Natural hazards · Nome

Nome, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Nome comes from cold waves, and overall the risk is very low for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 20 claims here since 1992. 4 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Nome?

Very low

vs. U.S. communities

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

Cold waves55%Earthquakes25%Inland flooding15%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Nome faces

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

Cold waves

55% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 90% of U.S. places

Recorded about 7 times a year in the area

Earthquakes

25% of expected damage

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

Inland flooding

15% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 1% of U.S. places

Lower here

TornadoesIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightningAvalanchesVolcanic 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 Nome flood?

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

20paid claims since 1992

$1.4Mpaid to owners

1homes flooded more than once

19922026

Homes that flooded again and again

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

of all homes
are insured

🏷️ 10% off flood insurance. Nome is in FEMA’s Community Rating System (class 8) for its flood-proofing work.

Insurance rates: Nome Census Area.

Disasters that hit Nome

4 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into NomeDeclared for Nome Census Area only

2022

Severe Storm, Flooding, and Landslides

135 households applied for aid $597K aid approved $10.7M to the City of Nome for repairs

2011

Severe Winter Storms and Flooding

$2.9M to the City of Nome for repairs

2005

Severe Fall Storm, Tidal Surges, and Flooding

$20K to the City of Nome for repairs

2004

Severe Winter Storm, Tidal Surges and Flooding

$2.9M to the City of Nome 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. Nome 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 Nome’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Nome. 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.