Natural hazards · Elim

Elim, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Elim comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Elim?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Elim to be higher than in 2% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves.

Cold waves87%Inland flooding5%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Elim faces

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

Cold waves

87% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Inland flooding

5% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 2% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailHeat wavesStrong windDroughtTsunamis

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 Elim flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Elim isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Nome Census Area.

Disasters that hit Elim

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Elim itself: aid to households, or repair grants to the City of Elim.

Brought FEMA money into ElimDeclared for Nome Census Area only

2022

Severe Storm, Flooding, and Landslides

43 households applied for aid $365K aid approved $8.1M to the City of Elim for repairs

2005

Severe Fall Storm, Tidal Surges, and Flooding

$43K to the City of Elim for repairs

2004

Severe Winter Storm, Tidal Surges and Flooding

$30K to the City of Elim for repairs

Nome Census Area has had 9 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

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. Elim 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 Elim’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Elim. 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.