Benzonia’s biggest natural hazard is inland flooding
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Benzonia comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.
What stands out about Benzonia’s weather risks
Read from FEMA’s records below. The page puts what stands out first.
Does Benzonia flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Benzonia. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Benzonia isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Benzie County.How exposed is Benzonia?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 31% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and cold waves.
Rated higher than 1,181 of the 1,771 Michigan towns we cover.
Benzonia is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
What Benzonia faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Inland flooding
Cold waves
1 federal disaster brought FEMA money to Benzonia
Disasters that paid out in Benzonia itself (aid to households or repair grants to the Village of Benzonia) and its biggest flood years.
- 2026Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding4 households applied for aid$13K aid approved
Benzie County has had 4 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and hurricanes.
Old photos of Benzonia after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Benzonia archive →Get ready for what Benzonia actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- 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.
Benzonia and its neighbors
How storm and flood risk compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benzonia | Low | inland flooding | 0 |
| Beulah | Low | inland flooding | 0 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Benzonia’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Village of Benzonia.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Benzonia.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.