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Natural hazards · Seward

Seward, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Seward comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 1 claim here since 2012. 10 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

How exposed is Seward?

96
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Seward to be higher than in 96% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches and tsunamis.

Avalanches46%Tsunamis29%Earthquakes23%Everything else2%
By hazard

What Seward faces

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

Avalanches

46% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places
Recorded about once a year in the area

Tsunamis

29% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

23% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places

Lower here

Inland floodingCoastal floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherWildfireLandslidesLightning

Not a risk here

HurricanesCold wavesHeat wavesStrong windDroughtVolcanic activity
Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Seward flood?

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

1paid claims since 2012
$40Kpaid to owners
0homes flooded more than once
20122026
of homes in flood zones
are insured
of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Seward isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Kenai Peninsula Borough.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1flood-prone properties bought out and cleared
1flood-prone homes bought out and moved
1homes raised above flood level
1buildings floodproofed
Disasters that hit Seward

10 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SewardDeclared for Kenai Peninsula Borough only
2022

Landslide

$912K to the City of Seward for repairs
2018

Earthquake

5 households applied for aid $6K aid approved
2017

Severe Storm

$3.0M to the City of Seward for repairs
2013

Flooding

$142K to the City of Seward for repairs
2012

Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides

$361K to the City of Seward for repairs
2011

Severe Storm

$50K to the City of Seward for repairs
2006

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

$532K to the City of Seward for repairs
2003

Severe Winter Storm, Including High Winds and Freezing Temperatures

3 households applied for aid
2002

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Coastal Erosion and Tidal Surge

65 households applied for aid $62K aid approved $28K to the City of Seward for repairs
1999

Severe Winter Storms and Avalanches

$328K to the City of Seward for repairs
Kenai Peninsula Borough has had 17 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. Seward 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 Seward’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to the City of Seward. 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.

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