Van Winkle's Mill Site · Photo: Farther Along · CC BY 2.0For ice storms, Prairie Creek’s building-damage rate is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Prairie Creek gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then ice storms (18%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Prairie Creek 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
Ice storms
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.
What’s behind Prairie Creek’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Prairie Creek, and Prairie Creek’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts. Ice storms add 18%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
B− higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Prairie Creek’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $674K a year in losses across Prairie Creek: $477K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Prairie Creek flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Prairie Creek. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Prairie Creek isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Benton County.The storms Prairie Creek remembers
None of the 20 disasters declared for Benton County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Prairie Creek itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Benton County has had 20 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.
Get ready for what Prairie Creek 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.
- 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.
- 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 Prairie Creek
Is Prairie Creek at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Prairie Creek has higher expected damage per building than 54% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and ice storms (18%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Prairie Creek 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 Benton County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Prairie Creek?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Prairie Creek’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Prairie Creek at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Prairie Creek’s rate for it is higher than 62% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Prairie Creek.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Prairie Creek’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.