Flood Plain Management in the Fairbanks North Star Borough: A Short History of Flooding Issues, Recent Achievements, and Challenges for the Future

Nancy Durham, MURP, CFM, Flood Plain Administrator,
Community Planning, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Fairbanks, Alaska
Phone: (907) 459-1263, Email: ndurham@fnsb.us

The Fairbanks North Star Borough adopted new Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (dFIRMs) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) in 2014 after using the previous FIRMs and FIS for 22 years. I will present a short history of how the Floodplain Management Regulations began, including the after effects of the historical flood of 1967. There will be an overview of recent flood studies and the outcomes. I will also cover why there is still flooding today, the Borough’s process to help regulate flooding and touch on the more extreme floods happening in the Lower 48.

Select Presentation Figures

Figure 1. High Resolution Image of Downtown Fairbanks During the Flood of 1967

Figure 2. Impoundment at Moose Creek Dam in 1992

Figure 3. ARRC new Railroad Bridge and Levee

Figure 4. High Resolution image of Rosie Creek Road Area Flooding