County Hazards

States › Alaska › Nome Census Area

Nome 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 02180 · 9,865 residents (2021) · 22,969 sq mi · dominant hazard —

Hail · 0Tornado · 0Flood · 0Wind · 0Winter · 0
Nome 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 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 0 storm events in Nome Census Area, Alaska.

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 12 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 25 claims since 1978, of which 22 were paid, totalling $1.5M (about $69K per paid claim). FEMA counts 25 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($6.2M a year across 18 hazards).

0events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026
0events since 19500 deaths, 0 injuries recorded
12disaster declarationslast 22 Oct 2025
25NFIP flood claims$1.5M paid

Compared with Alaska and the United States

MeasureNome Census AreaAlaskaUS
Recorded events since 195009,7011,977,440
Events per 100 square miles0.01.756.0
Events per 10,000 residents0.0132.459.6
Events in the last 12 months032662,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI010026,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)$0$475M$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents2.51.18.1
Average paid NFIP claim$69K$30K$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years40.05.816.1

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 Nome 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

HazardEventsDeathsShare 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

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitlePrograms
22 Oct 2025DR-4893Major disasterFloodSevere Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon HalongPublic assistance
15 Jan 2025DR-4859Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storm And FloodingPublic assistance
23 Aug 2023DR-4730Major disasterFloodFloodingPublic assistance
23 Sep 2022DR-4672Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storm, Flooding, And LandslidesIndividual assistance, Public assistance
9 Apr 2020DR-4533Major disasterBiologicalCovid-19 PandemicIndividual assistance, Public assistance
9 Apr 2020DR-4533Major disasterBiologicalCovid-19 PandemicIndividual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020EM-3446EmergencyBiologicalCovid-19Public assistance
23 Jan 2014DR-4162Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And FloodingPublic assistance
22 Dec 2011DR-4050Major disasterSevere StormSevere Winter Storms And FloodingPublic assistance
9 Dec 2005DR-1618Major disasterSevere StormSevere Fall Storm, Tidal Surges, And FloodingPublic assistance
15 Nov 2004DR-1571Major disasterSevere StormSevere Winter Storm, Tidal Surges And FloodingPublic assistance
10 May 1989DR-826Major disasterFreezingSevere FreezingPublic 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 Nome Census Area, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).
Claims since 197825
Paid claims22
Total paid$1.5M
Average paid claim$69K
Repetitive-loss properties10 severe
Residential policies in force250.9% of 2,769 structures
Year of lossClaimsPaid claimsAmount paidAverage paid
2022108$896,403$112,050
200511$128,607$128,607
2004109$456,438$50,715
199611$11,584$11,584
199233$28,065$9,355

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 riskVery Lowscore 34.1 of 100
Expected annual loss$6.2MVery Low
Social vulnerabilityVery High
Community resilienceVery Low
Hazard (NRI)Risk ratingExpected annual loss
Cold waveRelatively High$4,872,896
EarthquakeRelatively Low$574,252
Inland floodingVery Low$470,387
Winter weatherRelatively High$202,316
WildfireVery Low$19,658
LandslideRelatively Low$16,909
Volcanic activityRelatively Low$7,236
LightningVery Low$5,341
Ice stormVery Low$2,701
AvalancheVery Low$752
TornadoVery Low$0

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

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 Nome Census Area, AK?

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

Has Nome Census Area had a tornado?

NCEI records no tornado in Nome Census Area since 1950.

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

22 Oct 2025: Severe Storms, Flooding, And Remnants Of Typhoon Halong, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 12 declarations since 1953.

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

25 NFIP claims since 1978, 22 of them paid, for $1.5M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

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

0.0 recorded events per 100 square miles against 1.7 statewide, and 2.5 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 1 Oct 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 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.