Natural hazards · Benton

Benton, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Benton comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Benton?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Benton to be higher than in 89% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and avalanches.

Inland flooding37%Avalanches23%Earthquakes16%Drought15%Wildfire7%Everything else3%

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

37% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 93% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Avalanches

23% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 5 years in the area

Earthquakes

16% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. places

Drought

15% of expected damage

Recorded about 127 times a year in the area

Wildfire

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsTsunamis

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: Mono County.

Disasters that hit Benton

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BentonDeclared for Mono County only

2023

Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

6 households applied for aid $13K aid approved

Mono County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods 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 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.