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Fairview School BuildingFairview School Building · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Bull Shoals · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Bull Shoals faces more hazard damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns, led by ice storms

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bull Shoals gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is ice storms (45%), then river and rain flooding (36%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Ice storms 45%River and rain flooding 36%Tornadoes 7%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

more than 80%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
C−
in Arkansas · higher than 80% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Ice storms
45% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
9
of 23 declared for Marion County
By hazard

What Bull Shoals faces

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

Ice storms

45%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

River and rain flooding

36%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 61% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

7%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts

Earthquakes

6%of expected building damage
Above average · higher than 76% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms top 4% Hail Hurricanes Lightning Landslides Cold waves Heat waves
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 14% of Bull Shoals’ expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Bull Shoals’ grade

Ice storms are 45% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bull Shoals, and Bull Shoals’ rate of ice storms damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 3%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Bull Shoals sits
Bull Shoals
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C− higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Bull Shoals’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Ice storms45%River and rain flooding36%Tornadoes7%Everything else12%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $942K a year in losses across Bull Shoals: $588K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Bull Shoals’ 1,952 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Oakland CDP (72 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Bull Shoals flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bull Shoals. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Bull Shoals isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Marion County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
1storm safe room built
Disasters

9 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Bull Shoals

Disasters that paid out in Bull Shoals itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Bull Shoals), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding11 households applied for aid$24K aid approved$70K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs
  2. 2017Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$112K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs
  3. 2013Severe Storms and Flooding$8K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs
  4. 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding$51K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs
  5. 2009Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$17K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs
  6. 2009Severe Winter Storm$515K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs
Show all 9
  1. 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding1 households applied for aid$2K aid approved
  2. 2004Sever Storms, Flooding and Landslides$352K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs
  3. 2000Severe Winter Ice Storm$16K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Bull ShoalsMarion County only

Marion County has had 23 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

Old photos of Bull Shoals after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Bull Shoals archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Bull Shoals faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Ice storms
  • Ice brings down trees and lines: plan for days without power.
  • Run a generator outside, far from doors and windows.
  • Keep sand or salt by the door.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
  • Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
  • Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Tornado warnings
  • Pick your spot now: the lowest floor, an inside room, no windows.
  • A watch means be ready; a warning means take cover now.
  • Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
  • Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
  • Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Bull Shoals

Is Bull Shoals at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bull Shoals has higher expected damage per building than 80% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is ice storms (45%) and river and rain flooding (36%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Bull Shoals in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Marion County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Bull Shoals?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bull Shoals’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Bull Shoals?

By FEMA money that reached Bull Shoals, Severe Winter Storm (2009): $515K to the City of Bull Shoals for repairs.

Is Bull Shoals at risk from ice storms?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (45%), and Bull Shoals’ rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bull Shoals.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bull Shoals’ residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.