Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska

What hazards hit Kenai Peninsula Borough most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 295 since 2000. 41% of its winter storm records since 2000 fell in November and December. 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 Kenai Peninsula Borough?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the February 10, 2020 avalanche (1 death).

A snowmobiler was buried in an avalanche south of Cooper Landing, Alaska. Heavy snow and strong winds in the preceding days contributed to high avalanche danger.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 871646)

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 Kenai Peninsula Borough'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?

41% of its winter storm records since 2000 fell in November and December. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Kenai Peninsula Borough

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Kenai Peninsula Borough: 15 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and fire (3).

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 Kenai Peninsula Borough had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 19 flood or flash flood records for Kenai Peninsula Borough from 2001 to 2024, on 16 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Kenai Peninsula Borough ranks 1404th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $689,000 on 83 claims filed in Kenai Peninsula Borough; the most in one year was 23 in 2012. 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 Kenai Peninsula Borough

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kenai Peninsula Borough Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $121 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 Kenai Peninsula Borough

1. Anchorage Municipality 569
2. Kenai Peninsula Borough 498
3. Bethel Census Area 434
4. Kodiak Island Borough 316
5. Matanuska-Susitna Borough 250
6. 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 Kenai Peninsula BoroughThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Kenai Peninsula Borough's FEMA declarations (CSV)20 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis