FEMA expects more hazard damage per building in Lake Shore than in 81% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lake Shore gets a C− for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (70%), then river and rain flooding (21%). Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 1980.
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 Lake Shore 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
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 Lake Shore’s grade
Earthquakes are 70% of the building damage FEMA expects in Lake Shore, and Lake Shore’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 8%, at a rate in the top 4% of U.S. census tracts.
C− higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Lake Shore’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $998K a year in losses across Lake Shore: $741K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Lake Shore flood? Rarely: 2 flood claims since 1980
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lake Shore, from FEMA’s records: 8.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 70% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Lake Shore isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Utah County.The storms Lake Shore remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Utah County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Lake Shore itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19801 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 19821 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Utah County has had 4 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 6 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Utah County, 2001–2026.
Old photos of Lake Shore after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Lake Shore archive →Lake Shore and its neighbors
Lake Shore has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. 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 Lake Shore 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.
- 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 Lake Shore
Is Lake Shore at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Lake Shore has higher expected damage per building than 81% of U.S. towns: C− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (70%) and river and rain flooding (21%). 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.
Does Lake Shore flood?
Flood insurance has paid 2 claims in Lake Shore since 1980, $1K in all, or 8.0 per 1,000 homes, more than 70% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Lake Shore 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 Utah County, 27% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Lake Shore?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Lake Shore’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Lake Shore at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (70%), and Lake Shore’s rate for it is in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Lake Shore.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Lake Shore’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.