Photo: Vas Littlecrow Wojtanowicz · Public domainOn FEMA’s figures, Rice faces more hazard damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rice gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%). 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 Rice 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
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 Rice’s grade
River and rain flooding is 84% of the building damage FEMA expects in Rice, and Rice’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts. Strong wind adds 4%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
C higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Rice’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.2M a year in losses across Rice: $925K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Rice flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Rice. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Rice 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 Rice remembers
None of the 10 disasters declared for Benton County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Rice itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Benton County has had 10 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Rice and its neighbors
Rice is 3rd of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brockway Township | Cmore damage than 70% | river and rain flooding | 1 |
| Langola Township | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 3 |
| Rice | Cmore damage than 74% | river and rain flooding | 0 |
| Watab Township | Dmore damage than 88% | river and rain flooding | 26 |
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 Rice 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.
- 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 Rice
Is Rice at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Rice has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (84%) and tornadoes (8%). 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 Rice 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, 15% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.5% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Rice?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Rice’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Rice at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (84%), and Rice’s rate for it is higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Rice.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Rice’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.