Mapping services improve flood communication with emergency managers and the public

NOAA has expanded experimental Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) services from 10% to 30% of the U.S. population. FIM provides near-real-time, high-resolution, street-level visualizations of flood waters and helps forecasters issue more accurate and timely flood watches and warnings. FIM also estimates where impacts may occur due to inundation of land areas as analyzed or predicted by the National Water Model and River Forecast Center streamflow simulations.

FIM services now cover the Mid-Atlantic, the eastern Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley, the Lower Mississippi Valley, the central Gulf Coast region, the Pacific Northwest with all of Washington and parts of Oregon, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This includes the populated, metropolitan areas of Buffalo, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Juan, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. NOAA first launched FIM in the fall of 2023, covering 10% of the country’s population in portions of Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

“Over the past year, FIM has been a game-changer in providing actionable and real-time information to emergency and water resource managers for flood impacts,” said David Vallee, director of service innovation and partnerships at NOAA’s National Water Center. “FIM expanding to 30% will allow us to provide more widespread and expansive impact-based decision support services to our core partners in flood-prone and vulnerable parts of the nation.”

Flood Inundation Mapping services are now implemented from the Northeast to Gulf Coast, in the Pacific Northwest and across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Credit: NOAA’s Office of Water Prediction

FIM maps are available on the new National Water Prediction Service website, unveiled in late March, and on a few Geographic Information System (GIS) applications. FIM Services for the lower 48 states include four unique map options: a National Water Model derived latest analysis, a 5-day forecast derived from the National Water Model, a 5-day forecast derived from NWS River Forecast Center streamflow predictions and a static categorical FIM (CatFIM) for selection NWS River forecast locations within the FIM domain. 

FIM services for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will consist of a National Water Model derived Latest Analysis FIM and a 48-hour forecast based on National Water Model streamflow predictions.

Example of Flood Inundation Mapping Services over Montpelier, VT, along the Winooski River (including its North Branch) in July 2023.

In 2025, NWS will expand FIM services to 60% of the U.S. population. In 2026, FIM will be fully deployed nationwide for 3.4 million river miles covered by National Water Model forecasts. NOAA’s experimental FIM and forecasting services are funded in part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Resources:

• 2024 NWS OWP FIM Rollout Flyer - Fact Sheet 
• NWS Flood Inundation Mapping Services - Storymap

Media Contact: Michael Musher, NWS Public Affairs, michael.musher@noaa.gov