FEMA and Geospatial Coordination in West Virginia Lee Brancheau, GISP FEMA Region III – Mitigation Division, Risk Analysis Branch Wednesday May 3, 2016 2016 West Virginia GIS Conference

FEMA’s Primary Goals and how Geospatial Coordination fits in.. Help communities and individuals avoid or reduce the loss of life, loss of property, and financial impacts from disasters And specifically related to flooding: Help communities to build, sustain and improve their capabilities to understand and mitigate their flood risks FEMA is focused on mitigating flood risk through its Risk MAP Program Using GIS we are mapping areas of flood risk, analyzing areas of greatest mitigation potential, and planning action to reduce losses Our products rely on the expertise of other Federal, State, and Local entities

Outcomes from the Last 10 Years: Migrated 1000’s of paper Flood Insurance Rate Map sets (FIRM) for >330 communities in WV into 55 countywide GIS datasets Uniform standards applied. Consistent product base for the state and nation through the National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL) Developed 1000’s of miles of new credible Zone A approximate miles based on hydraulic models and USGS hydrology – hosted on http://www.mapwv.gov/flood/ Newer flood hazard data built on WVSAMB DEMs, LiDAR Began developing other Flood Risk GIS products such as depth grids and Hazus economic loss analyses All of this progress would not have been possible without partnerships with other Federal, State, local & other entities

Achieving Common Geospatial Goals – a FEMA Perspective FEMA both generates and uses geospatial data Levee Management Hydraulic Engineering, Software Tools Channelization Projects National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Disaster Response and Recovery Hazard Mitigation Planning Emergency Management Grants Management Demographic Data MAF/TIGER Data Other Federal, State, Regional, Local, Educational, and Public Partners WVDHSEM WVU PDCs Counties Etc. Hydrologic Engineering - Data, Regression Equations, Software Tools LiDAR / 3DEP NHD Hydrographic Data National Map NRCS – Water Resource Projects (Dams, etc.) FSA – NAIP Imagery