FEMA Records
7
Low volume
Alaska · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Northwest Arctic Borough, AK
7 FEMA disaster declarations (1994-2026), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Low. Most common hazard: Severe Storm.
- 7
- FEMA declarations
- 6
- Major disasters
- 55
- NRI risk · Relatively Low
- Severe Storm
- Top hazard
The verdict
Start with the local benchmark for Northwest Arctic Borough: 7 FEMA declaration records are 3% below the Alaska county mean, even though the count is higher than 4% of counties in the national registry. On FEMA's distinct National Risk Index model, which combines expected loss with vulnerability and resilience, the county ranks in the riskiest 45%.
- Riskiest 45%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Low
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 7
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 11
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records; an EM authorizes a narrower set of federal assistance than a DR.
How does Northwest Arctic Borough compare?
Northwest Arctic Borough vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
7 4th percentile higher than 4% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-03
Northwest Arctic Borough's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the Alaska county average
What does Northwest Arctic Borough's hazard record show?
FEMA National Risk Index
This county carries a high composite score on FEMA's National Risk Index, 54.6/100, rated Relatively Low. Its Expected Annual Loss rating is Very Low (roughly $9.9M in annualized losses), and a Very High social-vulnerability profile combined with Very Low community resilience shapes how much of that raw exposure becomes realized harm. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Cold Wave stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at an average of 9.8 times per year here, based on 165 historical events on record.
Declaration frequency
The state comparison is the clearest context for Northwest Arctic Borough's moderate federal record. Its 7 declarations sit 3% below the Alaska county mean, with 6 Major Disaster entries among them. 4 records concern Severe Storm, the file's most frequent incident type. Spread across 32 years, the registry rate is 0.2 per year. FEMA reports authorized programs separately from the DR, EM, and FM codes.
Reading the federal records together
This county has a small entry in FEMA's NFIP paid-claims table: 11 claims and $97.4K paid in total. PlainHazard calls 1-49 claims a light registry record, a label for this dataset rather than a finding that flood exposure is low. A short claims history can also reflect insurance take-up, the period covered, or losses that were never insured.
Start with the state benchmark: a Alaska county averages 7.2 federal declaration records, while Northwest Arctic Borough has 7. The gap is 3% below that mean. Fewer entries indicate a quieter history of recorded federal actions, not immunity from a hazard and not a prediction about what happens next.
46 /100
Historical Activity Index
Moderate historical activity
Northwest Arctic Borough, AK · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Low
5/30
7 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (0.3x national county average)
County Disaster Density Moderate
12/25
7 declarations (1.0x state county average of 7)
Major Disaster Share Very High
21/25
6 of 7 declarations are major disasters (86%)
Hazard Diversity Moderate
8/20
3 different disaster types declared in Northwest Arctic Borough
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
Moderate
vs. Alaska Avg
-3%
State avg: 7.2
vs. National Avg
-66%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.2
Over 32 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Northwest Arctic Borough
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
86%
Mostly major
NRI risk score
55
Relatively Low
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Northwest Arctic Borough?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively High | an average of 9.8 times per year |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | roughly once every 2 years |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | an average of 22 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | roughly once every 37 years |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | roughly once every 655 years |
| Avalanche | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Volcanic Activity | Very Low | roughly once every 5,000 years |
| Ice Storm | Very Low | roughly once every 67 years |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 16 times per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Very Low | roughly once every 100 years |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 5,572 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Severe Storm 4
Biological 2
Flood 1
What Severe Storm declarations mean here
Severe Storm is the most frequent declaration type on Northwest Arctic Borough's record, 57% of its declarations. In FEMA's vocabulary this covers convective weather: thunderstorm straight-line winds, large hail, and the multi-day outbreaks that often carry embedded tornadoes. Activity is heaviest in spring and summer, though the season varies by region.
