11 flood insurance claims·$97,392 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 Northwest Arctic Borough, 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.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 9 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 2024, with 5 claims and $40,932 paid, the year of Severe Storm and Flooding.
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.
4 NOAA storm reports from Northwest Arctic Borough describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alaska flood stories →
7 federal disaster declarations since 1994, 1 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon Halong | Oct 8, 2025 |
| Severe Storm And Flooding | Oct 20, 2024 |
| Severe Fall Storm, Tidal Surges, And Flooding | Sep 22, 2005 |
| Severe Winter Storm, Tidal Surges And Flooding | Oct 18, 2004 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Aug 8, 1994 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
4 since 1996: 4 coastal floods or surges.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flood | Oct 8, 2025 | $800,000 |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 8, 2025 | $1.2M |
| Coastal Flood | Oct 21, 2024 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Coastal Flood · Oct 8, 2025. A low pressure system over the Western Aleutian Islands moved into the central Bering Sea the night of Sunday, October 6th, rapidly intensifying into a strong coastal storm. This system caused widespread significant flooding and coastal erosion across the Yukon Delta, Seward Peninsula, and Kotzebue Sound coastlines. Additionally, widespread gusty winds were felt across the Yukon Delta, St. Lawrence Island, Bering…
Coastal Flood · Oct 21, 2024. A major fall storm quickly pushed across northern Alaska between October 20th and 23rd, with the low itself moving all the way inland. The storm brought coastal flooding, high winds, heavy precipitation, and a mix of precipitation, including a rain-snow mix and freezing rain. Over higher elevations in the Brooks Range, snow amounts approached 2 feet, with 12 to 15 inches across the higher elevation Interior regi…
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 Northwest Arctic Borough 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.