FEMA declarations
59
Below median
State profile · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Utah Natural Disasters
Utah's federal declaration record sits near the middle of the state distribution. 59 FEMA disaster declarations are on record, led by fire, with $274.5M in combined property and crop damage. A moderate count like this can still mask a single catastrophic year rather than a steady annual pattern. NOAA storm event data shows 4,578 recorded weather events resulting in 97 fatalities, figures the state uses to prioritize disaster-preparedness planning.
- 59
- FEMA declarations
- 4,578
- NOAA storm events
- 97
- Storm fatalities
- $274.5M
- Property + crop damage
The Utah risk picture
2 of the 29 counties FEMA scores, 7%, carry a FEMA "high-risk" National Risk Index rating, with earthquake the single largest driver of expected annual loss statewide. Utah has 16 Major Disaster (DR) declarations; FEMA authorizes Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both separately for each declaration. NOAA-tracked storms have caused 227 injuries statewide.
- 7%
- of counties rated high-risk by FEMA National Risk Index
- 59
- FEMA disaster declarations on record
- $274.5M
- in tracked property + crop damage
- 1,135
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed statewide
FEMA's National Risk Index and NOAA's Storm Events Database measure different things: modeled long-run risk vs. observed severe-weather events. Storm Events is a reported dataset, so its counts track what was observed and logged, not every event that occurred, and reporting is denser where more people live. See the methodology for how they relate.
Major Disaster share
27%
Mixed major share
NOAA storm events
4,578
Observed severe-weather records
How does Utah compare?
Utah vs. every U.S. state
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
59 31st percentile higher than 31% of 59 states and territories
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states and territories. 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 · 2026-08-03
Utah county risk-score spread
FEMA National Risk Index composite scores, 0–100
36.2 Top 45% higher than 55% of 29 county composite scores
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more county composite scores. 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 National Risk Index (NRI), county composite scores · 2026-08-03
The declaration chart counts past federal actions. The county score chart summarizes FEMA's modeled National Risk Index composite; it is not a forecast, and a state average does not describe every county.
Do more storms mean more federal disasters?
Utah sits at the 25th percentile of FEMA declaration volume and the 25th percentile of NOAA storm-event volume among 55 states and territories, those two ranks are not interchangeable.
FEMA declaration rank vs NOAA storm-event rank
Read the chart, every state as text
Percentiles are within this release's state/territory sample. Raw counts are the underlying FEMA and NOAA totals.
| State | FEMA decls | FEMA %ile | NOAA storms | NOAA %ile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 396 | 98 | 23,694 | 93 |
| Texas | 389 | 96 | 53,309 | 98 |
| Oklahoma | 258 | 95 | 23,896 | 95 |
| Washington | 215 | 93 | 4,408 | 22 |
| Florida | 188 | 91 | 12,838 | 55 |
| Oregon | 169 | 89 | 3,695 | 20 |
| New Mexico | 126 | 87 | 10,974 | 45 |
| Arizona | 120 | 85 | 9,541 | 38 |
| New York | 118 | 84 | 21,653 | 82 |
| Montana | 112 | 82 | 13,576 | 56 |
| Colorado | 111 | 78 | 18,340 | 73 |
| Louisiana | 111 | 78 | 11,204 | 47 |
| Nevada | 110 | 76 | 4,534 | 24 |
| Alabama | 102 | 75 | 14,583 | 64 |
