70 flood insurance claims·$514,336 paid·5 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Benton County, Oregon. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Prolonged river and urban flooding driven by slow-moving Pacific fronts dominates the flood profile of Benton County, where the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 25 flood events over the last 30 years. Heavy rains from these weather systems frequently cause rising river levels, small stream flooding, and poor drainage issues across the Willamette Valley. For example, a stationary front brought heavy rain and minor river flooding in December 2020, followed by similar slow-moving fronts that caused river and urban flooding in January 2021 and January 2022.
National Flood Insurance Program records show that flood losses occur across multiple zones, with the highest concentration of claims in high-risk areas. Properties located in FEMA Zone A experienced 51 claims averaging $11,182 with an average recorded water depth of 14 inches. Meanwhile, properties in Zone X recorded 11 claims with an average payout of $31,456 and an average water depth of 1 inch. Homeowners and real estate agents near rivers and within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas should pay the closest attention to these risks, while property owners in moderate-to-low risk Zone X areas must also account for potential flood losses.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
9% of Benton County’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
56 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 11 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 1996, with 23 claims and $187,882 paid, the year of High Winds, Severe Storms and Flooding and Severe Storms and High Winds.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
6 NOAA storm reports from Benton County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Oregon flood stories →
15 federal disaster declarations since 1964, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 10, 2024 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 11, 2021 |
| Wildfires And Straight-line Winds | Sep 7, 2020 |
| Severe Winter Storm | Feb 6, 2014 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Jan 17, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Flooding | Dec 14, 2006 |
| Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides | Dec 18, 2005 |
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
25 since 1996: 25 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jan 3, 2022 | — |
| Flood | Dec 20, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jan 12, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Dec 20, 2020 | — |
| Flood | Apr 9, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Apr 8, 2019 | — |
| Flood | Oct 22, 2017 | — |
| Flood | Feb 9, 2017 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jan 3, 2022. The first of two strong Pacific fronts brought high winds to the coast as well as gusty winds to the Willamette Valley and interior lowlands of southwest Washington. This storm generated large seas impacting the coastline, and combined with rising river levels and high astronomical tides, resulted in some flooding along the coast due to poor drainage. In addition to the wind and rain, heavy snow fell in the mount…
Flood · Dec 20, 2021. Heavy rain fell across parts of northwest Oregon along with minor river flooding. The heaviest rain fell along and just north of a front that held nearly stationary from Newport to Albany to Mount Jefferson.
Flood · Jan 12, 2021. A series of slow moving fronts brought periods of heavy rain along with strong winds. This resulted in high surf; coastal, river and urban flooding; landslides; and debris flows. As the front moved inland early on the 13th, a debris flow resulted in a fatality in the Columbia River Gorge. The front brought a burst of 35-50 mph winds to the Willamette Valley and southwest Washington interior resulting in over 100…
Flood · Dec 20, 2020. A series of strong Pacific fronts moved across the region bringing high winds to the coast with heavy rain across much of the area. The heavy rains resulted in flooding of some coastal rivers as well as small stream flooding and a debris flow.
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Benton County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.