Photo: Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Benton
Benton isn’t graded for hazard risk: Benton has 485 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 84 claims here since 1979.
What Benton 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 Benton flood? Sometimes: 84 flood claims since 1979
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Benton, from FEMA’s records.
- Tropical Storm Lee38 claims · $564K
Benton isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Columbia County.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Benton
Disasters that paid out in Benton itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Borough of Benton), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2011Tropical Storm Lee254 households applied for aid$521K aid approved38 flood claims paid for it, $564K
- 2006Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides87 households applied for aid$120K aid approved12 flood claims paid that year
- 2004Tropical Depression Ivan1 households applied for aid$5K aid approved
Columbia County has had 16 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.
Old photos of Benton after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Benton archive →Get ready for what Benton 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 Benton
Does Benton flood?
Flood insurance has paid 84 claims in Benton since 1979, $1.6M in all. 17 properties have flooded more than once. The most claims came from Tropical Storm Lee (38).
Is Benton 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 Columbia County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Benton?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Benton’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 Benton?
By FEMA money that reached Benton, Tropical Storm Lee (2011): 254 households applied for aid, $521K approved. By flood claims, Tropical Storm Lee: 38 paid, $564K.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Benton.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Benton’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.