Natural hazards · Big Delta

Big Delta, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Big Delta comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Big Delta?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Big Delta to be higher than in 88% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and avalanches.

Wildfire33%Avalanches20%Cold waves20%Earthquakes20%Inland flooding6%

By hazard

What Big Delta faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Wildfire

33% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Avalanches

20% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 0% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 15 years in the area

Cold waves

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 89% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

6% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 6% of U.S. places

Recorded about once every 100 years in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHeat wavesDroughtTsunamis

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Big Delta flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Big Delta.

Disasters that hit Big Delta

Federal disasters declared here

None of the disasters declared for Southeast Fairbanks Census Area shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Big Delta itself in FEMA’s records.

Brought FEMA money into Big DeltaDeclared for Southeast Fairbanks Census Area only

Southeast Fairbanks Census Area has had 11 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

Around Big Delta

Big Delta and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Big Deltamostly wildfiresVery high

Deltanamostly wildfiresVery high

Whitestonemostly wildfiresVery high

Delta Junctionmostly wildfiresVery high

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Big Delta is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Big Delta’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Big Delta. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.