Alaska flood insurance and flood history
From FEMA's flood insurance and disaster data · Updated 2026-10-08
FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data lists 808 flood insurance claims in Alaska since 1978. The NFIP paid $16.5 million on them (building, contents and Increased Cost of Compliance payments, in the dollars of the year paid).
The year with the most claims was 2012, with 66.
In the last ten years (2017–2026) there were 159 claims, and the average paid claim was $55,381.
35% of the claims with a recorded flood zone came from buildings outside FEMA's high-risk zones (rated zones B, C and X).
About 1.1% of homes in Alaska had an NFIP flood policy in FEMA's latest count (2,707 of 242,920 residential buildings). In the high-risk flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas), it was 49% (1,399 of 2,841).
Since 2000, FEMA has made 30 flood-related disaster declarations covering parts of Alaska. The most recent was DR-4912-AK (Severe Storms, Flooding, and Remnants of Typhoon Halong), declared May 29, 2026.
Flood insurance claims in Alaska by year
Show as a table
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | $39,690 |
| 2025 | 25 | $780,688 |
| 2024 | 54 | $3.0 million |
| 2023 | 19 | $1.2 million |
| 2022 | 19 | $1.0 million |
| 2021 | 5 | $18,806 |
| 2020 | 19 | $439,485 |
| 2019 | 6 | $194,764 |
| 2018 | 1 | $0 |
| 2017 | 6 | $59,993 |
| 2016 | 8 | $45,911 |
| 2015 | 7 | $99,036 |
| 2014 | 22 | $578,219 |
| 2013 | 46 | $3.1 million |
| 2012 | 66 | $879,477 |
| 2011 | 7 | $127,976 |
| 2010 | 2 | $13,411 |
| 2009 | 17 | $336,013 |
| 2008 | 58 | $720,621 |
| 2007 | 6 | $16,757 |
| 2006 | 42 | $413,271 |
| 2005 | 16 | $215,431 |
| 2004 | 19 | $524,159 |
| 2003 | 27 | $166,266 |
| 2002 | 26 | $308,497 |
| 2001 | 6 | $7,041 |
| 2000 | 2 | $9,395 |
| 1999 | 7 | $25,043 |
| 1998 | 6 | $6,545 |
| 1997 | 7 | $5,153 |
| 1996 | 9 | $33,379 |
| 1995 | 34 | $292,905 |
| 1994 | 9 | $376,732 |
| 1993 | 4 | $34,709 |
| 1992 | 29 | $520,355 |
| 1991 | 41 | $433,231 |
| 1990 | 6 | $73,881 |
| 1989 | 11 | $13,925 |
| 1988 | 2 | $3,698 |
| 1987 | 3 | $18,617 |
| 1986 | 15 | $130,153 |
| 1985 | 21 | $92,663 |
| 1984 | 10 | $31,668 |
| 1983 | 8 | $13,649 |
| 1982 | 8 | $3,465 |
| 1981 | 5 | $21,703 |
| 1980 | 26 | $47,242 |
| 1979 | 6 | $20,118 |
| 1978 | 5 | $11,716 |
What flood insurance costs in Alaska
On June 30, 2026, 3,196 NFIP flood insurance policies were in force in Alaska. For the 2,358 single-family homes among them, the typical (median) yearly cost was about $390; the average was $470.
| Rated flood zone | Policies | Typical yearly cost, single-family home | Average cost | Average building coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-risk zones (A and V) | 1,707 | $410 | $520 | $232,000 |
| Moderate- and low-risk zones (B, C and X) | 1,465 | $360 | $430 | $244,000 |
Cost here is what FEMA's data lists as the policy cost: the premium plus the reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge. It covers single-family homes only (not condos, apartments or businesses), with costs rounded to the nearest $10 and shown only where at least 20 homes back the figure. Your own price depends on your building and the coverage you choose; see how flood insurance is priced. Private flood insurance isn't included.
Policies and average cost by exact flood zone
Flood history by county
Every Alaska county in FEMA's data, sorted by number of NFIP claims since 1978. "Insured" is the share of homes with an NFIP policy; "typical NFIP cost" is the median yearly cost for single-family homes.
