FEMA Records
13
Low volume
Utah · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Utah County, UT
13 FEMA disaster declarations (1983-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively High. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 13
- FEMA declarations
- 5
- Major disasters
- 95
- NRI risk · Relatively High
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Utah County. Its 13 FEMA declarations are 53% above the Utah county mean and exceed the count for 17% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 5%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 5%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively High
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 13
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 105
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
FEMA OpenFEMA declaration desk
County FIPS 49049 · Utah County 13 declarations · rank 2666/3,266
DECL-MID · MAJOR-LIGHT · RANK-LOWER · PHOTO-FINISH · NRI-HIGH · ACT-HIGH · TYPE-LEAD · VS-ST-HIGH
- DECL-MID 13
- MAJOR-LIGHT 38%
- RANK-LOWER #2,666
- PHOTO-FINISH Clarke
- NRI-HIGH 95
- ACT-HIGH High
- TYPE-LEAD Fire
- VS-ST-HIGH +53%
Nearest declaration peer: Clarke, GA (0 declaration gap)
FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 filing stamps for this county register. Read with this county → · Utah state profile
Utah County among counties with fewer federal records
FEMA declaration records among Utah County and nearest peers by total count
- Los Angeles · largest
Los Angeles · largest
88 declarations
- Bristol (city) · near 13
Bristol (city) · near
13 declarations
- Clarke · near 13
Clarke · near
13 declarations
- Douglas · near 13
Douglas · near
13 declarations
- Utah · this county 13
Utah · this county
13 declarations
- Ujelang · smallest 1
Ujelang · smallest
1 declarations
What this shows Utah County carries 13 FEMA declaration records, ranked 2666 of 3,266 counties in this registry.
Utah County versus quieter counties in this dataset
Utah County among lower-declaration counties nationally
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time · Utah County
13 17th percentile higher than 17% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-25
Utah County's FEMA Risk Index score
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Utah County is led by Earthquake (about $162.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively High), while Lightning carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Utah County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
The NFIP claims register shows a middle-volume loss record here: 105 paid claims, totaling $504.9K. PlainHazard uses 50-499 claims for this descriptive band; FEMA does not publish it as a safety or coverage category. The $4.8K average describes payments on recorded claims only, leaving uninsured damage and properties without a claim outside the measure.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Utah County's 13 federal records stand 53% above the Utah county mean of 8.5. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 95.3/100 (Relatively High). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively High (roughly $287.9M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Very Low and community resilience Very High, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Lightning stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Very High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 44 times per year here, based on 463,332 historical events on record.
48 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Utah County, UT · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Moderate
9/30
13 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.6x national county average)
County Disaster Density Very High
19/25
13 declarations (1.5x state county average of 8)
Major Disaster Share Moderate
10/25
5 of 13 declarations are major disasters (38%)
Hazard Diversity High
10/20
4 different disaster types declared in Utah County
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Utah County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
38%
Mixed major share
NRI risk score
95
Relatively High
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Utah County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Very High | an average of 44 times per year |
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 81 years |
| Earthquake | Relatively High | roughly once every 71 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | 1.3 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively High | an average of 41 times per year |
| Avalanche | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | an average of 1.1 times per year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | roughly once every 1 years |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | an average of 1.7 times per year |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 10,000 years |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 69 modeled event-days per year |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | roughly once every 9 years |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | roughly once every 41 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 4 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 6
Flood 4
Biological 2
Coastal Storm 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Utah County's record, 46% of its declarations. Wildfire is the one hazard here with its own dedicated federal instrument: the Fire Management Assistance Grant, which appears in this data as an FM record. An FMAG can be authorised while a fire is still burning, on a timescale of hours, because its purpose is to reimburse the cost of fighting a fire that threatens to become a major disaster.
