Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Benezette Township
Benezette Township isn’t graded for hazard risk: Benezette Township has 127 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 10 claims here since 2004.
What Benezette 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
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.
Does Benezette Township flood? Sometimes: 10 flood claims since 2004
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Benezette Township, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Ivan9 claims · $43K
- Hurricane Debby1 claim · $30K
Benezette 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: Elk County.The storms Benezette Township remembers
None of the 7 disasters declared for Elk County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Benezette Township itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 20049 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Depression Ivan, declared for Elk County
- 20241 flood claims paidThe year of Tropical Storm Debby, declared for Elk County
Elk County has had 7 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often hurricanes and tropical storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Old photos of Benezette Township after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Benezette Township archive →Benezette Township and its neighbors
How expected damage per building compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Township | Dmore damage than 92% | river and rain flooding | 16 |
| Shippen Township | D−more damage than 95% | river and rain flooding | 36 |
| Gibson Township | — | 117 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Girard Township | — | 526 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Benezette 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.
- 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 Benezette Township
Does Benezette Township flood?
Flood insurance has paid 10 claims in Benezette Township since 2004, $72K in all. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Ivan (9).
Is Benezette 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 Elk County, 10% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Benezette Township?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Benezette Township’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Benezette Township?
By flood claims, Tropical Storm Ivan: 9 paid, $43K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Benezette Township.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Benezette 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.