GIS Applications in Floodplain Management

1. GIS Applications in Floodplain Management To the left and right are before and after Landsat images for the Mississippi flood of ‘97 used for GIS flood mapping • BACKGROUND: By overlaying a base topographic map, obstructions data (i.e. bridges), hydrologic data and other layers, GIS can be used for efficient floodplain mapping. The use of GIS during emergencies can improve warning time for public safety and cut economic losses from floods • APPLICATIONS, Before During and After: SPECIALIZED TOOLS: FloodWatch is a support system which consists of a time series database, a hydrodynamic modeling system all integrated into ArcView GIS . Integration of GIS interface allows forecast of river levels and depth area for selected areas, allowing for a Flood Forecast Warning and Response System that will help preparedness. DOWNFALL: Often computer files are stored in different formats that must be uniformed before GIS software can use the data they contain; this often takes more training and time Resources: http://www.ettia.com/images/background_water.jpg; http://www.mde.state.md.us/Programs/WaterPrograms/Flood_Hazard_Mitigation/floodMgmtGis/index.asp; http://www.wca-infonet.org/servlet/BinaryDownloaderServlet?filename=1060150101606_WR_FD_KO50.pdf; http://911review.org/Hurricane_Katrina/kenner.html Katie Jablonski This is the FloodWatch system, described below, which can help better prepare for a flood During the flood, GIS can help hydrologists monitor the water level height and determine the rate of flooding; this is flooding from Hurricane Katrina Above is an example of overlaying road and streamlines, property data and DOQQs which can help hydrologists after the flood assess the damage done