Community Flood Inundation Maps

  • Community-Based Flood Inundation Maps

    Providing information on the extent and depth of predicted floodwaters to help communities respond quickly to flooding

    Iowa Flood Information System
    Sandbags protect a house that is an island in a sea of floodwater.

Will Floodwaters Reach My Home?

Sponsor/grant  agency:

Iowa Flood Center logo

State of Iowa seal

Team:

Nathan Young and Dan Gilles

 

By Iowans, for Iowans

Supported by the IFC’s annual state appropriation

2009–present

Project Period

Iowa

Over 30 Iowa communities (with more to come!)

Partners:

State of Iowa

Services provided by IFC:

The IFC develops community flood inundation maps for select Iowa river communities. The inundation maps provide information on the extent and depth of predicted floodwaters, helping communities respond quickly when flooding is imminent.

“The high quality of the flood inundation data products allowed MidAmerican Energy to better refine response activities and to significantly reduce customer impacts as a result.” —Jesse Leckband, MidAmerican Official

Project Description:

Flood inundation maps available for the community of Independence.

Dozens of Iowa communities can take advantage of online maps that show how flooding events are likely to affect their community, homes, and businesses.

The project provides Iowa communities with online access to real-time flood information. The maps are part of the Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS), an interactive Google- Maps–based tool. Simple-to-use sliders allow users to view the extent of flooding at various river flood stages.

IFC researchers create physics-based computer models to predict how a flood wave travels through communities. These high-resolution models can illustrate the extent of flooding under different conditions. This information can help Iowans make informed decisions and better prepare for flooding in their communities.

Inundation maps for dozens of Iowa communities are available on the Iowa Flood Information System. Maps are continually being expanded for other communities across Iowa.