Alaska · Risk Readiness

AK hazard profile

Primary hazards. Ranked.

Alaska is the most seismically active state in the country — it experiences about 11% of all earthquakes on Earth. The 1964 Good Friday Earthquake (M9.2) is the most powerful ever recorded in North America; it killed 131 people, destroyed Anchorage neighborhoods, and generated tsunamis reaching California. The 2018 M7.1 Anchorage earthquake caused widespread damage and infrastructure failure without a tsunami. Major earthquakes in Alaska are not rare events — they are a recurring fact of life. Alaska's Aleutian subduction zone generates some of the most powerful Pacific tsunamis. Coastal Alaska communities — Kodiak, Homer, Seward, Valdez, Sitka — have 15-30 minutes to reach high ground after a local earthquake. The 1964 earthquake's tsunami destroyed Crescent City, California and Hilo, Hawaii. Communities in Southeast Alaska fjords face amplified local tsunamis from underwater landslides triggered by earthquakes. Alaska has approximately 130 of the world's historically active volcanoes, concentrated in the Aleutian chain. The 1912 Novarupta eruption in the Katmai region was the largest 20th-century eruption on Earth. Cleveland, Shishaldin, Pavlof, and Redoubt volcanoes erupt regularly. The 1989-90 Redoubt eruption caused $160M in damage and disrupted aviation across the North Pacific. Volcanic ash from Aleutian eruptions regularly forces flight diversions.

Insurance gaps

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