Utahns should assess flood risk and insurance now, emergency management says

FRUIT HEIGHTS, Utah (ABC4) — In the quiet foothills of Fruit Heights, what looks like a regular neighborhood road is actually a dry gulch and a regulatory floodway. This is just one of many areas in Utah where flood risks can sneak up fast and leave homeowners with a mountain of repair costs.

As spring temperatures rise, so does the risk. Peak runoff in Utah typically arrives in late May and early June, and emergency officials say now is the time to take action before it’s too late.

Kevin Neilson, a longtime Fruit Heights resident, knows the drill. He has lived at the bottom of Shady Lane Way for three decades, and says flooding is a near-annual concern.

“It’ll kind of flood just down here behind you where you’re standing,” he said, pointing toward the lower edge of his property. “Maps show this as a 500-year floodplain, and depending on where you are, they want you to have flood insurance if you have a mortgage.”

He and his family have grown used to some water creeping into the yard most years. It’s why sandbags already line his basement door — just in case.

“You never know when a storm is going to be approaching,” Kevin said. “So we just leave those there.”

Neilson has flood insurance, but his next-door neighbor, Mark Andrus, does not. Andrus said that over the years, he’s received conflicting guidance about whether he needed coverage.

“At various times, my mortgage company said I needed flood insurance, so I got it,” Mark explained. “Then a few years later, I was told I wasn’t in a flood zone, so I canceled it. That back-and-forth went on until we finally paid off our home. Now we don’t carry any insurance.”

That’s a gamble emergency officials urge residents not to take. Genevieve Keys with the Utah Division of Emergency Management says flooding in the state is unpredictable and highly localized.

“Anywhere it can rain, it can flood,” she said. “Utah flooding is very dynamic. It really changes from place to place depending on where you are.”

And when it comes to insurance, timing is everything.

“You want to investigate your flood insurance options immediately,” Keys said. “There’s a 30-day waiting period before coverage takes effect, so if you wait until the water’s rising, it’s too late.”

Flooding carries the highest average cost of any natural hazard in Utah, year after year. And while some homeowners assume they’re safe because they’re not in a high-risk zone, the truth is floodwaters don’t always follow the map.

If you’re unsure whether your property is vulnerable — or whether your insurance has you covered — it’s time to find out. Spring runoff waits for no one.

More information about flood insurance and preparedness is available on Utah’s flood mapping website.