Natural hazards · Sterling

Sterling, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Sterling comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 3 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

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

Expected damage

How exposed is Sterling?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Sterling to be higher than in 94% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches and earthquakes.

Avalanches48%Earthquakes30%Wildfire17%Everything else5%

By hazard

What Sterling faces

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

Avalanches

48% of expected damage

Well below average · higher than 0% of U.S. places

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

30% of expected damage

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

Wildfire

17% of expected damage

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

Lower here

Inland floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesLandslidesLightningDroughtVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHeat wavesStrong windTsunamis

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

Flood insurance claims

Does Sterling flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Sterling 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.

Disasters that hit Sterling

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into SterlingDeclared for Kenai Peninsula Borough only

2018

Earthquake

19 households applied for aid $77K aid approved

2003

Severe Winter Storm, Including High Winds and Freezing Temperatures

4 households applied for aid $4K aid approved

2002

Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Coastal Erosion and Tidal Surge

1 household applied for aid

Kenai Peninsula Borough has had 17 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Sterling

Sterling and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Ridgewaymostly earthquakesVery high

Soldotnamostly earthquakesVery high

Sterlingmostly avalanchesVery high

Funny Rivermostly avalanchesVery 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. Sterling 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 Sterling’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Sterling. 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.