Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0On FEMA’s figures, Salina faces about as much hazard damage per building as the typical U.S. town, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salina gets a B− for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns, #48 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%), then earthquakes (28%). Flood insurance has paid 1 claim 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 Salina 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 Salina’s grade
River and rain flooding is 62% of the building damage FEMA expects in Salina, and Salina’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 9%, at a rate in the top 6% of U.S. census tracts.
B− #48 of 119 in Utah; lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Salina’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, Salina has less expected damage per building than 60% of Utah towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $1.3M a year in losses across Salina: $738K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Salina flood? Rarely: 1 flood claim since 1984
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Salina, from FEMA’s records: 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 79% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Salina isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Sevier County.The storms Salina remembers
None of the 5 disasters declared for Sevier County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Salina 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 Sevier County
Sevier 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 1 FEMA wildfire suppression grant (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Sevier County, 2025–2025.
Old photos of Salina after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Salina archive →Get ready for what Salina 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 Salina
Is Salina at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Salina has lower expected damage per building than 51% of U.S. towns: B− for hazard risk, #48 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (62%) and earthquakes (28%). 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 Salina flood?
Flood insurance has paid 1 claim in Salina since 1984, $3K in all, or 0.9 per 1,000 homes, fewer than 79% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Salina 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 Sevier County, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.0% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Salina?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Salina’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Salina at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (62%), and Salina’s rate for it is lower than 54% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Salina.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Salina’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.