States › Alaska › Bethel Census Area

Bethel Census Area, Alaska

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 02050 · 18,557 residents (2021) · 40,627 sq mi · dominant hazard —

Hail · 0Tornado · 0Flood · 0Wind · 0Winter · 0

Bethel Census Area within Alaska. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 0 events for Bethel Census Area, Alaska, between 1950 and 2026.

That is 0.0 events per 100 square miles, below the Alaska figure of 1.7, and 0.0 per 10,000 residents against 132.4 statewide.

0 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 0 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $0.

FEMA has designated the county in 45 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon Halong (major disaster, 22 Oct 2025).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 45 claims since 1978, of which 30 were paid, totalling $306K (about $10K per paid claim). FEMA counts 106 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($8.3M a year across 18 hazards).

0events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

0events since 19500 deaths, 0 injuries recorded

45disaster declarationslast 22 Oct 2025

45NFIP flood claims$306K paid

Compared with Alaska and the United States

Measure	Bethel Census Area	Alaska	US
Recorded events since 1950	0	9,701	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	0.0	1.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	0.0	132.4	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	0	326	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	100	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$0	$475M	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.4	1.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$10K	$30K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	3.8	5.8	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

01950s01960s01970s01980s01990s02000s02010s02020s

Recorded events in Bethel Census Area by decade and hazard group. NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 0 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 0 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

NCEI records no event with deaths, injuries or damage of $100,000 or more in the county.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
22 Oct 2025	DR-4893	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon Halong	Public assistance
22 Oct 2025	DR-4893	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon Halong	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Oct 2025	DR-4893	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon Halong	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Oct 2025	DR-4893	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon Halong	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Aug 2023	DR-4730	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance
23 Aug 2023	DR-4730	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Aug 2023	DR-4730	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
23 Aug 2023	DR-4730	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Aug 2023	DR-4730	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance
23 Sep 2022	DR-4672	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Flooding, And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Sep 2022	DR-4672	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Flooding, And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Aug 2022	DR-4667	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
26 Aug 2022	DR-4667	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
9 Apr 2020	DR-4533	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Apr 2020	DR-4533	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Apr 2020	DR-4533	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Apr 2020	DR-4533	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Apr 2020	DR-4533	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Apr 2020	DR-4533	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3446	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3446	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3446	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3446	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3446	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
23 Jan 2014	DR-4162	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
23 Jan 2014	DR-4162	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
25 Jun 2013	DR-4122	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Dec 2011	DR-4050	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
22 Dec 2011	DR-4050	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
10 Jun 2011	DR-1992	Major disaster	Flood	Ice Jam And Flooding	Public assistance
11 Jun 2009	DR-1843	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding And Ice Jams	Public assistance
11 Jun 2009	DR-1843	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding And Ice Jams	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 Jun 2009	DR-1843	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding And Ice Jams	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 Jun 2009	DR-1843	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding And Ice Jams	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Oct 2006	DR-1666	Major disaster	Fire	Fire	Public assistance
4 Aug 2006	DR-1657	Major disaster	Flood	Snow Melt And Ice Jam Flooding	Public assistance
4 Aug 2006	DR-1657	Major disaster	Flood	Snow Melt And Ice Jam Flooding	Public assistance
9 Dec 2005	DR-1618	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Fall Storm, Tidal Surges, And Flooding	Public assistance
15 Nov 2004	DR-1571	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Tidal Surges And Flooding	Public assistance
15 Nov 2004	DR-1571	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Tidal Surges And Flooding	Public assistance
26 Jun 2002	DR-1423	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Feb 2000	DR-1316	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Avalanches	Public assistance
30 May 1991	DR-909	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Heavy Snow, Ice Jams & Flooding	Public assistance
10 Jun 1989	DR-832	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 May 1989	DR-826	Major disaster	Freezing	Severe Freezing	Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Bethel Census Area, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197845

Paid claims30

Total paid$306K

Average paid claim$10K

Repetitive-loss properties70 severe

Residential policies in force1062.4% of 4,409 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	4	2	$7,895	$3,948
2013	1	0	$0	—
2011	1	0	$0	—
2009	2	2	$32,342	$16,171
2006	2	1	$3,714	$3,714
2005	1	1	$9,286	$9,286
2002	7	5	$49,172	$9,834
2001	1	0	$0	—
1999	2	2	$3,445	$1,723
1995	4	3	$45,395	$15,132
1991	8	7	$129,194	$18,456
1989	4	2	$5,521	$2,761
1987	1	1	$10,005	$10,005
1985	5	3	$6,214	$2,071
1983	2	1	$3,344	$3,344

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 44.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$8.3MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Cold wave	Relatively High	$6,635,727
Inland flooding	Very Low	$759,399
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$372,225
Winter weather	Relatively High	$236,601
Earthquake	Very Low	$157,801
Lightning	Relatively Low	$58,665
Tsunami	Very Low	$54,262
Avalanche	Relatively Low	$8,070
Ice storm	Very Low	$1,306
Tornado	Very Low	$783
Landslide	Very Low	$335
Strong wind	Very Low	$189
Hail	Very Low	$82
Volcanic activity	Very Low	$4

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).

ZIP codes with flood claims

99557 25
99559 18

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Bethel Census Area, AK?

NCEI records no hail events in Bethel Census Area since 1950. Reports depend on someone observing and reporting the hail, so absence of a record is not proof of absence.

Has Bethel Census Area had a tornado?

NCEI records no tornado in Bethel Census Area since 1950.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Bethel Census Area?

22 Oct 2025: Severe Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon Halong, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 45 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Bethel Census Area, and how much was paid?

45 NFIP claims since 1978, 30 of them paid, for $306K in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Bethel Census Area in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Very High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Bethel Census Area compare with the rest of Alaska?

0.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 1.7 statewide, and 2.4 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 1.1. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 29 Sep 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.