These events behave differently from a hurricane on paper. Damage tends to be distributed along a storm track rather than concentrated on a coastline, and a declaration typically follows an outbreak that crossed several counties over a few days, not a single point of impact. Because the qualifying threshold is the cost of uninsured public and individual losses rather than storm intensity, two similar storms can produce a declaration in one year and none in another.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 6 85.7%
of all 7 declarations
Emergency - 1 14.3%
of all 7 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | |
| 2025 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 2 | |
| 2006 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 1994 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 7 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 7 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4893 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND REMNANTS OF TYPHOON HALONG | DR | Flood | 2025-10-22 |
| 4859 | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2025-01-15 |
| 4533 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-04-09 |
| 3446 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 1618 | SEVERE FALL STORM, TIDAL SURGES, AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2005-12-09 |
| 1571 | SEVERE WINTER STORM, TIDAL SURGES AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 2004-11-15 |
| 1039 | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1994-09-13 |
Storm Events in Alaska
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Northwest Arctic Borough.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 709 | 0 | 1 | $8.4M |
| Blizzard | 524 | 0 | 0 | $60.0K |
| Heavy Snow | 439 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Storm | 385 | 0 | 0 | $200.0K |
| Flood | 182 | 0 | 0 | $81.9M |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
11
Total Paid
$97.4K
Avg Per Claim
$8.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Low
Score: 54.6/100
Expected Annual Loss
Very Low
$9.9M/year
Social Vulnerability
Very High
Community Resilience
Very Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Cold Wave Relatively High
Landslide Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Moderate
Earthquake Relatively Low
Wildfire Relatively Low
Avalanche Very Low
Volcanic Activity Very Low
Ice Storm Very Low
Lightning Very Low
Riverine Flooding Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Coastal Flooding No Rating
Drought No Rating
Hail No Rating
Strong Wind No Rating
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Cold Wave
Cold Wave measures exposure to extreme cold rather than to snow. Its harm is concentrated in health effects, burst infrastructure and energy demand spikes, and it falls hardest where the building stock and the grid were not built with sustained cold in mind.
Worth noting for Northwest Arctic Borough: the model and the federal record do NOT point at the same hazard. Cold Wave carries the highest modeled rating (Relatively High), while the county's declaration history is led by Severe Storm. That is not a contradiction, the two measure genuinely different things. Declarations record federal ACTION, which requires damage costly enough to exceed state and local capacity; the Risk Index models EXPECTED annual loss across all 18 hazards whether or not any declaration ever followed. A hazard can be the county's largest modeled exposure and never once have driven a declaration.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Northwest Arctic Borough's closest FEMA peer: Clinton County, IL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Northwest Arctic Borough. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Northwest Arctic Borough shows 7 FEMA declarations, led by Severe Storm.
Similar Major-disaster share
Northwest Arctic Borough: 6 of 7 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Northwest Arctic Borough: NRI composite 54.6 (Relatively Low).
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Northwest Arctic Borough - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
FEMA's National Risk Index flags Cold Wave as the top modeled exposure here (Relatively High); the guide explains how that model differs from declaration counts.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Northwest Arctic Borough?
The most common disaster type in Northwest Arctic Borough is Severe Storm, with 4 declarations. Other disaster types include Biological (2), Flood (1).
How does Northwest Arctic Borough's FEMA declaration record compare with the Alaska average?
The typical Alaska county has 7.2 FEMA declaration records; Northwest Arctic Borough has 7, or 3% fewer. Against the national county mean of 20.7, this county's total is 66% lower. The comparison is historical and says nothing about the probability of a future event.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Northwest Arctic Borough received?
Northwest Arctic Borough has received 6 major disaster declarations, representing 86% of all 7 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Northwest Arctic Borough filed?
Northwest Arctic Borough has 11 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $97.4K in payments, with an average of $8.9K per claim.
What was the worst year for disasters in Northwest Arctic Borough?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Northwest Arctic Borough was 2020, with 2 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1994 to 2026.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Northwest Arctic Borough?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska has an overall risk score of 54.6 out of 100 (Relatively Low). The county's social vulnerability rating is Very High and community resilience is Very Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Very Low, representing $9.9M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Northwest Arctic Borough?
FEMA's NRI data points to Northwest Arctic Borough as of the latest release is Cold Wave (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively Low) and Winter Weather (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts cold wave here at an average of 9.8 times per year, drawn from 165 historical events on record. The underlying methodology weighs historical event frequency against exposed assets and community vulnerability.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
What this means for Northwest Arctic Borough
Against a Alaska county mean of 7 declarations, Northwest Arctic Borough, AK records 7, or 3% fewer. PlainHazard classifies that historical total as moderate activity.
- Major Disaster is the largest group (6 of 7) in a declaration history that remains below its state benchmark; frequency here is not a forecast. Alaska overview
- Nationally the county exceeds 4% of recorded county totals, but its own Alaska benchmark is higher. The ranking keeps those two contexts separate. Most-disaster rankings
- A short NFIP claims file cannot establish low flood exposure; the data guide explains the limits of each federal measure. Disaster-data guide
A below-average federal record is not a safety guarantee. Use National Weather Service alerts and local emergency-management notices for present conditions, not this historical comparison.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.