Photo: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Benton Township faces less hazard damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Benton Township gets an A for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns, #50 of 593 in Indiana. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%), then tornadoes (15%). 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 Benton Township 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
Hail
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 Benton Township’s grade
River and rain flooding is 72% of the building damage FEMA expects in Benton Township, and Benton Township’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts. Next is tornadoes at 15% (higher than 73% of U.S. census tracts).
A #50 of 593 in Indiana; lower expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Benton Township’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Indiana town has lower expected damage than 60% of U.S. towns; within the state, Benton Township has less expected damage per building than 92% of Indiana towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $828K a year in losses across Benton Township: $501K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Benton Township flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Benton Township. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Benton Township isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Elkhart County.The storms Benton Township remembers
None of the 10 disasters declared for Elkhart County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Benton Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Elkhart County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often winter storms, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Benton Township and its neighbors
Benton Township is 2nd of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton Township | Aless damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | — |
| Benton Township | Aless damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Jackson Township | Aless damage than 91% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
| Perry Township | A−less damage than 82% | river and rain flooding | 121 |
| Turkey Creek Township | A−less damage than 79% | river and rain flooding | 4 |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Benton Township 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.
- Park in a garage or under cover when storms are forecast.
- Stay away from windows while it falls.
- Photograph roof and car damage for your insurer.
- 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 Benton Township
Is Benton Township at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Benton Township has lower expected damage per building than 92% of U.S. towns: A for hazard risk, #50 of 593 in Indiana. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (72%) and tornadoes (15%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Benton Township 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 Elkhart County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Benton Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Benton Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Benton Township at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (72%), and Benton Township’s rate for it is lower than 81% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Benton Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Benton Township’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.