That distinction matters when comparing counties. An FM declaration is not a presidential major disaster declaration and does not carry the same assistance programmes, so a fire-heavy county's total is not directly comparable with a hurricane-heavy county's total unless the declaration types are separated, which is why they are listed separately on this page.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Fire Management - 6 46.2%
of all 13 declarations
Major Disaster - 5 38.5%
of all 13 declarations
Emergency - 2 15.4%
of all 13 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2018 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2001 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 13 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 13 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5639 | IRON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2026-06-21 |
| 4752 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2023-12-23 |
| 5353 | ETHER HOLLOW FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-07 |
| 5318 | KNOLLS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-06-28 |
| 4525 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3478 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5277 | BALD MOUNTAIN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-09-21 |
| 2983 | DUMP FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-06-22 |
| 4011 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-08-08 |
| 3223 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-05 |
| 2381 | UT - MOLLIE FIRE - 08/19/01 | FM | Fire | 2001-08-19 |
| 720 | SEVERE STORMS, MUDSLIDES, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1984-08-17 |
| 680 | SEVERE STORMS, LANDSLIDES & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1983-04-30 |
Storm Events in Utah
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Utah County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 1,382 | 3 | 7 | $2.2M |
| Flash Flood | 536 | 29 | 17 | $101.2M |
| High Wind | 496 | 4 | 60 | $12.7M |
| Heavy Snow | 488 | 1 | 2 | $2.4M |
| Winter Storm | 344 | 1 | 36 | $435.0K |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
105
Total Paid
$504.9K
Avg Per Claim
$4.8K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively High
Score: 95.3/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively High
$287.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very Low
Community Resilience
Very High
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Lightning Very High
Wildfire Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Moderate
Winter Weather Relatively High
Avalanche Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively Moderate
Strong Wind Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Drought Relatively Moderate
Tornado Relatively Low
Ice Storm Relatively Low
Cold Wave Relatively Low
Hail Very Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Lightning
Lightning is modeled as a high-frequency, low-per-event hazard: strike counts are large, but each strike affects a very small area. Its aggregate cost accumulates through structure fires, electrical and electronic damage, and it is one of the few hazards whose risk is essentially continuous through the season rather than episodic.
Worth noting for Utah County: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Lightning carries the highest modeled rating (Very High), while the county's declaration history is led by Fire. That is not a contradiction, the two measure genuinely different things. Declarations record federal ACTION, which requires damage costly enough to exceed state and local capacity; the Risk Index models EXPECTED annual loss across all 18 hazards whether or not any declaration ever followed. A hazard can be the county's largest modeled exposure and never once have driven a declaration.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Utah County's closest FEMA peer: New Castle County, DE
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Utah County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Similar modeled NRI score
Utah County: NRI composite 95.3 (Relatively High).
Similar Major-disaster share
Utah County: 5 of 13 of its declarations are Major.
Closest declaration profiles
Utah County shows 13 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Utah County - capture-dated entries only.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by NRI score & FEMA declaration volume
Two PlainHazard-derived comparison paths for Utah County: nearest out-of-state National Risk Index composite and nearest FEMA declaration count (floor ≥5 records). Record similarity only, not a forecast of the next hazard.
Similar NRI composite
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA NRI score. This county: 95.3 (Relatively High).
Similar declaration volume
Nearest out-of-state counties by FEMA declaration count. This county: 13. NRI peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Utah County's NFIP claims file (105 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Utah County?
The most common disaster type in Utah County is Fire, with 6 declarations. Other disaster types include Flood (4), Biological (2), Coastal Storm (1).
How does Utah County's FEMA declaration record compare with the Utah average?
FEMA lists 13 declaration records for Utah County. That is 53% above the Utah county mean of 8.5. Its count is also 37% below the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Utah County received?
Utah County has received 5 major disaster declarations, representing 38% of all 13 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Utah County filed?
Utah County has 105 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $504.9K in payments, with an average of $4.8K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Utah County?
No. In Utah County, Lightning has the highest National Risk Index rating (Very High), while Earthquake leads Expected Annual Loss at about $162.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Utah County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Utah County was 2020, with 4 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1983 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Utah County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Utah County, Utah has an overall risk score of 95.3 out of 100 (Relatively High). On social vulnerability the county rates Very Low; on community resilience, Very High. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively High, representing $287.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Utah County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Utah County is Lightning (risk rating: Very High). Other significant hazards include Wildfire (Relatively High) and Earthquake (Relatively High). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts lightning here at an average of 44 times per year, drawn from 463,332 historical events on record. These scores are based on FEMA's analysis of historical event frequency, exposed assets, and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
FEMA OpenFEMA declarations + NRI for Utah County · vintage 2026-08-25 · Methodology · Utah profile · Verify with FEMA OpenFEMA · Verify with NOAA Storm Events