Photo: AnaSoc · CC BY-SA 4.0On FEMA’s figures, Ester faces more hazard damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, mostly from wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ester gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns, #21 of 41 in Alaska. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (53%), then earthquakes (35%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
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 Ester faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
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 Ester’s grade
Wildfire is 53% of the building damage FEMA expects in Ester, and Ester’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Earthquakes add 35%, at a rate in the top 9% of U.S. census tracts.
D #21 of 41 in Alaska; higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns (21,298).
Ester’s residents live in 2 census tracts; FEMA’s figures are combined by where they live.
The typical Alaska town has higher expected damage than 93% of U.S. towns; within the state, Ester has more expected damage per building than 50% of Alaska towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.7M a year in losses across Ester: $1.6M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Ester flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Ester. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Ester isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Fairbanks North Star Borough.The storms Ester remembers
None of the 8 disasters declared for Fairbanks North Star Borough shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Ester itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
Fairbanks North Star Borough has had 8 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then winter storms.
Also 6 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Fairbanks North Star Borough, 2004–2025.
Ester and its neighbors
Ester is 4th of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| College | C−more damage than 82% | earthquakes | 12 |
| Chena Ridge | C−more damage than 85% | earthquakes | 42 |
| Goldstream | Dmore damage than 92% | wildfire | — |
| Ester | Dmore damage than 93% | wildfire | 0 |
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 Ester faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- 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.
- 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 Ester
Is Ester at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Ester has higher expected damage per building than 93% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #21 of 41 in Alaska. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (53%) and earthquakes (35%). This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Ester 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 Fairbanks North Star Borough, 26% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Ester?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Ester’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Ester at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (53%), and Ester’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Ester.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Ester’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.