Natural hazards · Bennett

Bennett, IA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Bennett comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Bennett?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Bennett to be higher than in 47% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and tornadoes.

Inland flooding38%Tornadoes15%Strong wind15%Drought12%Hail7%Everything else12%

By hazard

What Bennett faces

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

Inland flooding

38% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 39% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Tornadoes

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Strong wind

15% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Drought

12% of expected damage

Recorded about 9 times a year in the area

Hail

7% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 92% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

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 Bennett flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Bennett isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Cedar County.

Disasters that hit Bennett

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BennettDeclared for Cedar County only

2024

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding

1 household applied for aid

2020

Severe Storms

5 households applied for aid

2014

Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$5K to the City of Bennett for repairs

2013

Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding

$2K to the City of Bennett for repairs

Cedar County has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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. Bennett 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 Bennett’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Bennett. 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.