Automated baseline from FEMA and NOAA data, release 2026-10.

Polk County, AR

Risk-assessment baseline packet. County FIPS 05113. Release 2026-10, data as of 2026-09-30.

Summary

Plan status as of 2026-09-30: Expired on 2026-05-26. Plan: Polk County (FEMA plan 105234), approved 2021-05-27.

Since the plan was approved on 2021-05-27: 2 new hazard declarations (2 incidents) and 43 NOAA Storm Events records; details under "What changed since your last plan".

Highest expected annual loss (FEMA National Risk Index, modeled total; see B1-a): Inland Flooding ($4,890,627 a year), Tornado ($1,353,140) and Ice Storm ($759,083).

The packet's tables are organized by the items of FEMA's Local Mitigation Plan Review Tool, Element B (B1-a to B2-c); the summaries below follow the same order.

Download the packet

Full packet as a web page. File manifest (checksums, source versions).

Plan clock

Expired on 2026-05-26

Plan:
Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)
Approved:
2021-05-27
Days since expiry:
127
Update underway:
none recorded in FEMA's plan tracker

Until a new plan is approved, FEMA mitigation project grants (HMGP, FMA) need a FEMA exception (44 CFR 201.6(a)(3)).

What changed since your last plan (approved 2021-05-27)

New federal declarations:
2 new hazard declarations (2 incidents): EM-3627-AR (Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding), EM-3636-AR (Severe Winter Storm)
Storm Events records since approval:
43 records (data through 2026-06-30)
Repetitive loss now:
FMA RL 0, SRL 1 (44 CFR 77.2); any definition: 2
Repeat-flood change:
this release sets the baseline count.

Plan status for every jurisdiction listed in this county

9 jurisdictions. Each row is that jurisdiction's own plan clock.

JurisdictionTypeStatusPlanApprovedExpiresDays to expirynegative = days since expiry
Polk CountyCountyExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127
Cove townTownExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127
Grannis cityCityExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127
Mena cityCityExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127
Wickes townTownExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127
Cossatot River School DistrictSchool/School DistrictExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127
Mena Public SchoolsSchool/School DistrictExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127
Ouachita River School DistrictSchool/School DistrictExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127
Univ. of Arkansas-Rich MountainCollege/UniversityExpired on 2026-05-26Polk County (FEMA plan 105234)2021-05-272026-05-26-127

State plan status and tribal plans in this state: see the state page.

What the packet contains

Sections in FEMA checklist order; each heading names the review item its tables support. Full tables are in the downloads above.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-a Hazard identification

14 of the 18 National Risk Index hazards apply here.

Not applicable to this county per NRI, with no federal declaration and no Storm Events record since 1996: avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami and volcanic activity. That is the evidence for leaving them out of the plan.

Highest expected annual loss (NRI, modeled): Inland Flooding, Tornado and Ice Storm.

Not covered by NRI (local data needed): dam failure (incl. upstream dams); levee failure; flash flood as its own subtype; ice jams; debris flows; erosion (riverine and coastal); land subsidence and sinkholes; expansive soils.

The state hazard mitigation plan also lists hazards for this county; FEMA asks the plan to explain any hazard it leaves out.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-b Hazard location

  • Cold Wave, Drought, Hail, Heat Wave, Ice Storm, Lightning, Strong Wind and Winter Weather: affects the whole county; national data give no location within it.
  • Earthquake, Hurricane, Landslide, Tornado and Wildfire vary within the county; the packet lists the highest-rated census tracts for each.
  • Inland Flooding: the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) is the required location source for flooding. See the FEMA Flood Map Service Center (https://msc.fema.gov) for this county.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-c Hazard extent

Storm Events records for 13 of the 20 NOAA event-type groups mapped to the 18 hazards, with the scale, observed range and worst recorded event for each; the others say which local data are needed.

Worst recorded tornado, hail and thunderstorm wind (the three event types on record since the 1950s; the packet has every group):

  • Hail: 5 in hail, 2019-06-19
  • Thunderstorm Wind: 83 kt (96 mph) estimated gust, Thunderstorm Wind, 2014-10-13
  • Tornado: EF3 tornado, 2009-04-09, 14.84 mi within this county, 1,075 yd wide, $130,000,000 property; $0 crops (2009 dollars), 3 direct deaths, 30 direct injuries

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-d Previous occurrences

Federal declarations for this area: 24 declarations covering 20 separate hazard incidents counted in this packet; each with type, dates and county Public Assistance dollars.

New since the last plan (approved 2021-05-27): EM-3636-AR and EM-3627-AR.

6 statewide declarations listed separately.

Hazards with no Storm Events record and no federal declaration are stated as such (6 of 18).

Storm Events history: 664 records (notable ones in the PDF, all of them in the Excel file).

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-e Probability of future events

FEMA annualized frequency (modeled) for each hazard, with a descriptor from a scale defined in the packet.

  • Highly likely: Hail, Landslide, Lightning and Strong Wind
  • Likely: Drought, Heat Wave, Ice Storm, Inland Flooding, Tornado and Winter Weather
  • Possible: Wildfire
  • Unlikely: Earthquake and Hurricane

Historical frequency by intensity band (tornado, hail, wind): 9 bands from Storm Events.

Supports FEMA checklist item B1-f Hazards that vary across jurisdictions

Range of census tract risk scores within the area for 14 of the 18 hazards (7 tracts; rated tracts only).

5 jurisdictions: plan clock, repeat-flood count, Public Assistance dollars and event records naming the place (starting figures from federal data).

County Public Assistance in B1-d also includes applicants filed under the county that are not matched to a jurisdiction row here (for example county departments filed under their own names, such as a highway department or emergency management agency, and state agencies, special districts and nonprofits), so the jurisdiction rows add up to less.

Supports FEMA checklist items B2-a and B2-b Vulnerability and potential impacts

The packet's table gives county-level starting figures; the plan describes impacts for each jurisdiction and its own assets.

Storm Events damage since 2021-05-27: $10,000 in county-coded records (26 records); $0 reported for the zone (17 zone records). Data through 2026-06-30; nominal dollars.

Local data needed

To gather:

  • Critical facilities and lifelines per hazard
  • A problem statement per jurisdiction per hazard
  • Changes in development in hazard-prone areas since the last approval, or a statement of none (E1-a)
  • Future assets

Supports FEMA checklist item B2-a Vulnerability (county context)

Population 19,179; building value $5,297,515,018 and agriculture value $204,723,528 (total, not at risk).

National Risk Index rating Relatively Low; social vulnerability Very High; community resilience Very Low.

Supports FEMA checklist item B2-c Repetitive loss properties

Repetitive-loss properties, FMA definition (44 CFR 77.2): 0 repetitive loss, 1 severe repetitive loss. NFIP insurance definition: 2 and 1.

Mitigated 0; insured 0; NFIP data as of 2026-08-02. Counts by occupancy group and for each jurisdiction are in the packet.

Releases

Each release is dated; this is release 2026-10. It was first published 2026-09-30; its files do not change except for dated corrections listed on the changelog (corrected 2026-10-01). Later releases will be listed here with what changed between them. All releases.

Cite this

Hazard Plain (2026). Polk County, AR: risk-assessment baseline packet, release 2026-10 (data as of 2026-09-30; County FIPS 05113). Automated baseline. https://hazardplain.org/ar/05113/ Built from FEMA OpenFEMA, the FEMA National Risk Index and NOAA NCEI Storm Events; source versions in the packet's Sources list.

Source citations for the plan's bibliography (8)

How this packet is built: methods and sources