Photo: TBKS1 · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Oppelo
Oppelo isn’t graded for hazard risk: FEMA’s tract figures aren’t matched to Oppelo yet.
What Oppelo 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
Tornadoes
Ice storms
Earthquakes
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.
Does Oppelo flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Oppelo. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Oppelo isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Conway County.5 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Oppelo
Disasters that paid out in Oppelo itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Oppelo), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2019Severe Storms and Flooding$102K to the City of Oppelo for repairs
- 2017Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding$6K to the City of Oppelo for repairs
- 2011Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Associated Flooding$56K to the City of Oppelo for repairs
- 2003Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding$39K to the City of Oppelo for repairs
- 2000Severe Winter Ice Storm$6K to the City of Oppelo for repairs
Conway County has had 24 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.
Old photos of Oppelo after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Oppelo archive →Get ready for what Oppelo faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Oppelo
Is Oppelo 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 Conway County, 8% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Oppelo?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Oppelo’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 Oppelo?
By FEMA money that reached Oppelo, Severe Storms and Flooding (2019): $102K to the City of Oppelo for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Oppelo.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Oppelo’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.