Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0Less hazard damage per building is expected in Smithfield than in 73% of U.S. towns, mostly from river and rain flooding
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Smithfield gets a B+ for hazard risk: lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns, #13 of 119 in Utah. Most of that expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%), then earthquakes (38%). 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 Smithfield 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
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 Smithfield’s grade
River and rain flooding is 58% of the building damage FEMA expects in Smithfield, and Smithfield’s rate of river and rain flooding damage is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts. Next is earthquakes at 38% (higher than 83% of U.S. census tracts).
B+ #13 of 119 in Utah; lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Smithfield’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, Smithfield has less expected damage per building than 90% of Utah towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $5.7M a year in losses across Smithfield: $1.3M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Smithfield flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Smithfield. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Smithfield 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 Smithfield remembers
None of the 4 disasters declared for Cache County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Smithfield 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.
Get ready for what Smithfield 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.
- 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 Smithfield
Is Smithfield at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Smithfield has lower expected damage per building than 73% of U.S. towns: B+ for hazard risk, #13 of 119 in Utah. Most of the expected damage is river and rain flooding (58%) and earthquakes (38%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Smithfield 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 Smithfield?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Smithfield’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Smithfield at risk from river and rain flooding?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (58%), and Smithfield’s rate for it is lower than 73% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Smithfield.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Smithfield’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.