81 flood insurance claims·$268,979 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 Anchorage Municipality, Alaska. 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.
24% of Anchorage Municipality’s flood insurance claims were on properties rated outside FEMA’s high-risk zones.
45 NFIP claims with a recorded rated flood zone, 1978 to date. The zone is the one FEMA used to rate that policy, which may not match today’s map. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 8 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 2012, with 10 claims and $138,598 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.
1 NOAA storm reports from Anchorage Municipality describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alaska flood stories →
7 federal disaster declarations since 1995, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Earthquake | Nov 30, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Including High Winds And Freezing Temperatures | Mar 6, 2003 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Avalanches | Dec 21, 1999 |
| Flooding | Sep 18, 1995 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
1 since 1996: 1 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Dec 1, 2020 | $250,000 |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Dec 1, 2020. A large plume of concentrated moisture or Atmospheric River (AR) with an associated low-pressure system moved across the Pacific Ocean and transported tropical moisture from the southwest which impacted Southeast Alaska (SEAK) from December 1st through December 2nd. This event brought widespread significant, and sometimes historic record setting rainfall to locations across Southeast Alaska. There were multiple wa…
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 Anchorage Municipality 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.