Photo: Bluffdaleap · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Bluffdale than in 83% of U.S. towns, led by wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bluffdale gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns, #103 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (42%), then river and rain flooding (30%). 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 Bluffdale faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
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 Bluffdale’s grade
Wildfire is 42% of the building damage FEMA expects in Bluffdale, and Bluffdale’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 30% (lower than 67% of U.S. census tracts).
C− #103 of 119 in Utah; higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Bluffdale’s residents live in 3 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Utah town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Bluffdale has more expected damage per building than 86% of Utah towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.7M a year in losses across Bluffdale: $5.8M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Bluffdale flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Bluffdale. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Bluffdale isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Salt Lake County.The storms Bluffdale remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Salt Lake County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Bluffdale itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Salt Lake County has had 6 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Salt Lake County, 2010–2021.
Bluffdale and its neighbors
Bluffdale is 5th of the 5 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Bluffdale faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Bluffdale
Is Bluffdale at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Bluffdale has higher expected damage per building than 83% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk, #103 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (42%) and river and rain flooding (30%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Bluffdale 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 Salt Lake County, 16% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Bluffdale?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Bluffdale’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Bluffdale at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (42%), and Bluffdale’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Bluffdale.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Bluffdale’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.