| County | Claims | Paid | Insured | Typical NFIP cost | Flood declarations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks North Star Borough | 244 | $2.6 million | 1.9% | $440 | 3 |
| Juneau Borough | 102 | $4.9 million | 10.4% | $360 | 2 |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough | 87 | $2.2 million | 0.4% | $390 | 5 |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough | 83 | $689,291 | 0.8% | $560 | 5 |
| Anchorage Borough | 81 | $268,979 | 0.4% | $340 | 0 |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | 72 | $3.3 million | 2.4% | $390 | 7 |
| Bethel Census Area | 45 | $305,527 | 2.4% | $360 | 13 |
| Nome Census Area | 25 | $1.5 million | 0.9% | $540 | 8 |
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 11 | $129,452 | 1.4% | $540 | 0 |
| Northwest Arctic Borough | 11 | $97,392 | 1.5% | n/a | 4 |
| Valdez-Cordova Census Area | 8 | $68,030 | n/a | n/a | 3 |
| Sitka Borough | 6 | $20,130 | 2.1% | $940 | 0 |
| Wade Hampton Census Area | 2 | $13,411 | n/a | n/a | 5 |
| North Slope Borough | 1 | $55,782 | 0.1% | n/a | 2 |
| Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area | 1 | $0 | n/a | n/a | 1 |
| Aleutians East Borough | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 0 |
| Aleutians West Census Area | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 3 |
| Bristol Bay Borough | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 0 |
| Chugach | 0 | $0 | 1.2% | $390 | 0 |
| Copper River | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 0 |
| Denali Borough | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 3 |
| Dillingham Census Area | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 2 |
| Haines Borough | 0 | $0 | 0.7% | n/a | 1 |
| Hoonah-Angoon | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 0 |
| Kodiak Island Borough | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 2 |
| Kusilvak | 0 | $0 | 0.6% | n/a | 1 |
| Lake and Peninsula Borough | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 0 |
| Petersburg Borough | 0 | $0 | 2.0% | n/a | 1 |
| Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 1 |
| Skagway Municipality | 0 | $0 | 0.7% | n/a | 1 |
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 6 |
| Wrangell City and Borough | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 1 |
| Yakutat Borough | 0 | $0 | 0.0% | n/a | 0 |
| Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area | 0 | $0 | n/a | n/a | 1 |
Flood-related FEMA disaster declarations in Alaska
Declarations since 2000 that FEMA lists as involving flooding. "Help for individuals" means FEMA's Individual Assistance was approved for at least part of the area.
| Declaration | Declared | Event | Help for individuals |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR-4912-AK | May 29, 2026 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Remnants of Typhoon Halong | No |
| DR-4893-AK | Oct 22, 2025 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Remnants of Typhoon Halong | Yes |
| DR-4859-AK | Jan 15, 2025 | Severe Storm and Flooding | No |
| DR-4857-AK | Jan 10, 2025 | Severe Storm and Flooding | No |
| DR-4853-AK | Jan 1, 2025 | Severe Storm and Flooding | No |
| DR-4836-AK | Oct 16, 2024 | Flooding | Yes |
| DR-4767-AK | Apr 6, 2024 | Severe Storm, Flooding, and Landslides | No |
| DR-4763-AK | Mar 15, 2024 | Severe Storm, Landslides, and Mudslides | Yes |
| DR-4730-AK | Aug 23, 2023 | Flooding | Yes |
| DR-4672-AK | Sep 23, 2022 | Severe Storm, Flooding, and Landslides | Yes |
| DR-4667-AK | Aug 26, 2022 | Flooding | No |
| DR-4638-AK | Jan 15, 2022 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-4585-AK | Feb 17, 2021 | Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-4391-AK | Sep 5, 2018 | Flooding | No |
| DR-4162-AK | Jan 23, 2014 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | No |
| DR-4161-AK | Jan 16, 2014 | Flooding | No |
| DR-4122-AK | Jun 25, 2013 | Flooding | Yes |
| DR-4094-AK | Nov 27, 2012 | Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides | No |
| DR-4050-AK | Dec 22, 2011 | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding | No |
| DR-1992-AK | Jun 10, 2011 | Ice Jam and Flooding | No |
| DR-1865-AK | Dec 18, 2009 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Rockslides | No |
| DR-1843-AK | Jun 11, 2009 | Flooding and Ice Jams | Yes |
| DR-1796-AK | Sep 26, 2008 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-1669-AK | Dec 8, 2006 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
| DR-1663-AK | Oct 16, 2006 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | No |
Showing the 25 most recent of 30.
What to do with this
A county's history doesn't tell you your own building's risk. To see your property's flood zone, use FEMA's flood map lookup. To weigh coverage, start with do I need flood insurance? and what flood insurance costs.
Where these numbers come from
All figures on this page are calculated from FEMA's public OpenFEMA datasets:
- NFIP Redacted Claims (v3) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP claims since 1978, downloaded 2026-10-08. Dollar amounts are what the NFIP paid, not adjusted for inflation. Claims filed under private flood insurance aren't included.
- NFIP Residential Penetration Rates (v1) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP residential policy contracts in force (as of August 3, 2026) divided by FEMA's count of residential buildings from the National Structure Inventory. FEMA notes that inventory is incomplete in some counties, which can inflate the rate. Private flood policies aren't counted.
- NFIP Redacted Policies (v3) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): NFIP policies in force on June 30, 2026 (a policy counts if its term covers that date and it wasn't cancelled), downloaded 2026-10-08. Policy counts are FEMA's insured units, so a condominium association policy counts each unit. Costs are FEMA's "policy cost" (premium plus reserve fund assessment, federal policy fee and HFIAA surcharge) for single-family homes only. Policies FEMA's data doesn't place in a county count toward the state only.
- Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2) (FEMA (OpenFEMA)): disaster declarations, downloaded 2026-10-08. We count a declaration as flood-related when FEMA lists flooding (or a dam or levee break) as its incident type or a designated incident type, or the declaration's title mentions flooding.
FEMA's redacted claims data doesn't identify properties, and FEMA notes that some records lack a county or flood zone. See how we use the data.