| Kentucky | 98 | 71 | 19,947 | 78 |
| Mississippi | 98 | 71 | 14,100 | 62 |
| Tennessee | 97 | 69 | 16,645 | 69 |
| South Dakota | 96 | 67 | 22,759 | 87 |
| Alaska | 94 | 64 | 2,683 | 15 |
| Kansas | 94 | 64 | 25,115 | 96 |
| Arkansas | 87 | 60 | 13,637 | 58 |
| Nebraska | 87 | 60 | 20,136 | 80 |
| Missouri | 86 | 58 | 22,952 | 89 |
| North Carolina | 85 | 56 | 16,367 | 67 |
| West Virginia | 84 | 55 | 12,026 | 49 |
| Georgia | 81 | 51 | 16,676 | 71 |
| Minnesota | 81 | 51 | 19,109 | 75 |
| Iowa | 78 | 49 | 21,883 | 84 |
| Virginia | 77 | 47 | 23,584 | 91 |
| North Dakota | 75 | 45 | 10,818 | 44 |
| Hawaii | 72 | 44 | 6,200 | 31 |
| Maine | 71 | 42 | 4,781 | 27 |
| Illinois | 68 | 40 | 22,088 | 85 |
| Pennsylvania | 64 | 38 | 19,427 | 76 |
| New Hampshire | 63 | 36 | 2,547 | 11 |
| Vermont | 62 | 35 | 3,449 | 18 |
| Idaho | 60 | 31 | 5,142 | 29 |
| Ohio | 60 | 31 | 16,184 | 65 |
| Massachusetts | 59 | 25 | 6,781 | 33 |
| New Jersey | 59 | 25 | 8,218 | 35 |
| Utah | 59 | 25 | 4,578 | 25 |
| Wisconsin | 56 | 24 | 13,807 | 60 |
| Indiana | 54 | 22 | 12,687 | 53 |
| Puerto Rico | 51 | 18 | 2,944 | 16 |
| South Carolina | 51 | 18 | 10,520 | 42 |
| Michigan | 46 | 16 | 9,052 | 36 |
| Wyoming | 45 | 15 | 12,494 | 51 |
| Connecticut | 43 | 13 | 2,622 | 13 |
| Maryland | 38 | 11 | 10,290 | 40 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 33 | 9 | 88 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 31 | 7 | 924 | 7 |
| Delaware | 26 | 5 | 1,475 | 9 |
| Guam | 25 | 4 | 258 | 2 |
| District of Columbia | 24 | 2 | 452 | 5 |
| American Samoa | 17 | 0 | 292 | 4 |
What shapes Utah's record?
FEMA declaration types in Utah
Wider bars = more declarations of that incident type
- Fire
Fire
40 declarations
- Flood 10
Flood
10 declarations
- Severe Storm 3
Severe Storm
3 declarations
- Biological 2
Biological
2 declarations
- Drought 1
Drought
1 declarations
- Earthquake 1
Earthquake
1 declarations
- Coastal Storm 1
Coastal Storm
1 declarations
- Tornado 1
Tornado
1 declarations
What this shows Fire leads Utah's FEMA declaration mix with 40 records among the types shown.
NOAA storm events by year
Reported severe-weather events in Utah, 2015–2025 catalog window.
Peak year in this series: 2023 (689 events). Counts are reported events, not a complete census.
40 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Utah · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite mixing OpenFEMA declaration totals (1953–present) with NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025), different windows and event definitions, disclosed weights on the methodology page . 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
10/30
59 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.7x state average)
NOAA Storm Events (2015–2025) Low
5/25
4578 NOAA storm events in the 2015–2025 extract (0.4x median state)
NOAA Damage (2015–2025) Low
5/25
Recorded NOAA property+crop damage in the 2015–2025 extract (0.5x median state)
Hazard Diversity Very High
20/20
8 different disaster types declared in Utah
What does Utah's hazard record show?
FEMA disaster declarations
Utah (UT) has a moderate level of federal declaration activity, with 59 FEMA declaration records, including 16 Major Disaster declarations (DR). A DR may authorize Individual Assistance, Public Assistance, or both; those program approvals are not implied by the DR count. The dominant declaration type is Fire, followed by Flood (10), Severe Storm (3), Biological (2). Declaration counts at the state level reflect the cumulative federal footprint: large multi-county events count once per state, but repeat hazard patterns across decades are visible in the breakdown below.
