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Skagway aerial viewPhoto: Christopher Michel from San Francisco, USA · CC BY 2.0
A+Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Skagway · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect less hazard damage per building than Skagway, mostly from earthquakes

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Skagway gets an A+ for hazard risk: among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is earthquakes (56%), then landslides (23%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Earthquakes 56%Landslides 23%River and rain flooding 12%

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

among the lowestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
A+
in Alaska · among the lowest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Earthquakes
56% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
0
of 1 declared for Skagway Municipality

What stands out about Skagway’s natural hazards

From FEMA’s model and FEMA’s records, below.

Among the lowest expected damage of U.S. townsFEMA’s model of yearly storm and flood damage per dollar of building.Landslides: the top 1% of U.S. tractsFEMA’s building-damage rate for landslides here ranks in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts; it is 22.6% of the damage it expects.
By hazard

What Skagway faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

56%of expected building damage
Well above average · higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts

Landslides

23%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

12%of expected building damage
Well below average · among the lowest of U.S. census tracts

Winter storms

6%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about 27 times a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Tsunamis top 1% Cold waves top 2% Wildfire Ice storms Tornadoes Lightning Avalanches top 0%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesHailStrong windHeat wavesVolcanic activity
People, not buildings.Counting harm to people as well as buildings, FEMA’s model puts cold waves at 52% of Skagway’s expected losses. Cold waves do little damage to buildings (0.8%), so they aren’t part of the grade.

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Skagway’s grade

Earthquakes are 56% of the building damage FEMA expects in Skagway, and Skagway’s rate of earthquakes damage is higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts. Landslides add 23%, at a rate in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Skagway sits
Skagway
Least damageMiddleMost damage

A+ among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Skagway’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Earthquakes56%Landslides23%River and rain flooding12%Everything else9%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $633K a year in losses across Skagway: $259K to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Skagway’s 1,164 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract. FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Skagway flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Skagway. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of all homes are insured
No community discount

Skagway isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Skagway Municipality.
Disasters

The storms Skagway remembers

None of the 1 disasters declared for Skagway Municipality shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Skagway itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.

Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in SkagwaySkagway Municipality only

Skagway Municipality has had 1 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms.

Be ready

Get ready for what Skagway faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Earthquakes
  • Drop, cover and hold on.
  • Strap tall furniture and the water heater to the wall.
  • Know how to shut off the gas.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Landslides
  • Watch for new cracks, tilting trees or suddenly muddy streams after heavy rain.
  • Stay off steep slopes in a downpour.
  • Leave if you hear rumbling upslope.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Winter storms
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Skagway

Is Skagway at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Skagway has among the lowest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: A+ for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is earthquakes (56%) and landslides (23%). 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.

Is Skagway 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 Skagway Municipality, 0.7% of all homes carry federal flood insurance.

How much is flood insurance in Skagway?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Skagway’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

Is Skagway at risk from earthquakes?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (56%), and Skagway’s rate for it is higher than 82% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Skagway.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Skagway’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.