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Green Forest Water TowerGreen Forest Water Tower · Photo: Valis55 · CC BY-SA 3.0
C+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Green Forest · FEMA

For ice storms, Green Forest’s building-damage rate is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Green Forest gets a C+ for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns, #24 of 123 in Arkansas. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%), then ice storms (19%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 58%Ice storms 19%Tornadoes 12%

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 55%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#24 of 123 in Arkansas
Hazard risk
C+#24 of 123
in Arkansas · higher than 55% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
58% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
7
of 17 declared for Carroll County
By hazard

What Green Forest faces

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

River and rain flooding

58%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Ice storms

19%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

Tornadoes

12%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 87% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 15 years in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Hail Strong wind Wildfire Winter storms top 4% Hurricanes Lightning Cold waves Heat waves Landslides
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 13% of Green Forest’s 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 Green Forest’s grade

River and rain flooding is 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Green Forest, and Green Forest’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 19%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Green Forest sits
Green Forest
Least damageMiddleMost damage

C+ #24 of 123 in Arkansas; higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns (21,298).

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

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding58%Ice storms19%Tornadoes12%Everything else11%

The typical Arkansas town has higher expected damage than 73% of U.S. towns; within the state, Green Forest has less expected damage per building than 81% of Arkansas towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Green Forest: $737K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Green Forest’s 2,972 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. 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 Green Forest flood? No paid flood claims on record

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

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

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

Insurance rates: Carroll County.
What’s been done with FEMA grants
4storm safe rooms built
Disasters

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Green Forest

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

  1. 2024Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding$5K to the City of Green Forest for repairs
  2. 2017Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding10 households applied for aid$8K aid approved$9K to the City of Green Forest for repairs
  3. 2015Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding2 households applied for aid$15K to the City of Green Forest for repairs
  4. 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding8 households applied for aid$26K aid approved$30K to the City of Green Forest for repairs
  5. 2009Severe Winter Storm$186K to the City of Green Forest for repairs
  6. 2008Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding9 households applied for aid$21K aid approved$12K to the City of Green Forest for repairs
Show all 7
  1. 2004Sever Storms, Flooding and Landslides$6K to the City of Green Forest for repairs
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Green ForestCarroll County only

Carroll County has had 17 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Were you here?

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

Add to the Green Forest archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Green Forest faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Green Forest

Is Green Forest at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Green Forest has higher expected damage per building than 55% of U.S. towns: C+ for hazard risk, #24 of 123 in Arkansas. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%) and ice storms (19%). 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 Green Forest 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 Carroll County, 1% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.0% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Green Forest?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Green Forest’s 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 Green Forest?

By FEMA money that reached Green Forest, Severe Winter Storm (2009): $186K to the City of Green Forest for repairs.

Is Green Forest at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Green Forest’s rate for it is lower than 52% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Green Forest.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Green Forest’s 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.