Natural hazards · Lower Kalskag

Lower Kalskag, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lower Kalskag comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is moderate 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 Lower Kalskag?

Moderate

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lower Kalskag to be higher than in 45% of U.S. communities, mostly from cold waves and wildfires.

Cold waves33%Wildfire31%Earthquakes20%Inland flooding14%Everything else3%

By hazard

What Lower Kalskag faces

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

Cold waves

33% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 86% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Wildfire

31% of expected damage

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

Earthquakes

20% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

14% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 3% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanchesVolcanic 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 Lower Kalskag flood?

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

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Bethel Census Area.

Disasters that hit Lower Kalskag

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into Lower KalskagDeclared for Bethel Census Area only

2023

Flooding

5 households applied for aid $8K aid approved

2009

Flooding and Ice Jams

5 households applied for aid $4K aid approved $54K to the City of Lower Kalskag for repairs

Bethel Census Area has had 18 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often floods and severe storms.

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