Flood exposure & where to dig deeper
Flood exposure is quantified separately through the National Flood Insurance Program. Policyholders across 27Utah counties have filed 1,135 NFIP claims totaling $7.2M, or an average of $6.4K per claim. NFIP data captures only insured flood losses, so uninsured flood damage and storm-surge losses outside mapped high-risk zones remain invisible in this figure. The highest-Expected-Annual-Loss hazard across the state is Earthquake, estimated at $0.9B annually. Drill into individual counties for localized risk, read FEMA's hazard-specific briefings, and review insurance and flood-zone designations, state-level averages can mask sharp county-to-county differences in exposure and resilience.
NOAA storm events & FEMA National Risk Index
NOAA's Storm Events Database adds the near-term severe-weather lens. Between 2015 and 2025, Utah recorded 4,578 individual storm events, causing 97 fatalities and 227 injuries, with combined property and crop damage estimated at $274.5M. The most frequent event types in the state are Thunderstorm Wind (1,382 events), Flash Flood (536 events), High Wind (496 events). Across the 29counties FEMA scores here, its National Risk Index flags 2 as high-risk, with an average county Risk Index score (FEMA's own formula, distinct from our Historical Activity tool below) of 36.2/100.
What this count is, and is not. Storm Events is a reported database: NOAA compiles it from National Weather Service offices, trained spotters, law enforcement, and the public. It is a record of what was observed and logged, not a complete census of severe weather. Densely populated areas report more events than sparsely populated ones with similar meteorological exposure, and detection has improved over time, so an event count is not a like-for-like measure of hazard between places or across decades. Damage figures are field estimates, not audited losses. See methodology.
Disaster Types in Utah
Fire 40
Flood 10
Severe Storm 3
Biological 2
Drought 1
Earthquake 1
Coastal Storm 1
Tornado 1
Storm Events by Type
NOAA storm event data for Utah (2015-2025).
| Event 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 |
| Winter Weather | 318 | 9 | 36 | $2.9M |
| Drought | 287 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Hail | 169 | 0 | 3 | $318.0K |
| Frost/Freeze | 90 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Dense Fog | 78 | 1 | 0 | $15.0K |
| Flood | 64 | 5 | 2 | $15.4M |
| Debris Flow | 60 | 0 | 5 | $377.4K |
| Wildfire | 56 | 0 | 18 | $98.6M |
| Avalanche | 37 | 22 | 15 | $188.5K |
| Heavy Rain | 37 | 0 | 0 | $22.0K |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 33 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Excessive Heat | 28 | 3 | 2 | $0 |
| Strong Wind | 23 | 6 | 1 | $67.0K |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | 5 | $2.3M |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Storm Events by Year
| Year | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 394 | 7 | 8 | $37.4M |
| 2024 | 524 | 16 | 19 | $3.4M |
| 2023 | 689 | 15 | 18 | $26.2M |
| 2022 | 540 | 4 | 3 | $36.8M |
| 2021 | 546 | 16 | 18 | $24.8M |
| 2020 | 280 | 4 | 27 | $14.0M |
| 2019 | 358 | 3 | 0 | $293.0K |
| 2018 | 312 | 1 | 24 | $55.0M |
| 2017 | 262 | 0 | 21 | $25.7M |
| 2016 | 348 | 6 | 25 | $13.5M |
| 2015 | 325 | 25 | 64 | $2.8M |
FEMA Disaster Declarations
How the 59 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download all 59 declarations as CSV . Source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
59 unique disaster declarations in Utah.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5641 | CHERRY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2026-06-27 |
| 5640 | COTTONWOOD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2026-06-23 |
| 5639 | IRON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2026-06-21 |
| 5600 | MONROE CANYON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-07-16 |
| 5598 | DEER CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-07-12 |
