On FEMA’s figures, Benson faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, led by earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Benson gets a B for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (50%), then river and rain flooding (40%). 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 Benson faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
Wildfire
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 Benson’s grade
Earthquakes are 50% of the building damage FEMA expects in Benson, and Benson’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Benson’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $785K a year in losses across Benson: $347K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Benson flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Benson. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Benson isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cache County.The storms Benson remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Cache County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Benson itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Cache County has had 4 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.
Benson and its neighbors
Benson is 2nd of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellsville | B+less damage than 75% | river and rain flooding | 2 |
| Benson | Bless damage than 56% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Logan | B−more damage than 52% | earthquakes | 9 |
| Peter | — | 491 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Amalga | — | 511 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
| Cache | — | 6 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 Benson faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- 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 Benson
Is Benson at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Benson has lower expected damage per building than 56% of U.S. towns: B for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (50%) and river and rain flooding (40%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Benson 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 Cache County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Benson?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Benson’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Benson at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (50%), and Benson’s rate for it is higher than 86% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Benson.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Benson’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.