Natural hazards · Sandy

Sandy, UT natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sandy comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is moderate for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 4 claims here since 1982. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sandy?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sandy to be higher than in 49% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes76%Inland flooding19%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Sandy faces

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

Earthquakes

76% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

19% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 12% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningDroughtVolcanic 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 Sandy flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Sandy, from FEMA’s records.

4paid claims since 1982

$18Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19822026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Salt Lake County.

Disasters that hit Sandy

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SandyDeclared for Salt Lake County only

2020

Earthquake and Aftershocks

26 households applied for aid $27K aid approved

Salt Lake County has had 10 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and fires.

Around Sandy

Sandy and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Granitemostly avalanchesHigh

Midvalemostly earthquakesHigh

Cottonwood Heightsmostly avalanchesModerate

Sandymostly earthquakesModerate

Drapermostly avalanchesModerate

West Jordanmostly earthquakesLow

South Jordanmostly earthquakesLow

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. Sandy covers 20 census tracts, combined by population.

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

FEMA’s expected losses across Sandy total about $34.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.