Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Storms, floods and disasters in Nenana
Nenana isn’t graded for hazard risk: Nenana has 479 residents; we grade towns of 1,000 or more. Flood insurance has paid 9 claims here since 2008.
What Nenana 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.
Does Nenana flood? Rarely: 9 flood claims since 2008
Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Nenana, from FEMA’s records.
Nenana isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.2 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Nenana
Disasters that paid out in Nenana itself (aid to households or repair grants to the City of Nenana), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.
- 2008Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides$1.2M to the City of Nenana for repairs8 flood claims paid that year
- 2002Earthquake$4K to the City of Nenana for repairs
Its 2 counties have had 14 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often floods, then severe storms.
Also 3 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in its 2 counties, 2006–2025.
Old photos of Nenana after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.
Add to the Nenana archive →Get ready for what Nenana 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 Nenana
Does Nenana flood?
Flood insurance has paid 9 claims in Nenana since 2008, $46K in all.
Is Nenana 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 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, 2.4% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.
How much is flood insurance in Nenana?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Nenana’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 Nenana?
By FEMA money that reached Nenana, Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2008): $1.2M to the City of Nenana for repairs.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Nenana.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Nenana’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.