Photo: Flickr user Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0FEMA puts Ephraim’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 77% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ephraim gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns, #8 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (58%), then river and rain flooding (36%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1984.
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 Ephraim faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
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 Ephraim’s grade
Earthquakes are 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ephraim, and Ephraim’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 4%, at a rate in the top 8% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #8 of 119 in Utah; lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Ephraim’s residents live in 2 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, Ephraim has less expected damage per building than 94% of Utah towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.7M a year in losses across Ephraim: $1.2M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ephraim flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Ephraim, from FEMA’s records: 1.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 77% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Ephraim isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sanpete County.The storms Ephraim remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Sanpete County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ephraim itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19841 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storms, Mudslides, Landslides and Flooding, declared for Sanpete County
- 20131 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Sanpete 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 2 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Sanpete County, 2012–2018.
Old photos of Ephraim after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Ephraim archive →Get ready for what Ephraim faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Ephraim
Is Ephraim at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ephraim has lower expected damage per building than 77% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #8 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (58%) and river and rain flooding (36%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Ephraim flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Ephraim since 1984, $734 in all, or 1.0 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 77% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Ephraim 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 Sanpete County, 21% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ephraim?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ephraim’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Ephraim at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Ephraim’s rate for it is higher than 84% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ephraim.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ephraim’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.