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Ketchikan BannerALASKA RISK MAP PROGRAM

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Risk MAP Study


FEMA and the State of Alaska are conducting a coastal Risk MAP Study in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough that began in 2013.

Ketchikan Gateway Borough Risk MAP Discovery Documents

Discovery is the first part of the Risk MAP process. During this initial phase, the State, FEMA and local entities work together to collect data regarding local flood and other hazard risks. FEMA has data on national and regional levels, however FEMA relies heavily on information and data provided by communities because local officials are able to provide a holistic view of their communities and their known risks. The State prioritizes a watershed for Discovery based on evaluations of risk, need, availability of elevation data, regional knowledge of issues, and local input. After this data is collected, the study is evaluated on an extensive list of criteria.

Risk MAP Study Scope Documents

If a flood risk project is appropriate for the watershed and the project involves flood engineering analysis, the project team will conduct additional coordination with the impacted communities to discuss anticipated changes to the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS). The Risk MAP Project Team and community officials will review the scope of the projects, requirements for both the communities and the study team, draft schedules, and assign tasks for updates. Prior to work starting on any risk assessment or flood insurance study mapping, a meeting must be held with the community to share the scope of work and explain the deliverables resulting from the Risk MAP project. FEMA will also provide a partnership agreement to the community. This is a non-binding document that outlines roles and responsibilities for the new Risk MAP project.

Draft Workmaps

Draft Workmaps are an interim or “draft” product that FEMA shares with communities in advance of the release of the Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) to get early input on the mapping and underlying data.

Following the release of the Draft Workmaps, FEMA and the State will schedule a Flood Risk Review (FRR) Meeting with the local jurisdiction (See next drop-down).

Flood Risk Review Meeting Documents

Following the release of Draft Workmaps, FEMA and the State will hold a Flood Risk Review (FRR) Meeting with the local jurisdiction. The FRR Meeting provides local officials with an opportunity to review and ask questions about the flood study and its results. The meeting allows the project team to highlight the flood risk associated with the study so that local officials can begin communicating that risk to impacted residents and businesses. The FRR Meeting also gives local officials the opportunity to comment on areas where they believe risks are inappropriately mapped (understated or overstated). By identifying concerns early in the map development process, FEMA can avoid delays and costly revisions to the preliminary FIRMs following their release.

Preliminary Flood Insurance Study and Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Database

The release of preliminary data is an important step in a community’s flood mapping lifecycle. There are several benefits for the public and professionals in viewing their community’s preliminary data before it becomes an effective FIRM:

  • Allows the public to voice their opinions or concerns regarding how the data may affect them or to question data accuracy
  • Insurance agents can compare existing FIRMs with preliminary FIRMs to see how their clients may be affected. However, policies cannot be written using preliminary data
  • Loan and mortgage brokers can use preliminary data as a guide to determine whether a property may be mapped into a high-risk area, allowing the borrower to be informed of any changes or requirements before finalizing the loan
  • Real estate agents and brokers can determine what changes are likely to occur and how it might affect any properties for sale
  • Engineers, developers and builders can plan for safer construction
Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps

The release of preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps is an important step in a community’s flood mapping lifecycle. There are several benefits for the public and professionals in viewing their community’s preliminary data before it becomes an effective FIRM:

  • Allows the public to voice their opinions or concerns regarding how the data may affect them or to question data accuracy
  • Insurance agents can compare existing FIRMs with preliminary FIRMs to see how their clients may be affected. However, policies cannot be written using preliminary data
  • Loan and mortgage brokers can use preliminary data as a guide to determine whether a property may be mapped into a high-risk area, allowing the borrower to be informed of any changes or requirements before finalizing the loan
  • Real estate agents and brokers can determine what changes are likely to occur and how it might affect any properties for sale
  • Engineers, developers and builders can plan for safer construction
  • Compressed file of Ketchikan Gateway Borough Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps
  • Map viewer to compare digitized effective floodplains from 1990 (left panel) with preliminary floodplains from 2017(right panel) where DFIRM data is available.
Resilience Documents and Workshop

Resilience is the final phase of the Risk MAP process when stakeholders of the Risk MAP process reflect on how the new information, tools and products of the Risk MAP study can be used to increase resilience in the community. A Resilience Workshop is an in-person meeting led by FEMA, the State Risk MAP Coordinator and the Risk MAP Project Team. The goal of the meeting is to help communities understand the results of the risk assessment products and to develop resilience-focused strategies using the new data and resources. During this meeting FEMA, State and Local officials engage with the mapping partners to identify the hazard risks through the use of the Risk MAP Products Suite, providing a new perspective and understanding of flood risk within their community.

