong 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 Winchester flood?

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

1paid claims since 2021

$60Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20212026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Drew County.

Disasters that hit Winchester

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into WinchesterDeclared for Drew County only

2000

Severe Winter Ice Storm

$1K to the Town of Winchester for repairs

Drew County has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and winter storms.

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