1. 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

2. 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

3. 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
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

4. 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