Natural hazards · Kivalina

Kivalina, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kivalina comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. 2 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kivalina?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kivalina to be higher than in 7% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves.

Cold waves92%Everything else8%

By hazard

What Kivalina faces

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

Cold waves

92% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 10 times a year in the area

Lower here

Inland floodingTornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningAvalanchesVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailHeat wavesStrong windDroughtTsunamis

Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.

Flood insurance claims

Does Kivalina flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Northwest Arctic Borough.

Disasters that hit Kivalina

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KivalinaDeclared for Northwest Arctic Borough only

2025

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Remnants of Typhoon Halong

22 households applied for aid $394K aid approved

2004

Severe Winter Storm, Tidal Surges and Flooding

$115K to the City of Kivalina for repairs

Northwest Arctic Borough has had 5 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. Kivalina 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 Kivalina’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kivalina. 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.