Natural hazards · Talkeetna

Talkeetna, AK natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Talkeetna comes from avalanches, and overall the risk is high 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 Talkeetna?

High

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Talkeetna to be higher than in 77% of U.S. communities, mostly from avalanches.

Avalanches83%Earthquakes12%Everything else6%

By hazard

What Talkeetna faces

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

Avalanches

83% of expected damage

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

Recorded about once a year in the area

Earthquakes

12% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 95% of U.S. places

Lower here

Inland floodingTornadoesHailIce stormsWinter weatherCold wavesWildfireLandslidesLightningVolcanic activity

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesHeat wavesStrong windDroughtTsunamis

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

Flood insurance claims

Does Talkeetna flood?

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

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

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

Insurance rates: Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

What’s been done with FEMA grants

1homes raised above flood level

Disasters that hit Talkeetna

2 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

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

Brought FEMA money into TalkeetnaDeclared for Matanuska-Susitna Borough only

2018

Earthquake

21 households applied for aid $14K aid approved

2003

Severe Winter Storm, Including High Winds and Freezing Temperatures

2 households applied for aid $3K aid approved

Matanuska-Susitna Borough has had 16 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often severe storms and floods.

Around Talkeetna

Talkeetna and the towns around it

Very lowLowModerateHighVery high

Talkeetnamostly avalanchesHigh

Chasemostly avalanchesHigh

Susitna Northmostly avalanchesHigh

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. Talkeetna 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 Talkeetna’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Talkeetna. 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.