The Flood of '85

November 4th, 1985 - Election Day

City of Roanoke Stormwater Utility

Video courtesy of RVTV3

It's not a matter of if, but when...

Hurricane Juan

Hurricane Juan took a pretzel shaped track out of the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall for the second time near Pensacola, Florida on October 31st. The storm moved north and generated other storm systems that produced moderate rainfall across the Roanoke Valley.

-Photo Credits: National Weather Service

Saturation

These storm systems soaked the ground for 5 days, saturating the soil so that it was no longer able to absorb new rainfall.

-Photo Credits: National Weather Service

Setting the Stage

On November 3rd, a low pressure system developed off the coast of Florida and moved steadily north. This system brought with it more moisture, colliding with a cold front coming in from the west and eventually stalling over the area. Prior to and during this stall, the system dumped a record amount of precipitation on the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas.

-Photo Credits: The Flood of '85 - Roanoke Virginia www.da3ve.com

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Downtown Underwater

6.61 inches of rain fell on the City of Roanoke in a 24 hour period on November 4th. Market Square in downtown Roanoke was approximately 3 to 4 feet underwater.

-Photo Credits: Tommy Firebaugh

Backwater Effects

Riverine flooding from Lick Run and Trout Run which converge underneath downtown Roanoke, combined with backwater from the Roanoke River worked its way up the railroad tracks, contributing to the severe flooding experienced in Downtown Roanoke.

Water Rising

The Roanoke River rose 19 feet in 12 hours cresting at a height of 23.35 feet on November 4th.

-Photo Credits: Tommy Firebaugh

Swift Water

32,300 cubic feet of water per second moved past the Walnut Bridge Gauge during the flood of '85. The base flow for the Roanoke River at that point is approximately 200 cubic feet per second. That makes the flow during the flood over 160 times the normal flow rate.

-Photo Credits: City of Roanoke

Dangerous Debris

Flood waters pick up anything and everything in its path. The flood of '85 displaced homes and vehicles, as well as commercial and agricultural structures. Today some of the impacts are still visible buried in the banks.

-Photo Credits: City of Roanoke

Record Flood Waters

The Flood of '85 was considered a 175 year flood event. This does not mean that this type of flood can only occur every 175 years, it means that there is approximately a 0.57% chance of a flood of this magnitude happening in any given year. It could happen 2 years in a row, or even twice in 1 year.

-Photo Credits: Tommy Firebaugh

Experience

$ 540,000,000

The cost to recover from the Flood of '85 would be over half a billion dollars in today's dollars. At the time it cost $200 million to recover from the devastation in the city alone.

-Photo Credits: City of Roanoke

Displacement

It is estimated that approximately 3,000 homes and 100 businesses were damaged in the flooding.

-Photo Credits: Tommy Firebaugh

10 Lives Lost in the Roanoke Valley...

Three people died in the City of Roanoke.

Three people died in Roanoke County.

Two people died in Botetourt County.

Two people died in Franklin County.

-Video Credits: RVTV3

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Flood Mitigation

After the flood, the City of Roanoke undertook a large number of mitigation actions, some quite drastic, with the goal of protecting life and property.

-Photo Credits: City of Roanoke

Property Acquisition

Since the Flood of '85, $6.3 Million dollars has been spent in the City of Roanoke on acquiring property that is in the FEMA designated Special Flood Hazard Area. That amounts to 119 homes and structures mitigated.

Continued Property Acquisition

The City of Roanoke Stormwater Utility has budgeted $100,000 annually for matching funds to continue to remove structures from the floodway. Some of the funding is also set aside to purchase vacant floodplain lots helping to ensure those lots stay vacant to reduce damages to lives and property in Roanoke.

-Photo Credits: City of Roanoke

Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project

This $72 million dollar project to mitigate flooding in the City of Roanoke was sponsored by the City and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The mitigation effort created 14 bench cuts and 2 training walls along the Roanoke River.

Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project

The bench cuts, located along the banks of the Roanoke River are areas of bank that have been excavated to allow for increased storage and passage of flood waters. The training walls are designed to contain approximately the 25 year flood.

Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project

Construction of the ambitious project began in 1990 and included 6.2 miles of channel widening within a 10 mile river reach. A 9.5 recreational trail knows as the Roanoke River Greenway was installed as part of the project.

-Photo Credits: City of Roanoke

Roanoke River Flood Reduction Project

The flood risk management portion of the project was completed in 2012. The project provides flood risk management to industrial, commercial, and residential property worth over $700 million dollars.

-Photo Credits: City of Roanoke

Changes in Flood Risk and Flood Mapping

Flood Insurance Rate Map Changes

After such drastic changes to the hydraulics of the Roanoke River due to the Flood Reduction Project, the City of Roanoke engaged in a flood study to reassess the flood risk along the Roanoke River. The City of Roanoke Stormwater Utility is in the process of working with ESP Associates Inc. and FEMA to produce new Flood Insurance Rate Maps.

Are you aware of your flood risk?

Know your risk. Protect your property. Get Flood Insurance.

Search for a property using the address box in the map below to identify the flood risks using the FEMA Flood Hazard Layer. The blue area indicates the Special Flood Hazard Area. For additional information regarding a property and its flood risk, visit the City of Roanoke Real Estate GIS .

Disclaimer: Any determination of topography or contours, or any depiction of physical improvements, property lines or boundaries is for general information only and shall not be used for the design, modification, or construction of improvements to real property or for flood plain determination.