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Natural hazards · Benham

Benham, KY natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Benham comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1984. 7 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Benham?

93
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Benham to be higher than in 93% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding.

Inland flooding82%Cold waves6%Strong wind6%Everything else7%
By hazard

What Benham faces

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

Inland flooding

82% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Cold waves

6% of expected damage
Above average · higher than 63% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Strong wind

6% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places
Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Lower here

HurricanesTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingDroughtTsunamisVolcanic 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 Benham flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Benham, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 1984
$8Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
19842026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Benham isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Harlan County.
Disasters that hit Benham

7 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BenhamDeclared for Harlan County only
2025

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

2 households applied for aid $9K aid approved
2023

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

$435K to the City of Benham for repairs
2022

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$280K to the City of Benham for repairs
2021

Severe, Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$224K to the City of Benham for repairs
2020

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$177K to the City of Benham for repairs
2019

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

$179K to the City of Benham for repairs
2002

Severe Storms and Flooding

$8K to the City of Benham for repairs
Harlan County has had 30 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. Benham 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 Benham’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Benham. 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.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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