Blog · October 14, 2026 · Alaska
North Slope Borough Flood Zone Map (Alaska)
How to check if a property in North Slope Borough sits in a FEMA flood zone, and what the answer means for a buyer near Atqasuk.
Main page: North Slope Borough, AK GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, North Slope Borough facts and neighboring maps).
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Before you buy a house in Anaktuvuk Pass, add on to a barn near Atqasuk, or price a lot along the creek bottoms near Deadhorse, check the North Slope Borough flood zone map. Here's how to read FEMA's map for a North Slope Borough, AK property and match it to the parcel record.
We'll cover finding a North Slope Borough address on FEMA's map, what Zone A, AE and X mean, how the borough viewer fits in, and what to do if the map looks wrong.
How to check the North Slope Borough flood zone map
FEMA's official flood maps for North Slope Borough are free at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. If a piece of ground near Nuiqsut has no street number yet, search the nearest road and pan to it. On acreage outside Point Hope, the National Flood Hazard Layer viewer is easier to use, so you can see if the shading reaches a house near Nuiqsut. Then open the Alaska Statewide Parcels layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer for North Slope Borough to confirm the parcel near Point Hope. The North Slope Borough record gives the parcel number and legal description that an insurer or lender near Point Hope may ask for.
Opening the North Slope Borough parcel viewer
There's no separate North Slope Borough parcel site to hunt for; the Alaska Statewide Parcels layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer carries the borough's parcels along with the rest of Alaska. Most people find their North Slope Borough tract fastest by searching an address in Kaktovik, then clicking the outline. Our North Slope Borough, AK page keeps the official link and the maps next door to Kaktovik in one place.
Neighboring maps around North Slope Borough
Near the edge of the borough, check the next map over: Northwest Arctic Borough and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area all border it. Every map bordering North Slope Borough is listed on our Alaska directory.
Reading the zones on a North Slope Borough flood map
On the FIRM covering North Slope Borough, zones that start with A or V are Special Flood Hazard Areas, defined by a 1-percent annual chance of being flooded. Zone AE near Nuiqsut means FEMA published a base flood elevation; plain Zone A means no detailed elevation was studied. Land near Nuiqsut in shaded X (Zone B on older maps) is moderate risk, between the 1-percent and 0.2-percent annual chance lines. Unshaded X (or C) on the North Slope Borough panel means minimal risk.
Unmapped creeks in North Slope Borough
Small streams and ditches near Point Hope may not be studied in detail, so treat an unmapped channel as a reason to ask questions, not proof the ground stays dry.
Flood insurance and building rules in North Slope Borough
Here's why the zone matters at a closing in Point Hope. Where a building in Point Hope is mapped in a high-risk zone and carries a federally backed mortgage, flood insurance is mandatory; that applies where the local government around Nuiqsut is in the National Flood Insurance Program. Outside the A zones around Nuiqsut, coverage is optional, although a lender in Alaska can still ask for it. When a borough homesite is on a rise inside a mapped zone, FEMA's LOMA process allows a review; a surveyor near Nuiqsut can supply the elevation data. New construction in a North Slope Borough Special Flood Hazard Area most commonly needs a floodplain permit, so call the borough or the town office in Point Hope before work starts.
North Slope Borough land records
Deeds and plats behind the North Slope Borough map are kept by the borough's recording office; the official North Slope Borough website names which office that is. Copy the parcel number and legal description from the borough record well before you request a deed for land near Kaktovik.
The lay of the land around Point Hope
Unincorporated communities in North Slope Borough, including Point Lay, Prudhoe Bay, and Alpine, show up as small groups of parcels along the roads. North Slope Borough had an estimated 10,603 people in 2023 (Census Bureau), spread across about 88,824 square miles. Outside Atqasuk, most of the borough map is farm, ranch or timber ground with large, irregular tracts.
Quick answers for North Slope Borough
Is Zone AE near Point Hope high risk?
Zone AE on a lot in Nuiqsut is a mapped 100-year floodplain with a base flood elevation, so mandatory insurance rules apply to federally backed mortgages.
Can I build in a flood zone in North Slope Borough?
Often, but local floodplain rules apply; ask the borough or town building office in Nuiqsut well before you buy.
Is there a floodplain layer in the Alaska Statewide Parcels layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer?
Check the layer list in the Alaska Statewide Parcels layer in ArcGIS Map Viewer; if North Slope Borough includes a floodplain layer, confirm the zone on FEMA's map anyway.
Do I need flood insurance in Zone X in North Slope Borough?
For a Zone X house near Point Hope, federal rules don't require flood insurance; buying it is still a choice worth pricing.
Does a 100-year floodplain near Point Hope flood only once a century?
Not at all; a borough tract in that zone has a 1-percent chance of flooding every year, and two floods in one decade near Nuiqsut are possible.
Open the official North Slope Borough, AK parcel map North Slope Borough in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.