Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska

What hazards hit Northwest Arctic Borough most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 339 since 2001. 42% of its winter storm records since 2001 fell in February and March. 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 Northwest Arctic Borough?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the October 8, 2025 coastal flood ($1.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

An emergency manager in Kotzebue received a report at 09:46 local time of water just shy of the road the city uses to trigger mandatory evacuation orders (the road name was not specified). Later that day, the City of Kotzebue issued a evacuation order at 12:05 local time advising residents in low-lying areas to seek shelter at the Kotzebue Middle/High School. That night, 103 people were successfully sheltered overnight and 6 residents were displaced. Additionally, the Kotzebue Sound Tide Gauge reported water levels at 5.74 ft at 17:00 local time on October 8th. In total, 52 homes sustained water damage and needed to be repaired.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1297482)

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 Northwest Arctic 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?

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

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

Federal disaster declarations for Northwest Arctic Borough

FEMA's register lists 7 declarations that include Northwest Arctic Borough: 6 major disasters, one emergency and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (4) and biological (2).

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 Northwest Arctic Borough had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 26 flood or flash flood records for Northwest Arctic Borough from 2002 to 2025, on 19 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Northwest Arctic Borough ranks 2321st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $97,000 on 11 claims filed in Northwest Arctic Borough; the most in one year was 5 in 2024. 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 Northwest Arctic Borough

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Northwest Arctic Borough Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $9.9 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 Northwest Arctic Borough

1. North Slope Borough 986
2. Nome Census Area 783
3. Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area 722
4. Northwest Arctic Borough 480

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 Northwest Arctic BoroughThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Northwest Arctic Borough's FEMA declarations (CSV)7 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis