Hurricane Irma Warnings - Web Maps Show National Depiction of Storm Surge Flooding Vulnerability

Sadly and somewhat shocking, here we are watching another major (epic) hurricane approach the Caribbean and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States – enter Irma. Agencies and populations that are potentially in harms way are bracing for the worst and implementing their emergency strategies.

History shows that while hurricanes wreak havoc and bring tremendousdmage from powerful winds, the risk and loss of life due to flooding and the storm surge is massive! NOAA reminds us that in the past, large death tolls have resulted from the rise of the ocean associated with many of the major hurricanes that have made landfall.

For many orgs and Government Departments this means that there’s an all-hands on deck approach for many employees, including IT and GIS professionals who are responsible for keeping us all informed pre and post storm – indeed a mammoth task! Our prayers are once again with all those who are potentially affected by Irma.

In an effort to keep the public safe and informed, Esri has created a storm surge flood vulnerability web map service (WMS). Published using the Map Series Template, this tool provides real-time information about flood and storm surge potential. The maps are organized according to predicted Hurricane Category (1-5) in order to provide data visualizations showing the impact of a huricane making landfall.

This from the map. “These maps make it clear that storm surge is not just a beachfront problem, with the risk of storm surge extending many miles inland from the immediate coastline in some areas. If you discover via these maps that you live in an area vulnerable to storm surge, find out today if you live in a hurricane storm surge evacuation zone as prescribed by your local emergency management agency”