Natural hazards · North Pole

North Pole, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in North Pole comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 3 claims here since 1991. 1 federal disaster brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is North Pole?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in North Pole to be higher than in 81% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and cold waves.

Earthquakes71%Cold waves18%Wildfire5%Everything else7%

By hazard

What North Pole faces

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

Earthquakes

71% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 97% of U.S. places

Cold waves

18% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 85% of U.S. places

Recorded about 2 times a year in the area

Wildfire

5% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 96% of U.S. places

Lower here

Inland floodingHailIce stormsWinter weatherLandslidesStrong windLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHeat wavesDroughtAvalanchesTsunamis

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

Flood insurance claims

Does North Pole flood?

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

3paid claims since 1991

$36Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

19912026

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. North Pole 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.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit North Pole

1 federal disaster brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into North PoleDeclared for Fairbanks North Star Borough only

2002

Earthquake

19 households applied for aid $13K aid approved

Fairbanks North Star Borough has had 14 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and severe storms.

Around North Pole

North Pole and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Badgermostly earthquakesVery high

North Polemostly earthquakesVery high

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. North Pole covers 1 census tract, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to North Pole’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of North Pole. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across North Pole total about $5.5M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

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.