Natural hazards · Kotzebue

Kotzebue, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Kotzebue comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 7 claims here since 2011. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Kotzebue?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Kotzebue to be higher than in 1% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves.

Cold waves91%Everything else9%

By hazard

What Kotzebue faces

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

Cold waves

91% of expected damage

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

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Lower here

Inland floodingTornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireEarthquakesLandslidesLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHailHeat wavesStrong windDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

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

Flood insurance claims

Does Kotzebue flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Kotzebue, from FEMA’s records.

7paid claims since 2011

$97Kpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

20112026

Homes that flooded again and again

■ FEMA “severe repetitive loss” (0) ■ flooded 2+ times

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Kotzebue 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 Kotzebue

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into KotzebueDeclared for Northwest Arctic Borough only

2025

Severe Storms, Flooding, and Remnants of Typhoon Halong

32 households applied for aid $646K aid approved

2024

Severe Storm and Flooding

$752K to the City of Kotzebue for repairs

2004

Severe Winter Storm, Tidal Surges and Flooding

$40K to the City of Kotzebue 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. Kotzebue 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 Kotzebue’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Kotzebue. 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.