Region X Service Center Quarterly Reports

Study Scope

The scope of work of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Risk MAP Study includes (see also the map below):

  • A detailed coastal flood hazard analysis (34 miles with 12 proposed transects of Tongass Narrows/Gulf of Alaska) including the collection of storm surge (coastal hydrology) and overland wave height analysis (coastal hydraulics), as well as floodplain boundaries for 1-percent and 0.2-percent-annual-chance (100- and 500-year) flood events.
  • Updated detailed modeling will be completed for 0.99 miles on Hoadley Creek, 1.2 miles of Ketchikan Creek, and 1 mile on Schoenbar Creek.
  • Redelineation using new LiDAR will be completed for 0.08 miles of Carlanna Creek.
  • Hydrological study includes:
    • USGS Regional Regression equations are used to develop peak flow discharges for riverine flooding sources.
    • Ketchikan Creek will be done using Gage or Mid-Range Analysis
  • Hydraulic study includes one-dimensional steady-state hydraulic models with best available topographic data, field surveyed cross sections and structures.

Regulatory Products

  • A Flood Insurance Study (FIS) Report. A FIS is a book that contains information regarding flooding in a community and is developed in conjunction with the FIRM. The FIS, also known as a flood elevation study, frequently contains a narrative of the flood history of a community and discusses the engineering methods used to develop the FIRM. The study also contains flood profiles for studied flooding sources and can be used to determine Base Flood Elevations for some areas.
  • Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for all panels within the Community which identifies the Community's flood zones, base flood elevations, and floodplain boundaries. This map is used to determine where the purchase of flood insurance is required for properties with federally-backed mortgages. The preliminary FIS and DFIRM’s are scheduled to be released in Winter/Spring 2016.
  • All of the above datasets will be in the in the North American Vertical Datum of 1988.

Non-Regulatory Products

  • A Changes Since Last FIRM Map and Dataset that identifies areas where the Special Flood Hazard Area, floodway, and/or flood zone designations have changed since the previous flood study. Engineering factors that
    may have contributed to the changes such as data used and level of study performed will also be identified.
    • Estimates of structures affected by the changes will be quantified and summarized to capture increases/decreases
      in known risk areas and enable local officials to better plan for outreach needs.
  • 1% Annual-Chance Depth Grids for coastal areas and approximate riverine analysis. Depth grids depict the depth of flooding at locations throughout a community and when combined with other information, such as first
    floor elevations, are invaluable in understanding risk.
  • Areas of Inundation associated with +l, 2, and 3 feet increase to the base flood elevation for coasta l areas to be used for planning purposes to represent sea level rise. Elevation increase values can also be adjusted using
    local sea level rise data as requested by the community.
  • Risk Report which include narratives on multiple hazards and risk exposure, and explains the risk assessment methodology and results for each community. The risk report will provide loss estimations using Hazus for flood, earthquake, and tsunami hazards. Flood depth grids and USGS ShakeMaps will be incorporated into the Hazus analysis. Local data will be added to Hazus for more accurate results. Other natural hazards will include a summary and an exposure analysis.
  • Flood Risk Database which houses data collect ed, created, and analyzed during the project. This data can be used by the Community to recreate maps, develop reports and other products, and to perform additional analysis. Highlight areas where risk reduction actions may produce the highest return on investment.
    Technical assistance for HAZUS projects.
  • Areas of Mitigation Interest findings and recommendations based on best available data.

Project Status

Project History

A webinar meeting was held on February 15, 2019 to share the draft floodplain updates and discuss the areas that have changed due to the comments received during the first appeal period. Ketchikan Gateway Borough had submitted a package of comments regarding the validity of the Preliminary FIRM.

The comments submitted concern the study methods, the topographic data used in the study, the delineation of the Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), and the BFEs. The project team has reviewed and updated the coastal flood analysis and floodplain delineation along the coast in response to the feedback submitted. The updates included additional coastal transects in the mapping, changes in the roughness coefficients, plateau overtopping calculations at additional locations, and revisions to the floodplain delineation to more precisely follow the computed 1-percent flood elevation. As a follow up to the webinar, the project team is preparing information to show how wave runup can impact properties.

