Abstract

Charting the Course of FEMA's Digital Flood Hazard Data
Track: Disaster and Emergency Management
Authors: Scott McAfee

This presentation will look at the past, present, and future of FEMA’s digital flood hazard information. FEMA’s Flood Information Rate Maps (FIRMs) are primarily designed for rating flood insurance and reducing risk through community planning, but they also serve to inform the public about the location of flood hazards. FEMA has distributed GIS versions of the FIRMs as early as the mid 1990’s, but current focus is on distributing the National Flood Hazard Layer as geospatial web services.