| 5591 | FORSYTH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2025-06-20 |
| 5504 | SILVER KING FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-07-07 |
| 4752 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2023-12-23 |
| 5408 | PARLEYS CANYON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-08-14 |
| 5391 | PACK CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-06-10 |
| 5388 | MAMMOTH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2021-06-05 |
| 4578 | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR | Severe Storm | 2021-01-12 |
| 5353 | ETHER HOLLOW FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-09-07 |
| 5321 | VEYO WEST FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-07-13 |
| 4548 | EARTHQUAKE AND AFTERSHOCKS | DR | Earthquake | 2020-07-09 |
| 5318 | KNOLLS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-06-28 |
| 5317 | CANAL FIRE | FM | Fire | 2020-06-28 |
| 4525 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-04 |
| 3478 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 5292 | GUN RANGE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2019-08-30 |
| 5277 | BALD MOUNTAIN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-09-21 |
| 5267 | HILLTOP FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-08-06 |
| 5248 | DOLLAR RIDGE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-07-02 |
| 5206 | UINTAH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-09-05 |
| 5185 | BRIAN HEAD FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-06-18 |
| 4311 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2017-04-21 |
| 5130 | SADDLE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-06-21 |
| 5065 | ANACONDA FIRE | FM | Fire | 2014-07-21 |
| 5044 | ROCKPORT FIVE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2013-08-13 |
| 4088 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2012-11-03 |
| 2994 | SHINGLE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-07-02 |
| 2991 | ROSE CREST FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-06-29 |
| 2990 | CLAY SPRINGS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-06-27 |
| 2986 | WOOD HOLLOW FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-06-24 |
| 2983 | DUMP FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-06-22 |
| 4053 | SEVERE STORM | DR | Severe Storm | 2012-02-01 |
| 4011 | FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-08-08 |
| 1955 | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Flood | 2011-02-11 |
| 2859 | MACHINE GUN FIRE | FM | Fire | 2010-09-19 |
| 2831 | MILL FLAT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2009-08-30 |
| 2715 | SALT CREEK FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-07-21 |
| 2707 | MILFORD FLAT FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-07-07 |
| 2703 | NEOLA NORTH FIRE | FM | Fire | 2007-06-30 |
| 3223 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Coastal Storm | 2005-09-05 |
| 1598 | FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2005-08-01 |
| 2564 | BLUE SPRINGS FIRE | FM | Fire | 2005-06-27 |
| 1576 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-02-01 |
| 2521 | BROOKSIDE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2004-06-16 |
| 2480 | UT-CAUSEY FIRE 07/14/2003 | FM | Fire | 2003-07-15 |
| 2437 | UT - MUSTANG FIRE - 07/01/2002 | FM | Fire | 2002-07-01 |
Showing 50 of 59 declarations.
FEMA National Risk Index
Composite natural hazard risk scores for Utah counties based on FEMA's National Risk Index.
Avg County Risk Score
36.2/100
High Risk Counties
2
of 29 counties
Top Hazard by EAL
Earthquake
$0.9B annual loss est.
Top 5 Hazards by Expected Annual Loss
#1
Earthquake
$868.8M EAL
#2
Riverine Flooding
$329.1M EAL
#3
Wildfire
$197.2M EAL
#4
Avalanche
$53.3M EAL
#5
Lightning
$39.3M EAL
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) EAL = Expected Annual Loss. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
National Flood Insurance Program claims across Utah from FEMA NFIP data.
