Mountain Dell Dam · Photo: Historic American Engineering Record. Survey number HAER UTAH,18-SALCI,22-17 · Public domainMore hazard damage per building is expected in Emigration Canyon than in 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Emigration Canyon gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (80%), then river and rain flooding (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 Emigration Canyon 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 Emigration Canyon’s grade
Wildfire is 80% of the building damage FEMA expects in Emigration Canyon, and Emigration Canyon’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 13% (lower than 88% of U.S. census tracts).
D higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Emigration Canyon’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $6.2M a year in losses across Emigration Canyon: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Emigration Canyon flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Emigration Canyon. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Emigration Canyon 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 Emigration Canyon remembers
None of the 6 disasters declared for Salt Lake County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Emigration Canyon 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.
Emigration Canyon and its neighbors
Emigration Canyon is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City | Dmore damage than 87% | earthquakes | 98 |
| Emigration Canyon | Dmore damage than 93% | wildfire | 0 |
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 Emigration Canyon 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 Emigration Canyon
Is Emigration Canyon at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Emigration Canyon has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (80%) and river and rain flooding (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 Emigration Canyon 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 Emigration Canyon?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Emigration Canyon’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Emigration Canyon at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (80%), and Emigration Canyon’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Emigration Canyon.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Emigration Canyon’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.