Photo: Bryce D. Holt · CC BY-SA 4.0FEMA puts Richmond’s expected hazard damage per building below that of 76% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Richmond gets an A− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns, #9 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (51%), then river and rain flooding (42%). 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 Richmond 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 Richmond’s grade
Earthquakes are 51% of the building damage FEMA expects in Richmond, and Richmond’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 5%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
A− #9 of 119 in Utah; lower expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Richmond’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, Richmond has less expected damage per building than 93% of Utah towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.8M a year in losses across Richmond: $495K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Richmond flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Richmond. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Richmond isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Cache County.The storms Richmond remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Cache County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Richmond itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Cache County has had 4 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.
Richmond and its neighbors
Richmond has the lowest expected damage per building of the 1 graded towns here. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | A−less damage than 76% | earthquakes | 0 |
| Cove | — | 521 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
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 Richmond 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 Richmond
Is Richmond at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Richmond has lower expected damage per building than 76% of U.S. towns: A− for hazard risk, #9 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (51%) and river and rain flooding (42%). 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 Richmond 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 Cache County, 6% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.2% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Richmond?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Richmond’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Richmond at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (51%), and Richmond’s rate for it is higher than 85% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Richmond.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Richmond’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.