FEMA Flood Insurance Risk Maps and Loss Reports
Step 1: Visit the FEMA Flood Map Service Center
Step 2: Enter an address in the search bar, lets use: 167 Lockwood Dr, Charleston, SC
Step 3: Explore Preliminary Data: City of Charleston
What are the zones? Is there a base flood elevation noted? What does it mean?
More information on the mapping products – download the 2009 FEMA guide.
NOAA Storm Events Database
Step 1: Visit the NOAA Storm Events Database search page
Step 2: Chose the state to the lower left
Step 3: Set the date range, filter by event if desires
Step 4: Place order – likely only centered on stations and may take time for data to be retrieved
Real Time Data
Data can be explored via the coastal ocean observing systems (COOS) networks for real-time data for coastal communities, visit: MARACOOS OceansMAP
Coastal Change Hazards Portal
Step 1: Visit the Portal entry page and the Coastal Change and Hazards Map
Step 2: Start the portal, and then choose the products you wish to view.
What resources apply most to your situation? What concerns do you have for your community?
NOAA Digital Coast – Data
This is a clearinghouse of many data sources from the Department of Commerce agencies. Select a category and explore data for your area.
Step 1: Start by visiting the main page.
Step 2: For this, let’s explore economic data. Search for: “Total Economy for US Coastal Shoreline Counties”
State or Local Spatial Data Resource
Many states will have a geospatial clearinghouse or GIS data library for agencies and the public to access. Some examples:
Hawaii: Office of Planning
California: Geoportal
Oregon: Spatial Data Library
Washington: Geospatial Open Data
What data layers interested you? Do you have the tools to analyze these?
State Hazards Data
Some states have pulled together portals to share hazard specific data. Here are some examples:
Connecticut: Coastal Hazards Viewer
Oregon: DOGAMI Hazards Viewer
Other models:
Colorado: Planning for Hazards (While not coastal, it is a model some coastal states are developing as well.)
US Census Bureau
The Census uses the American FactFinder tool as an easy way to access data from many of the Census products. Let’s explore this by looking for median income data.
Step 1: Visit American FactFinder
Step 2: Used the Advanced Search and use “B19013” – to pull up the median income data. Set to Honolulu for the location
Step 3: Click through the results
What is the estimate? What is the margin of error?
CDC Social Vulnerability Index
Step 1: Visit the program’s main page
Step 2: Open the interactive viewer
Step 3: Explore some counties and compare the underlying themes.
What drives the differences? How do you interpret the differences?
Putting it All Together: Synthesis Tools
Portland Demonstration
Using multiple data sources and open-source web-mapping tools, data products can be brought together for visualization. This example from Oregon helps demonstrate these concepts.
South Carolina
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) has used Digital Coast products to create a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis tool with an online viewer and downloadable source code (opens as a PDF).