Natural hazards · Charleston

Charleston, UT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Charleston comes from inland flooding, and overall the risk is high for a U.S. community. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Charleston?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Charleston to be higher than in 69% of U.S. communities, mostly from inland flooding and wildfires.

Inland flooding60%Wildfire15%Earthquakes8%Lightning5%Winter weather5%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Charleston faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Inland flooding

60% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 79% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 28 years in the area

Wildfire

15% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

8% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 78% of U.S. places

Lightning

5% of expected damage

Below average · higher than 34% of U.S. places

Winter weather

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Recorded about 27 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsCold wavesHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesAvalanchesTsunamis

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Charleston flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Charleston.

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Charleston isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Wasatch County.

Disasters that hit Charleston

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Charleston itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the Town of Charleston.

Brought FEMA money into CharlestonDeclared for Wasatch County only

2011

Flooding

$5K to the Town of Charleston for repairs

Wasatch County has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and fires.

Around Charleston

Charleston and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Charlestonmostly inland floodingHigh

Danielmostly inland floodingHigh

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Charleston is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Charleston’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the Town of Charleston. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.