Total Claims
1,135
Total Paid
$7.2M
Avg Per Claim
$6.4K
Counties With Claims
27
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
Counties in Utah
29 counties with FEMA disaster data.
| # | County | Disasters | Major |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington County | 14 | 5 |
| 2 | Utah County | 13 | 5 |
| 3 | Salt Lake County | 12 | 7 |
| 4 | Wasatch County | 11 | 7 |
| 5 | Davis County | 11 | 6 |
| 6 | Tooele County | 11 | 5 |
| 7 | Weber County | 11 | 6 |
| 8 | Sanpete County | 10 | 5 |
| 9 | Millard County | 10 | 4 |
| 10 | Box Elder County | 9 | 6 |
| 11 | Morgan County | 9 | 6 |
| 12 | Juab County | 9 | 3 |
| 13 | Sevier County | 9 | 5 |
| 14 | Summit County | 9 | 4 |
| 15 | Kane County | 8 | 4 |
| 16 | Piute County | 8 | 3 |
| 17 | Duchesne County | 8 | 3 |
| 18 | Uintah County | 8 | 4 |
| 19 | Beaver County | 8 | 4 |
| 20 | Daggett County | 7 | 3 |
| 21 | Cache County | 7 | 4 |
| 22 | Iron County | 7 | 3 |
| 23 | Garfield County | 7 | 3 |
| 24 | San Juan County | 6 | 1 |
| 25 | Emery County | 6 | 3 |
| 26 | Rich County | 5 | 2 |
| 27 | Carbon County | 5 | 2 |
| 28 | Wayne County | 4 | 1 |
| 29 | Grand County | 4 | 1 |
Highest-risk counties by FEMA National Risk Index
Declaration counts above measure past federal action; FEMA's NRI is a composite of Expected Annual Loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. By that separate measure the highest-risk counties in Utah are Salt Lake (98.6), Utah (95.3), Washington (92.8), Davis (87.8), Weber (87.0). Compare any county's recorded history with the Historical Activity tool.
All 29 counties in Utah are listed above.
Disaster Preparedness Guides
Learn more about natural disaster risk, preparedness, and data interpretation.
Preparing for Natural Disasters
Essential steps to prepare your household for the most common natural hazards.
Hazard Risk by Region
How natural disaster risk varies across different US regions.
Climate Change & Disasters
How climate trends are changing the frequency and severity of natural disasters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What natural disasters affect Utah?
Utah is affected by fire, flood, severe storm, biological. The most common disaster type is Fire, based on 59 FEMA disaster declarations on record.
How many FEMA disaster declarations has Utah had?
Utah has received 59 FEMA disaster declarations, including 16 major disaster declarations. These declarations span multiple disaster types including Fire (40), Flood (10), Severe Storm (3).
What severe weather events are most common in Utah?
The most common severe weather events in Utah include thunderstorm wind (1,382 events), flash flood (536 events), high wind (496 events). These NOAA storm events recorded from 2015 to 2025 have caused 97 fatalities and $274.5M in property and crop damage.
How active is Utah's federal disaster declaration record?
Utah has a moderate level of historical federal declaration activity, based on 59 FEMA declaration records. This band is not a future-risk forecast. Separately, NOAA storm events from 2015-2025 record 97 fatalities and 227 injuries. NOAA property and crop damage records total $274.5M.
How many flood insurance claims has Utah had?
Utah has 1,135 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims with $7.2M total paid out. The average claim payment is $6.4K, with 27 counties reporting flood insurance claims.
Which counties in Utah have the most disaster declarations?
Among 29 counties in Utah, those with the most FEMA declaration records include Washington (14 declarations), Utah (13 declarations), Salt Lake (12 declarations). Breaking the declarations down by county reveals patterns a statewide total can mask.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025) For informational purposes only
What this means for Utah
Washington alone accounts for 24% of Utah's FEMA disaster declarations, out of 29 counties tracked statewide.
- The declaration record is uneven within the state: Washington and Utah carry the most FEMA declarations. Browse counties
- See how Utah ranks against other states for disaster frequency and damage. State rankings
- Learn what FEMA declarations, NRI risk scores, and damage figures do and don't tell you. Disaster-data guide
Historical declaration counts and damage totals describe past federal response, not a forecast. For current threats, follow the National Weather Service and local officials; in an emergency call 911.
PlainHazard derives this presentation from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries. Its county comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.