James W. Hamer House · Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0Storms, floods and disasters in Little Rock
Little Rock isn’t graded for hazard risk: Little Rock has 306 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Little Rock faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Hurricanes
River and rain flooding
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 Little Rock flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Little Rock. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Little Rock isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Dillon County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Little Rock
Disasters that paid out in Little Rock itself (aid to households or repair grants to Little Rock), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2018Hurricane Florence56 households applied for aid$79K aid approved
- 2016Hurricane Matthew66 households applied for aid$20K aid approved
- 2004Tropical Storm Frances33 households applied for aid$31K aid approved
Dillon County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then winter storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Little Rock after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Little Rock archive →Get ready for what Little Rock faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- The season runs June through November and peaks from mid-August to mid-October.
- Bring in porch furniture and anything the wind can throw.
- Fill the gas tank and charge phones before the storm arrives.
- 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.
- 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 Little Rock
Is Little Rock 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 Dillon County, 25% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.8% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Little Rock?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Little Rock’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 Little Rock?
By FEMA money that reached Little Rock, Hurricane Florence (2018): 56 households applied for aid, $79K approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Little Rock.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Little Rock’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.