Van Buren County, Arkansas: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Van Buren County, Arkansas has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 50.6 out of 100, higher than about 50% of US counties, with ice storms, tornadoes and landslides scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $10.0 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 23 federal disaster declarations that included Van Buren County since 1976, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3636-AR (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 34 tornadoes touching Van Buren County from 1950 to 2025.
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Population 15,758 Buildings worth $3.2 billion Area 731 sq mi Risk rank in Arkansas 44 of 75 FIPS 05141
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice storm | Very High | 95.9 | $1.2 million | about 1.4 a year | 93 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 82.7 | $2.7 million | about once every 1.9 years | 40 |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | 77.2 | $7,064 | about 1.5 a year | — |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 76.9 | $777,035 | about once every 217 years | — |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 75.2 | $159,851 | about once every 340 years | — |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 61.6 | $373,863 | about 12 a year | 208 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 60.7 | $56,128 | about 7.1 a year | 136 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 59.4 | $435,907 | about 3.2 a year | 120 |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 52.9 | $157,090 | about 6 a year | 90,518 strikes |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Low | 47.9 | $3.8 million | about once a year | 27 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 36.3 | $14,122 | about once every 93 years | 4 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 31.3 | $271,185 | about 1.4 a year | 26 |
| Hail | Very Low | 29.0 | $68,558 | about 5.2 a year | 198 |
| Drought | No Rating | 0.0 | — | about 11 a year | 350 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 23
Most common: Severe Storm 11, Severe Ice Storm 4, Hurricane 3, Flood 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1 | Drought |
| 1980s | 2 | Tornado, Severe Storm |
| 1990s | 2 | Flood ×2 |
| 2000s | 12 | Severe Storm ×7, Severe Ice Storm ×3, Hurricane ×2 |
| 2010s | 3 | Severe Storm ×2, Severe Ice Storm |
| 2020s | 3 | Winter Storm, Severe Storm, Hurricane |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Van Buren County
- Severe Winter Storm (2026, EM-3636-AR): 75 Arkansas counties designated.
- Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding (2025, EM-3627-AR): 75 Arkansas counties designated.
- Hurricane Laura (2020, EM-3541-AR): 75 Arkansas counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Laura (2020), Tropical Storm Ike (2008), Hurricane Gustav (2008), Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Arkansas also had 6 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 34
| Tornadoes touching the county | 34 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F4 ×1 |
| Peak month | April (9) |
| Deadliest | 2 May 2008, EF3, 45.3 mi path, 5 killed, 24 injured |
| Longest path | 2 May 2008, EF3, 45.3 mi path, 5 killed, 24 injured |
| Most recent | 23 Dec 2015, EF1, 0.2 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 11 / 89 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 6 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Van Buren County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 50.6 | Ice storm |
| Conway County | 39 km | Relatively Low | 56.6 | Ice storm |
| Searcy County | 40 km | Very Low | 27.7 | Ice storm |
| Cleburne County | 44 km | Relatively Low | 72.7 | Ice storm |
| Stone County | 45 km | Relatively Low | 49.9 | Ice storm |
| Pope County | 49 km | Relatively Low | 77.8 | Ice storm |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Arkansas, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Very High 93.1 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Very Low 10.2 |
| Community risk factor | 1.73 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $10.0 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Van Buren County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Arkansas · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Ice storm: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Tornado: Is there a tornado warning now?
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Van Buren County
What natural disasters is Van Buren County, Arkansas most at risk from?
Van Buren County, Arkansas has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 50.6 out of 100, higher than about 50% of US counties, with ice storms, tornadoes and landslides scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $10.0 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Van Buren County had?
OpenFEMA lists 23 federal disaster declarations that included Van Buren County since 1976, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3636-AR (Severe Winter Storm, declared 24 January 2026). Another 6 Arkansas declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Van Buren County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 34 tornadoes touching Van Buren County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 2 May 2008, EF3, 45.3 mi path, 5 killed, 24 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.