Photo: Federal Aviation Administration, Alaskan Region · Public domainStorms, floods and disasters in Akiachak
Akiachak isn’t graded for hazard risk: Akiachak has 736 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more.
What Akiachak faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
River and rain flooding
Tsunamis
Wildfire
Winter storms
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage); winter storms is FEMA’s “Winter Weather” (snow, sleet and freezing rain). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
Does Akiachak flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Akiachak. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Akiachak isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Bethel Census Area.4 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Akiachak
Disasters that paid out in Akiachak itself (aid to households or repair grants to Akiachak), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2025Severe Storms, Flooding, and Remnants of Typhoon Halong105 households applied for aid$1.4M aid approved
- 2023Flooding50 households applied for aid$242K aid approved
- 2022Severe Storm, Flooding, and Landslides1 households applied for aid$11K aid approved
- 2009Flooding and Ice Jams72 households applied for aid$280K aid approved
Its 2 counties have had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms.
Old photos of Akiachak after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Akiachak archive →Get ready for what Akiachak faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Strong shaking or a sudden drop in the sea means head for high ground now.
- Learn the tsunami route signs near the shore.
- Stay away until officials say it’s safe.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Keep a shovel, a blanket and snacks in the car.
- Clear snow from furnace and dryer vents.
- Check on older neighbors when the power goes out.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Akiachak
Is Akiachak in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In Bethel Census Area, 2.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Akiachak?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Akiachak’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
What was the biggest storm in Akiachak?
By FEMA money that reached Akiachak, Severe Storms, Flooding, and Remnants of Typhoon Halong (2025): 105 households applied for aid, $1.4M approved.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Akiachak.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Akiachak’s residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.