Photo: No machine-readable author provided. C.Maylett assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA expects less hazard damage per building in Gunnison than in 72% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Gunnison gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns, #15 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%), then earthquakes (25%). 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 Gunnison 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
Earthquakes
Wildfire
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 Gunnison’s grade
River and rain flooding is 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Gunnison, and Gunnison’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 15%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
B+ #15 of 119 in Utah; lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Gunnison’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, Gunnison has less expected damage per building than 88% of Utah towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.3M a year in losses across Gunnison: $519K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Gunnison flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Gunnison. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Gunnison 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 Gunnison remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Sanpete County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Gunnison itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
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.
Get ready for what Gunnison 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.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Gunnison
Is Gunnison at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Gunnison has lower expected damage per building than 72% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #15 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%) and earthquakes (25%). 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 Gunnison 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 Gunnison?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Gunnison’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Gunnison at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Gunnison’s rate for it is lower than 75% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Gunnison.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Gunnison’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.