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Aurora Utah town officePhoto: Ntsimp · Public domain
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Aurora · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Aurora faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Aurora gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then earthquakes (28%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

River and rain flooding 62%Earthquakes 28%Wildfire 9%

Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded

less than 51%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
B−
in Utah · lower than 51% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
River and rain flooding
62% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 5 declared for Sevier County
By hazard

What Aurora faces

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

River and rain flooding

62%of expected building damage
About average · lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once every 2 years in the area

Earthquakes

28%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts

Wildfire

9%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Winter storms Landslides top 3% Tornadoes Strong wind Ice storms Lightning Hail Heat waves Avalanches top 1% Volcanic activity top 4%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesCold wavesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts avalanches at 27% of Aurora’s expected losses. Avalanches do little damage to buildings (0.0%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Aurora’s grade

River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Aurora, and Aurora’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Aurora sits
Aurora
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Aurora’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
River and rain flooding62%Earthquakes28%Wildfire9%Everything else2%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $538K a year in losses across Aurora: $297K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Aurora’s 984 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Salina city (2,441 residents) and Redmond town (762 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Aurora flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Aurora. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Aurora isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Sevier County.
Disasters

The storms Aurora remembers

None of the 5 disasters declared for Sevier County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Aurora itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in AuroraSevier County only

Sevier County has had 5 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.

Also 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Sevier County, 2025–2025.

Be ready

Get ready for what Aurora faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Wildfire
  • Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
  • Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
  • Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Aurora

Is Aurora at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Aurora has lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and earthquakes (28%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Is Aurora in a flood zone?

Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Sevier County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Aurora?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Aurora’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Aurora at risk from river and rain flooding?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Aurora’s rate for it is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Aurora.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Aurora’s residents lived in the 2020 census; 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. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.