Photo: Rolf Müller (User:Rolfmueller) · CC BY-SA 3.0More hazard damage per building is expected in Nephi than in 74% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Nephi gets a C for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns, #85 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (64%), then river and rain flooding (27%). 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 Nephi 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 Nephi’s grade
Earthquakes are 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Nephi, and Nephi’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 7%, at a rate in the top 5% of U.S. census tracts.
C #85 of 119 in Utah; higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Nephi’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, Nephi has more expected damage per building than 71% of Utah towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.3M a year in losses across Nephi: $1.9M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Nephi flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Nephi. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Nephi isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Juab County.The storms Nephi remembers
None of the 3 disasters declared for Juab County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Nephi itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Juab County has had 3 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 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Juab County, 2007–2026.
Get ready for what Nephi 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 Nephi
Is Nephi at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Nephi has higher expected damage per building than 74% of U.S. towns: C for hazard risk, #85 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (64%) and river and rain flooding (27%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Nephi 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 Juab County, 0.2% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Nephi?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Nephi’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Nephi at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Nephi’s rate for it is in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Nephi.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Nephi’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.