8 flood insurance claims·$146,466 paid·1 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Grand County, Utah. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood risk profile in Grand County, Utah. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database recorded 79 flash flood events and 3 deaths, compared to 15 standard flood events.
Recent occurrences illustrate these patterns. In June 2024, deep tropical moisture combined with monsoonal moisture to produce heavy rain and severe weather. In August 2024, deep monsoonal moisture generated heavy rainfall rates exceeding 2 inches per hour, leading to flash flooding. An additional event in September 2025 involved a closed low and high pressure ridge directing monsoonal moisture northward, resulting in flash flooding and debris flows.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate that claims have occurred in both high-risk and moderate-to-low risk areas. Zone A properties account for 5 claims with an average payout of $37,811 and an average recorded water depth of 3 inches. Zone X properties account for 3 claims with an average payout of $23,615 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Property owners in Zone A and Zone X should pay the closest attention to these flood risks.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 2 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2022, with 5 claims and $117,598 paid.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
26 NOAA storm reports from Grand County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Utah flood stories →
4 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | Aug 29, 2005 |
| Drought | Jan 20, 1977 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
94 since 1996: 79 flash floods and 15 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Sep 12, 2025 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Sep 12, 2025 | $3,000 |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Aug 23, 2024 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 21, 2024 | — · 2 killed |
| Flash Flood | Aug 24, 2023 | — |
| Flood | May 18, 2023 | $2,500 |
| Flood | Aug 17, 2023 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Sep 12, 2025. The period between the 11th and 13th of September had a relatively unique meteorological setup for western Colorado and eastern Utah. A potent closed low was located over Southern California, and a ridge of high pressure was located to our southeast, directing a rich plume of monsoonal moisture northward through the Four Corners. Mixing ratios in this plume of moisture were more than high enough to not only help f…
Flash Flood · Jun 27, 2024. Deep subtropical moisture increased across eastern Utah and western Colorado and combined with forcing from a strong low pressure trough digging across the Intermountain West to result in widespread severe thunderstorms. These storms produced severe wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain that resulted in flash flooding and debris flows.
Flash Flood · Aug 23, 2024. With deep monsoonal moisture in place, as well as around 1000 J/kg of instability and some bulk shear aloft, widespread strong to severe thunderstorms formed across the Four Corners region. This resulted in multiple severe threats in eastern Utah which included large hail and flash flooding due to heavy rainfall rates in excess of 2 inches per hour.
Flash Flood · Jun 21, 2024. Very deep tropical moisture associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto combined with monsoonal moisture was forced through eastern Utah and western Colorado due to a large high pressure ridge over the Central U.S. and a deep low pressure trough over the Great Basin. This deep moisture combined with strong instability and shear to produce widespread severe weather across eastern Utah and western Colorad…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Grand County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.