Risk MAP: Increasing Risk Awareness and Resilience in Alabama

1. Risk MAP:Increasing Risk Awareness and Resilience in Alabama Leslie A. Durham, P.E. Alabama Office of Water Resources

2. Evolution of Flood Mapping • Flood Map Modernization • Identifying and Mapping Flood Hazards • County-wide Studies • Risk MAP: • Increase awareness and understanding of flood risk • Encourage actions to reduce risk to life and property • Watershed Studies

3. Enhance delivery of Risk MAP Products Collaborate across all levels of government Risk MAP Vision Reduce Risk to Lives and Property Deliver High-Quality Risk Data Increase Awareness of Flood Risk Promote Community Mitigation Action Goals • Understandable Flood Maps • Credible data—reliable, accurate, watershed-based • Illustrations of possible Flood Depths • Usable Flood Risk Assessments • Tools to understand how flood risk has changed • Continuous engagement with communities • Enable communities to communicate flood risk to constituents • Support that allows communities to identify risks and promote: • Community resiliency • Sustainability • Reduced need for federal disaster assistance Products MITIGATION PLANNING Processes

4. Risk MAP in Alabama • Transition from County Studies to Watershed Studies • New Flood Risk Datasets • Flood Depth Grids • % Chance of Flooding • Flood Loss Estimates • Areas of Mitigation Interest • Current Watershed Projects • Upper Alabama • Chipola/Lower Chattahoochee • Upper Choctawhatchee • Middle Coosa • Wheeler Lake (includes 4 counties in TN) • Coastal Studies • Joint Storm Surge study with FL should be complete by end of this year • Preliminary Coastal Flood Maps late 2013

5. Changes Since Last FIRM • Identify Areas and Types of Flood Zone Change: • Compares current effective (previous) with proposed (new) flood hazard mapping. • Flood zone changes are categorized and quantified • Provide Study/Reach Level Rationale for Changes Including: • Methodology and assumptions • Changes of model inputs or parameters (aka Contributing Engineering Factors) • Offer Stakeholders Transparency and Answers to: • Where have my flood hazards increased or decreased? • Why have my flood hazards increased or decreased? • Which communities are subject to new BFEs or ordinance adjustments. • Prioritize mitigation areas

6. Depth and Analysis Grids Flood Depth Grids % Annual Chance Grids % Chance over 30 years • Identify areas of highest flood risk • Mitigation prioritization • Emergency planning • Evacuation routes, road closures

7. Flood Risk Assessment • Identify and Communicate Flood Risk • Areas of high risk • Areas with greatest flood loss potential • Provide Flood Risk $$: • Potential damage severity for different flood frequencies • Identify locations with possible cost effective mitigation options • Improve Estimates for Flood Risk $$: • Losses from Average Annualized Loss (AAL) Study • Refined losses from new flood study depth grids • Refined general building stock data from local sources

8. Estimated Potential Losses Estimated Potential Flood Losses for Autauga County

9. Flood Risk Awareness • Community Official’s ability to communicate flood risk is critical to becoming resilient • Risk MAP Tools Workshops • Educate everyday user on the various tools being developed for daily floodplain management and hazard mitigation. • The goal is to leave local officials empowered, informed and ready to take action and armed with the tools they need to provide effective outreach to citizens within their communities. • Enhanced Interactive Website - AL Flood Risk Information Service (FRIS) • Address lookup features • Depth and probability grids • Print FIRMs and FIRMETTEs directly from site • View preliminary and effective data in mapping application

16. Contact Information Leslie A. Durham, P.E. Office of Water Resources Leslie.Durham@adeca.alabama.gov www.adeca.alabama.gov/floods Alabama Association of Floodplain Managers Conference Auburn, AL October 22-24, 2012