Photo: Cecil Sanders · CC BY 2.0On FEMA’s figures, Butte faces more hazard damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, mostly from earthquakes
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Butte gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns, #18 of 41 in Alaska. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (88%), then river and rain flooding (10%). Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 1990.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Butte faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Earthquakes
River and rain flooding
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). 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.
What’s behind Butte’s grade
Earthquakes are 88% of the building damage FEMA expects in Butte, and Butte’s rate of earthquakes damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Wildfire adds 1%, at a rate in the top 10% of U.S. census tracts.
D #18 of 41 in Alaska; higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Butte’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical Alaska town has higher expected damage than 93% of U.S. towns; within the state, Butte has less expected damage per building than 58% of Alaska towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $12.7M a year in losses across Butte: $2.7M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Butte flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 1990
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Butte, from FEMA’s records: 5.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 63% of the 13,809 U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Butte isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Matanuska-Susitna Borough.The storms Butte remembers
None of the 14 disasters declared for Matanuska-Susitna Borough shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Butte itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
- 19942 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
- 20122 flood claims paidThe year of Severe Storm, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, and Landslides, declared for Matanuska-Susitna Borough
- 19901 flood claims paidNo declaration for the county that year
Matanuska-Susitna Borough has had 14 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods.
Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 2015–2019.
Old photos of Butte after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Butte archive →Butte and its neighbors
Butte is 2nd of the 2 graded towns here, from least expected damage per building to most. Tap a town to see its hazards.
| Town | Hazard risk | Mostly (buildings) | Flood claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lazy Mountain | Dmore damage than 91% | earthquakes | — |
| Butte | Dmore damage than 91% | earthquakes | 9 |
| Knik River | — | 883 residents; we grade 1,000+ | |
Hazard risk = FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade; the map is shaded by fifths of the same scale. Flood claims = paid federal flood insurance claims on record.
Get ready for what Butte faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
- Know how to shut off the gas.
- 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.
- 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 Butte
Is Butte at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Butte has higher expected damage per building than 91% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #18 of 41 in Alaska. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (88%) and river and rain flooding (10%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Does Butte flood?
Flood insurance has paid 9 claims in Butte since 1990, $778K in all, or 5.8 per 1,000 homes, more than 63% of U.S. towns with a flood insurance record.
Is Butte 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 Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 23% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.4% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Butte?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Butte’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Butte at risk from earthquakes?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (88%), and Butte’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Butte.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Butte’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.