Abstract

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Storm Surge and Flood Vulnerability in Cumberland County, NJ
Track: Disaster Management and Emergency Response
Author(s): Kimberly Brown, James Manski

Located along the Delaware Bay in southern New Jersey, Cumberland County citizens are vulnerable to seasonal and storm related flooding. Cumberland County Office of Emergency Management, in response to citizen concerns following Hurricane Katrina, needed a way to communicate to the residents and businesses who would be in jeopardy of experiencing flood waters. Utilizing GIS and ArcView 9.1, a simple map was created that divided the county into two zones based on data from the Army Corps of Engineers and the 100/500 Year floodplain. In addition to giving the spatial information, the display map also includes information on how to prepare for the first 72 hours after a natural disaster. This paper will examine how data was gathered and displayed to create an easy to read map for citizens to understand, the successful public relations campaign that followed and additional initiatives that are planned as a result of this project.

Kimberly Brown
Cumberland County Office of Emergency Management
637 Bridgeton Avenue
Bridgeton , NJ 08302
US
Phone: 856-455-8770
Fax: 856-455-9515
E-mail: kimbr@co.cumberland.nj.us

James Manski
Cumberland County Office of Emergency Management
637 Bridgeton Avenue
Bridgeton , NJ 08302
US
Phone: 856-455-8770
E-mail: jamesma@co.cumberland.nj.us