FEMA held a comment resolution meeting with the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on July 24, 2019 to discuss the community comments and proposed changes in more detail. Following the comment resolution meeting, the coastal engineering team and a team of field surveyors visited locations of concern identified by Borough officials to verify the topography. The information collected during this field visit was used to make further updates to the draft SFHA along the coast. Following these updates, FEMA's mapping contractor prepared a resolution letter outlining the changes made in response to the community comments.

FEMA's mapping contractor developed revised preliminary products based on the input received. The revised preliminary products included the updated coastal analysis and mapping and revised hydraulic analysis with reduced peak flow estimates based on updated guidance provided in the Scientific Investigation Report (SIR) 2016-5024 titled “Estimating Flood Magnitude and Frequency at Gaged and Ungaged Sites on Streams in Alaska and Conterminous Basins in Canada, Based on Data through Water Year 2012” (Curran, Barth, Veilleux, & Ourso, 2016).

Recent Activity

The second Consultation Coordination Officers (CCO) meeting was held via webinar on December 8, 2020 to present the revised preliminary FIRMs to the community officials and communicate the changes that have occurred since the initial preliminary release. Following the CCO meeting, an in-person public meeting is typically scheduled to allow property owners to view the revised preliminary data and obtain information from FEMA, state officials, and mapping partners regarding flood insurance and flood risk. Due to the meeting restrictions in place to reduce exposure to the COVID-19 virus, FEMA and their community engagement contractor, Resilience Action Partners, have been working with the State of Alaska to develop a StoryMap as an online resource to obtain information similar to what is normally available at an in-person public meeting.

Next Steps

FEMA will assess the level of interaction from the public via the StoryMap and work with local officials to determine if any further outreach is needed. Once public outreach has been completed, a second statutory 90-day appeal period will be initiated to provide due process to all impacted communities. The timing of the appeal period will be determined in the future.

FEMA has prepared two viewers to aid in the communities’ review of the revised maps as linked below:

  • Preliminary (2017) vs. Revised Preliminary (2020): https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=c9870d6167cc4b1d8d305d2f5b5e1e46
  • Effective (1990) vs. Revised Preliminary (2020): https://fema.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=566088f4e3aa4429a345a7e01cc2715a
  • Project Schedule

    The following table illustrates project status and includes major milestones with dates:

    Activity Actual or Projected End Date
    Discovery Interview June 17, 2013
    Discovery Meeting August 7, 2013
    Base Map Acquisition February 2, 2014
    Discovery Report Summer 2014
    Perform Field Survey August 31, 2014
    Develop Topographic Data November 30, 2014
    Hydrologic Analysis December 31, 2014
    Perform Coastal Analysis July 17, 2015
    Hydraulic Analysis July 17, 2015
    Perform Floodplain Mapping September 2015
    Develop DFIRM Database September 25, 2015
    Draft Work Maps March 7, 2016
    Flood Risk Review Meeting August 4, 2016
    Preliminary DFIRM/FIS Release May 5, 2017
    Consultation Coordination Officers (CCO) Meeting July 18, 2017
    Public Meeting/Workshop January 25, 2018
    1st 90-Day Appeal Period Begins February 2, 2018
    1st 90-Day Appeal Period Ends May 2, 2018
    Draft Multi-Hazard Risk Report November 2018
    Comment Resolution Meeting July 24, 2019
    Revised Preliminary FIRM/FIS Release August 28, 2020
    2nd Consultation Coordinators (CCO) Meeting (Webinar) December 8, 2020
    StoryMap Release May 3, 2021
    2nd Public Meeting/Workshop To Be Determined
    2nd 90-Day Appeal Period Begins To Be Determined
    2nd 90-Day Appeal Period Ends To Be Determined
    Letter of Final Determination To Be Determined
    Delivery of Final Risk Report and Risk Assessment Database To Be Determined
    Maps and FIS become Effective To Be Determined

    *All projected dates are subject to revision as the project progresses.

    Map of Ketchikan Study Scope

    Click on image to open larger map

    The red line indicates denotes the extent of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough coastal mapping study
    Ketchikan Study Scope Map

    Ketchikan Discovery
    (FEMA Region X Workspace)
    FEMA Region X
    Risk MAP Newsletters

    For more information contact:

    Sally Russell Cox

    State of Alaska Risk MAP Coordinator
    Division of Community and Regional Affairs
    Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
    550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1650
    Anchorage, AK 99501-3569
    Phone (907) 269-4588
    Fax (907)269-4539
    Email: sally.cox@alaska.gov

Revised 03/15/2023