Reports - WSTB

WSTB Reports

Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy (2009)

Press Release
Report in Brief

Flooding is the leading cause of natural disaster in the United States. High-quality, digital mapping is essential to communicating flood hazards to those at risk, setting appropriate insurance rates, and regulating development in flood-prone areas. As the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) nears the end of its Map Modernization Program, the agency, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, asked the National Research Council to convene a committee to examine the factors that affect the quality and accuracy of flood maps, assess the costs and benefits of map improvement efforts, and recommend ways to improve flood mapping, communication, and management of flood-related data. The resulting report concludes that even the most expensive aspect of making more accurate maps -- collecting high-accuracy, high resolution topographic data -- yields more benefits than costs, and that, to complete the goals of its Map Modernization Program, FEMA should continue to invest in updating and improving its flood maps.
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