Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cottonwood Heights

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Cottonwood Paper Mill 3Photo: User:JerAnderson · Public domain
B−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Cottonwood Heights · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, Cottonwood Heights faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cottonwood Heights gets a B− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns, #57 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (51%), then river and rain flooding (42%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2011.

Earthquakes 51%River and rain flooding 42%Wildfire 6%

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

more than 53%of U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade#57 of 119 in Utah
Hazard risk
B−#57 of 119
in Utah · higher than 53% of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
51% of expected building damage
Flood claims
2
paid since 2011 · $4K
Flood claims per home
0 per 1,000
fewer than 98% of U.S. towns
By hazard

What Cottonwood Heights faces

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

Earthquakes

51%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

42%of expected building damage
Below average · lower than 77% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

6%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts
Smaller shares here
 Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Ice storms Cold waves Heat waves Landslides Lightning Avalanches top 0% Volcanic activity
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesTsunamis
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts avalanches at 48% of Cottonwood Heights’ 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 Cottonwood Heights’ grade

Earthquakes are 51% of the building damage FEMA expects in Cottonwood Heights, and Cottonwood Heights’ rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 6%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Cottonwood Heights sits
Cottonwood Heights
Least damageMiddleMost damage

B− #57 of 119 in Utah; higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns (21,298).

Cottonwood Heights’ residents live in 13 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes51%River and rain flooding42%Wildfire6%Everything else1%

The typical Utah town has higher expected damage than 56% of U.S. towns; within the state, Cottonwood Heights has less expected damage per building than 53% of Utah towns.

In dollars, FEMA expects about $25.4M a year in losses across Cottonwood Heights: $7.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

A firm figure. It combines 13 census tracts by where Cottonwood Heights’ residents live. FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims and disasters below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Cottonwood Heights flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 2011

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Cottonwood Heights, from FEMA’s records: 0.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 98% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Paid flood claims, by year
2011: 1 claim2012: 0 claims2013: 0 claims2014: 0 claims2015: 0 claims2016: 0 claims2017: 0 claims2018: 0 claims2019: 0 claims2020: 0 claims2021: 0 claims2022: 0 claims2023: 1 claim2024: 0 claims2025: 0 claims2026: 0 claims20112023
20112026
2
paid claims since 2011
$4K
paid to owners
0
homes flooded more than once
$2K
average claim
of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Cottonwood Heights 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.
Disasters

The storms Cottonwood Heights remembers

None of the 6 disasters declared for Salt Lake County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Cottonwood Heights itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

  1. 20111 flood claims paidThe year of Flooding, declared for Salt Lake County
  2. 20231 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Cottonwood HeightsSalt Lake County only

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.

Were you here?

Old photos of Cottonwood Heights after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Cottonwood Heights archive →
Next door

Cottonwood Heights and its neighbors

Cottonwood Heights has the lowest expected damage per building of the 5 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.

Sandy: hazard risk B−Granite: not gradedHolladay: hazard risk C−Midvale: hazard risk CMurray: hazard risk C−SandyGraniteHolladayMidvaleMurrayCottonwood Heights
Lowest fifthSecondMiddleFourthHighest fifth
TownHazard riskMostly (buildings)Flood claims
Cottonwood HeightsB−more damage than 53%earthquakes2
SandyB−more damage than 55%earthquakes4
MidvaleCmore damage than 74%earthquakes—
HolladayC−more damage than 79%earthquakes3
MurrayC−more damage than 85%earthquakes36
Granite—908 residents; we grade 1,000+

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.

Be ready

Get ready for what Cottonwood Heights faces

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

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 ↗
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 ↗
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 Cottonwood Heights

Is Cottonwood Heights at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Cottonwood Heights has higher expected damage per building than 53% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #57 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (51%) and river and rain flooding (42%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.

Does Cottonwood Heights flood?

Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Cottonwood Heights since 2011, $4K in all, or 0.2 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 98% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.

Is Cottonwood Heights 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 Cottonwood Heights?

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

Is Cottonwood Heights at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (51%), and Cottonwood Heights’ rate for it is higher than 88% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Cottonwood Heights.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Cottonwood Heights’ 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.