Natural hazards · Benkelman

Benkelman, NE natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Benkelman comes from hail, and overall the risk is low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Benkelman?

Low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Benkelman to be higher than in 38% of U.S. communities, mostly from hail and drought.

Hail24%Drought23%Inland flooding18%Cold waves13%Strong wind10%Tornadoes9%Everything else4%

By hazard

What Benkelman faces

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

Hail

24% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 94% of U.S. places

Recorded about 8 times a year in the area

Drought

23% of expected damage

Recorded about 79 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 26% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Cold waves

13% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Strong wind

10% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about 4 times a year in the area

Tornadoes

9% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

Ice stormsWinter weatherHeat wavesWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamisVolcanic 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 Benkelman flood?

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

Disasters that hit Benkelman

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into BenkelmanDeclared for Dundy County only

2015

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

$6K to the City of Benkelman for repairs

2007

Severe Storms and Flooding

$9K to the City of Benkelman for repairs

2006

Severe Winter Storms

$3K to the City of Benkelman for repairs

Dundy County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and hurricanes.

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