Question 1

Which county in Alaska has the highest natural disaster risk?

Accepted Answer

Anchorage Municipality has the highest natural disaster risk score in Alaska at 97.4 (Relatively High), based on FEMA National Risk Index data.

Question 2

Which county in Alaska is the safest from natural disasters?

Accepted Answer

Wrangell City and Borough has the lowest natural disaster risk score in Alaska at 0.1 (Very Low), based on FEMA NRI data.

Question 3

What natural disasters are most common in Alaska?

Accepted Answer

Alaska counties face varying levels of risk from floods, wildfires, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The FEMA National Risk Index scores each county across 18 hazard types. See individual county pages for detailed hazard breakdowns.

Question 4

How is natural disaster risk measured by county?

Accepted Answer

The FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) measures natural disaster risk using expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Scores are normalized nationally, with ratings from Very Low to Very High across 18 natural hazard types.

County	Risk Score	Rating	Flood	Wildfire	Tornado	Earthquake
Anchorage Municipality	97.4	Relatively High	28.0	78.6	0.4	99.5
Matanuska-Susitna Borough	93.3	Relatively Moderate	51.3	94.7	0.9	98.9
Kenai Peninsula Borough	93.0	Relatively Moderate	43.8	97.1	0.8	98.7
Fairbanks North Star Borough	88.5	Relatively Moderate	45.7	97.6	0.7	97.6
Aleutians West Census Area	67.3	Relatively Low	0.0	0.0	0.6	89.7
Kodiak Island Borough	65.1	Relatively Low	4.4	23.2	0.5	94.7
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	61.5	Relatively Low	6.6	93.0	0.7	75.3
Kusilvak Census Area	57.9	Relatively Low	0.0	46.9	0.9	24.6
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area	57.0	Relatively Low	9.4	97.1	0.8	86.5
Northwest Arctic Borough	54.6	Relatively Low	3.4	65.7	0.5	65.7
Bethel Census Area	44.3	Relatively Low	9.6	83.8	1.4	49.4
Copper River Census Area	39.9	Very Low	1.9	83.7	0.4	77.8
Dillingham Census Area	35.7	Very Low	3.1	62.2	0.6	75.0
Nome Census Area	34.1	Very Low	5.7	45.2	0.5	73.5
Denali Borough	28.3	Very Low	1.5	84.8	0.3	78.9
Sitka City and Borough	23.8	Very Low	34.0	8.7	0.1	83.9
Aleutians East Borough	21.3	Very Low	0.0	0.1	1.0	74.6
Chugach Census Area	19.6	Very Low	20.8	1.3	0.1	81.8
Petersburg Borough	15.4	Very Low	1.0	3.4	0.3	18.3
North Slope Borough	14.8	Very Low	2.6	11.4	0.7	50.2
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area	14.3	Very Low	22.8	5.6	0.4	73.2
Juneau City and Borough	11.5	Very Low	38.0	19.5	0.6	80.5
Lake and Peninsula Borough	6.3	Very Low	0.2	45.5	0.8	79.7
Haines Borough	4.3	Very Low	0.8	5.0	0.2	64.5
Yakutat City and Borough	3.0	Very Low	0.3	1.7	0.2	77.4
Ketchikan Gateway Borough	1.7	Very Low	26.0	10.9	0.2	31.2
Bristol Bay Borough	1.2	Very Low	0.0	34.2	0.3	71.9
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area	1.0	Very Low	3.8	10.1	0.3	43.0
Skagway Municipality	0.5	Very Low	0.3	2.4	0.0	43.9
Wrangell City and Borough	0.1	Very Low	0.4	1.5	0.1	13.0

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