Fairbanks’s biggest natural hazard is earthquakes
Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Fairbanks comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 29 claims here since 1978. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.
How exposed is Fairbanks?
FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings here to be higher than in 80% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and cold waves.
Rated higher than 209 of the 352 Alaska towns we cover.
Fairbanks covers 7 census tracts, combined by population.
What Fairbanks faces
Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
Cold waves
Inland flooding
Does Fairbanks flood? Sometimes: 29 flood claims since 1978
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Fairbanks, from FEMA’s records.
Fairbanks isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fairbanks North Star Borough.3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Fairbanks
Disasters that paid out in Fairbanks itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Fairbanks) and its biggest flood years.
- 2002Earthquake41 households applied for aid$23K aid approved
- 2002Flooding$16K to the City of Fairbanks for repairs
- 1999Severe Winter Storms and Avalanches$182K to the City of Fairbanks for repairs
- 198014 flood claims paidThe most in any one year on record
Fairbanks North Star Borough has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.
Old photos of Fairbanks after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Fairbanks archive →Get ready for what Fairbanks actually faces
A short kit for its top hazards, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- Let faucets drip so pipes don’t freeze.
- Know where your water shutoff is.
- Never heat the house with the oven or a grill.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Fairbanks and its neighbors
Fairbanks ranks 3rd calmest of 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Rating | Mostly | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Badger | Very high | earthquakes | 1 |
| South Van Horn | Very high | earthquakes | 4 |
| Fairbanks | Very high | earthquakes | 29 |
| College | High | earthquakes | 12 |
| Steele Creek | High | cold waves | 1 |
Rating = expected yearly storm and flood damage as a share of what’s there, vs. U.S. communities. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Most disasters here begin in June–July
The month each of Fairbanks North Star Borough’s 14 declared disasters began, since 1953.
What these numbers can and can’t tell you
- An average, not a forecast. FEMA’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 there, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings.
- Money that reached town. Flood claims are matched to Fairbanks’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Fairbanks.
- It follows property value. FEMA’s model weighs damage to buildings, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels. Across Fairbanks, expected losses total about $29.7M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Fairbanks.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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. Weather alerts: National Weather Service. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. An average of past damage, not a forecast.