Cordova, AK Avalanche & Climate Risk Profile

The primary drivers of climate-related financial risk in Cordova, AK are Avalanche, Earthquake, and Landslide.

City Risk Scorecard

Physical Resilience40/100

Based on FEMA EAL and hazard intensity.

Spatial Analysis

Flood Plain Analysis

Localized Flood Dynamics in Cordova

FEMA Flood Maps for Cordova identify the "100-year" and "500-year" floodplains (1% and 0.2% annual chance), but modern climate risk analysis suggests that nearly 25% of flood insurance claims originate from properties outside of these designated high-risk zones.

Use the map above to better understand risk by looking at both the FEMA flood plain maps and FEMA Risk Inventory maps by census tract. Standard FEMA maps may not account for 'flash flooding' from intense rain events.

FEMA Designation vs. Reality

Very Low

Relative Vulnerability

$41,575

Annualized Property Exposure

Primary Risks

Avalanche

$2,034,349

Expected Annual Loss for Cordova

93.8Score

Relatively High compared to US average

Earthquake

$389,805

Expected Annual Loss for Cordova

90.1Score

Relatively High compared to US average

Landslide

$125,566

Expected Annual Loss for Cordova

99.8Score

Relatively High compared to US average

Financial Risk Inventory

MAJOR DRIVER

Avalanche

$2,034,349

Score: 93.8

MAJOR DRIVER

Earthquake

$389,805

Score: 90.1

MAJOR DRIVER

Landslide

$125,566

Score: 99.8

Inland Flooding

$41,575

Score: 1.9

Tsunami

$39,938

Score: 71.5

Lightning

$1,817

Score: 24.5

Winter Weather

$492

Score: 34.2

Coastal Flooding

$199

Score: 76.1

Wildfire

$123

Score: 52.6

Ice Storm

$78

Score: 2.3

Cold Wave

$68

Score: 16.0

Tornado

Score: 0.2

Hail

Score: 0.1

Recommended Mitigation Strategies

Recommended investments to protect your property value and reduce insurance liability based on your local risk profile.

🏠Low Investment

Avalanche Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 93.8

🏠Low Investment

Earthquake Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 90.1

⛰️High Investment

Landslide Mitigation

Professional slope stabilization and foundation drainage inspection is highly recommended.

Risk Score: 99.8

🏠Low Investment

Tsunami Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 71.5

🏠Low Investment

Coastal Flooding Mitigation

General property maintenance and insurance review recommended.

Risk Score: 76.1

🔥Low Investment

Wildfire Mitigation

Create a 5ft 'non-combustible' zone around your home using gravel or pavers instead of mulch.

Risk Score: 52.6

Sources and Methodology

Spatial Climate Risk Modeling

The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) and hazard risk scores are derived from the FEMA NRI zip code dataset using a population-weighted spatial join. Because Zip Codes and Census Tracts do not share perfectly aligned boundaries, we utilize US Census Block Group population centroids to identify where residents actually live.

Financial & Insurance Metrics

The pysical resilence score is calculated by synthesizing Expected Annual Loss (EAL) against the total building replacement value within a jurisdiction. This creates a "Loss Ratio" that measures physical resilience. We supplement this with ZIP-code level data from the U.S. Treasury's Federal Insurance Office (FIO), monitoring trends in premium growth, loss ratios, and policy non-renewals to identify emerging "Insurance Deserts."

Primary Data Sources

FEMA National Flood Hazard LayerHigh-resolution vector data for 100-year and 500-year flood zones.
U.S. Department of the TreasuryFIO ZIP-code level insurance data (2018–2022 Historical Set).
FEMA National Risk IndexBaseline hazard frequency and economic loss data (v1.20.0).
U.S. Census BureauTIGER/Line 2025 Shapefiles & Decennial Population Statistics.

Nearby Cities

Valdez

Zip Codes in Cordova

99574