NOAA has expanded a flood-mapping program that provides nearly real-time information on river conditions to a broad swath of the country.
The Flood Inundation Mapping tool, which debuted two years ago in the Northeast and East Texas, now covers nearly two-thirds of the U.S. — including southern Appalachia, the Upper Mississippi and Missouri river basins, and West Texas, all of which have experienced disastrous flooding in just the last two years.
The tool, which covered areas that house 34 million people two years ago, now covers 204 million Americans, double the coverage of just a year ago.
“Flooding is the most frequent severe weather-related threat and our costliest natural disaster,” David Vallee, director of the Service Innovation and Partnership Division of NOAA’s National Water Center, said in a news release. The technology, he added, has been a “game-changer in providing actionable, real-time information to emergency and water resource managers.”
