Pennsylvania Emergency Management Completes Statewide Flood Study Using HAZUS-MH
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) recently completed a statewide study of a 100-year flood event using FEMA's HAZUS-MH risk analysis software. The base study looked at streams with a drainage area of at least 10 square miles. The study computed damages in dollars for total economic loss, building and content damage, and other economic impacts. The study also estimated the number of damaged homes and the degree of damage to those homes. In 2007, PEMA has concluded a new, broader statewide study using HAZUS-MH MR2 that includes damage estimates for 10-, 50-, 100-, 200- and 500-year flood events. The study computed damages in dollars for total economic loss, building and content damage, and other economic impacts. The study also estimated the number of damaged homes and the degree of damage to those homes.
The Flood Study maps and information contained in these files can be used by local emergency management agencies, geographic information systems (GIS) and planning departments, watershed organizations, and other interested parties for hazard identification and risk assessment, mitigation planning, and flood response training activities. They are estimates of damages and locations generated by the FEMA HAZUS flood analysis model. The maps and supporting analysis can be overlaid on other GIS maps (county, local roads, street maps, municipal maps, etc.) to show the location and extent of potential flood damages in a 100-year flood. They do not include all possible flood risk areas and are not based on actual past flood events.
For more information, go to the PEMA website for County Flood Study GIS Maps.
Related Information:
The mission of the 3RiversHUG is to offer a forum for southwestern Pennsylvania public, private, and academic organizations that use HAZUS-MH software and related technologies to develop public policy and programs for building disaster-resistant communities. This group began as Project Leader, Dr. Jamie Mitchem, and his colleague Dr. Thomas Mueller at California University of Pennsylvania realized the need for comprehensive planning for flood mitigation activities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Download the Success Story (PDF 1MB, TXT 4KB).
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