Issue

Increasing awareness of climate risk requires powerful tools and comprehensive data that are simple to use and easy to understand. Aggregating data from various sources into one platform, and providing the proper context, is one way organizations are making it easier for people to find and use this information.

Process

A private sector firm, Vizonomy, created the Vizonomy Climate Risk Terminal for this task, using data from NOAA’s Digital Coast, specifically the data sets required to account for economic losses from sea level rise. Raster and vector data sets are used for seven sea level rise scenarios that range from 0 to 6 feet. The raster grid provides flood depth for each building or infrastructure asset, which is then used to calculate the corresponding economic loss from sea level rise. The vector polygon is used to represent the actual scenario in the viewer. Because the data set provides nearly universal coverage of the nation’s coastline, it was possible to develop a consistent data model across all coastal communities.

Impact

The Vizonomy Climate Risk Terminal serves as a web-based version of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazards-US software for assessing flood risks to help speed up the process for a resident, business owner, or government official estimating these risks. The Vizonomy Climate Risk Terminal is used to assess building risk and potential economic losses from both flooding and sea level rise; the amount of infrastructure such as roads, schools, and hospitals exposed to flooding risks; and the specific infrastructure assets at risk.