Natural hazards · Benton

Benton, AL natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Benton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Benton?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Benton to be higher than in 78% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding48%Tornadoes18%Heat waves9%Hurricanes8%Strong wind7%Everything else10%

By hazard

What Benton faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

48% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Tornadoes

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 74% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Heat waves

9% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 60% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Hurricanes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 12 years in the area

Strong wind

7% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

HailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningDrought

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic activity

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Benton flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Benton.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. 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: Lowndes County.

Disasters that hit Benton

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Benton itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Benton.

Brought FEMA money into BentonDeclared for Lowndes County only

2020

Hurricane Zeta

1 household applied for aid

2004

Hurricane Ivan

1 household applied for aid $2K aid approved

Lowndes County has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often hurricanes and severe storms.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Benton is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Benton’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Benton. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.