Bethel Census Area, Alaska

What hazards hit Bethel Census Area most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 311 since 2001. 42% of its winter storm records since 2001 fell in January and February. The rank column places the county among Alaska's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

When was the last damaging storm in Bethel Census Area?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the October 12, 2025 coastal flood (1 death and 1 injury).

Storm surge from strong southwesterly onshore winds brought water levels to over 6 feet above the normal highest tide line along the Kuskokwim Delta coast during the morning high tide October 12. Water levels peaked in Kwigillingok at 6.3 ft above the normal highest tide line. This surge was more than twice the previous record of 3.1 ft set in 1990. The Kipnuk gage datum recorded water levels of 5.86 ft above the normal highest tide line before the instrument experienced an outage (the actual crest was likely higher). Houses floated off of their foundations in numerous communities including Nightmute, Chefornak, Kipnuk, Kwigillingok, Kongiganak, Tuntutuliak, and Quinhagak. In Kwigillingok, an estimated 37 homes drifted from their foundation, and a preliminary assessment indicates every home in the community was affected {by flooding}. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1295210)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Bethel Census Area's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

42% of its winter storm records since 2001 fell in January and February. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Bethel Census Area

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Bethel Census Area: 19 major disasters, one emergency and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (9) and severe storm (6).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Bethel Census Area had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 39 flood or flash flood records for Bethel Census Area from 2001 to 2025, on 33 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Bethel Census Area ranks 1710th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $306,000 on 45 claims filed in Bethel Census Area; the most in one year was 8 in 1991. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Bethel Census Area

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bethel Census Area Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.3 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Bethel Census Area

1. Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area 722
2. Kenai Peninsula Borough 498
3. Kusilvak Census Area 486
4. Bethel Census Area 434
5. Matanuska-Susitna Borough 250
6. Dillingham Census Area 161
7. Lake and Peninsula Borough 112

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Winter storms in AlaskaThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
• The Alaska recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Bethel Census AreaThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Bethel Census Area's FEMA declarations (CSV)20 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis