Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect less hazard damage per building than Blanding, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Blanding gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns, #1 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%), then wildfire (13%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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
What Blanding 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
Wildfire
Earthquakes
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.
What’s behind Blanding’s grade
River and rain flooding is 74% of the building damage FEMA expects in Blanding, and Blanding’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 98% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 13%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
A+ #1 of 119 in Utah; among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Blanding’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Utah town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Blanding has less expected damage per building than 100% of Utah towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.5M a year in losses across Blanding: $400K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Blanding flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Blanding. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Blanding isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: San Juan County.The storms Blanding remembers
None of the 1 disasters declared for San Juan County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Blanding itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
San Juan County has had 1 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in San Juan County, 2021–2025.
Get ready for what Blanding faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Blanding
Is Blanding at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Blanding has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk, #1 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (74%) and wildfire (13%). 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 Blanding 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 San Juan County, 0.1% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Blanding?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Blanding’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Blanding at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (74%), and Blanding’s rate for it is lower than 98% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Blanding.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Blanding’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.