Looking east at Burdick Expressway as the Souris River rises in Minot, North Dakota. Photo taken by USGS personnel during a FEMA Flood Inundation Mapping Project.

Throughout the last century in the United States, on average, floods have caused more lives lost and more economic damage than any other natural hazard. According to forecasts, severe flooding in 2012 will likely be far less widespread than last year. However, scientists cannot predict weather and water patterns with 100 percent accuracy, and there is always the potential for severe flooding somewhere in the country.

When it comes to flooding, preparation is key for saving lives and protecting property. USGS scientists and hydrologic technicians are specially trained and standing by. As soon as water starts to rise, they are measuring water levels, river velocities, and high water marks. All of this information is crucial for National Weather Service flood forecasts, for decisions by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to operate spillways and levees, and for the planning of Federal, State, and local emergency managers, first responders, and many other groups.

In preparation for flood events, the USGS continues to invest in and update equipment like the acoustic Doppler current profiler, which measures water velocity, as well as rapidly deployable streamgages, which measure river heights in areas that do not have a permanent gage or where a gage has been damaged by fast-moving water.

Perhaps most importantly, the USGS is constantly refining, innovating, and updating its ability to deliver river information to emergency managers, first responders, and other Federal agencies before, during, and after a flood. The USGS offers an increasing number of resources to help these organizations, as well as you and your family, better prepare for flood hazards.

Flood Inundation Mapping

When the water starts to rise, how do you know if you’re going to get wet?

Right now, if you want to see areas where river levels are higher than normal, you can go to USGS WaterWatch and view a map of the thousands of real-time streamgages that constantly monitor the Nation’s rivers and streams. But how do you put that number in context? If the current stage is forecasted to go above flood stage, does that mean water will be barely spilling over the banks? Or does it mean that your house might be underwater? At what stage is the river going to spill over onto a roadway and affect traffic? Are you and your family in danger?

River stage measurements can be confusing, and they are not always a great indicator of the actual scope and impacts of the flooding. To reduce this ambiguity, the USGS and the National Weather Service are working together to create visual products, called flood inundation map libraries, that show you estimates of where the water will be — what roads, yards, and buildings will be affected — when a river or stream reaches a certain stage.

For example, in Findlay, Ohio, the flood inundation map shows that when the stream stage is around 11 feet, only the roads closest to the river are underwater, but the rest of the town is out of danger. However, when you use the tool to map out a flood stage of 18 feet, streets as far as 15 blocks away from the river’s banks are underwater, as are a few parks, a cemetery, and almost the entire Findlay Country Club.

A powerful new tool for flood response and mitigation are digital geospatial flood-inundation maps that show flood water extent and depth on the land surface. Because floods are the leading cause of natural-disaster losses, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is actively involved in the development of flood inundation mapping across the Nation pursuant to its major science strategy goal of reducing the vulnerability of the people and areas most at risk from natural hazards. Flood inundation maps have been created for cities on the map indicated by a black triangle (Iowa City, IA, Marshall, MI, Ottawa, OH, Findlay, OH, Peach Creek, near Atlanta, GA, Albany, GA, Trenton, NJ St. John River, near Fort Kent, ME, and Scituate, MA).

In Iowa City, Iowa, the flood inundation map shows that when the stream stage is at 17 feet, the river is barely out of the channel, and most of the town is out of danger. But when you map out a flood stage of 25 feet, parks and local areas designed to hold floodwaters are submerged. At 30 feet, several neighborhoods and much of the University of Iowa are flooded. On this map, you can click anywhere in the flooded area to see the estimated water depth for any location at any stage. Damage estimation models, which are based on FEMA’s Hazus tool, are also available for each flood stage on the map. All of these features allow emergency managers to see what areas and how many people need to be evacuated, and to estimate the cost of potential flood damages.

This new tool is especially useful to emergency managers responsible for keeping people safe on the roads. In fact, over half of all flood-related deaths are the result of people driving their cars onto submerged roadways. These new, interactive flood maps allow emergency managers to see what roads will be submerged at a forecasted flood level, so that the roads can be closed long before waters start to rise.

Flood inundation maps have already been produced for nine areas in the United States. The USGS plans to produce over 40 more of these maps within the next year, including for Terra Haute, Ind., Sweetwater Creek, Ga., and Hattiesburg, Miss. The USGS hopes to eventually have flood inundation map libraries available for many other areas across the country.

You can see what areas have already been mapped by using the tool.

WaterAlert

Smartphones let you know when the river is rising

If you’re on the USGS site and reading this, chances are you probably have a favorite outdoor spot, a favorite river, and perhaps a favorite streamgage that you check on a regular basis. Did you know that you can get automatic notifications from that streamgage sent straight to you as an email or text message? The USGS provides a service called WaterAlert that can text or email you when water levels at a streamgage of interest exceed certain thresholds.

This means that you can keep tabs on a river without having to repeatedly check the USGS website. And if waters start to suddenly rise, you will be alerted, allowing you to put necessary precautions in place to keep yourself, your family, and your property safe.

USGS scientists take streamflow and water quality measurements downstream of the Bonnet Carre Spillway near Norco, La. The Army Corps of Engineers uses USGS streamflow data to help them manage flood control structures.

Sign up for WaterAlert by selecting a State, checking the “surface water” box, and clicking on your streamgage of choice. You can also subscribe to WaterAlert from the flood inundation interactive map. If you live in a community covered by a flood inundation library, use the flood inundation map to discover what flood stage puts you at risk, then click the link in the “Services and Data tab” to sign up to receive a text or email when the water approaches, reaches, or exceeds that stage!

Links:

Flood Inundation Interactive Mapper: http://wim.usgs.gov/FIMI/FloodInundationMapper.html

Additional information about Flood Inundation Mapping: http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/

WaterAlert: http://water.usgs.gov/wateralert/

Main USGS Flood Site: http://water.usgs.gov/floods

News Release: Smart Phones Know When Rivers Rise…with USGS WaterAlert: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2919

News Release: Instant Information about Water Conditions: Ask the River to Text You a WaterAlert: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2464

USGS Scientist Paul Hsieh, 2011 Federal Employee of the Year

The USGS scientist Dr. Paul Hsieh was named Federal Employee of the Year, highlighting the value of our science to the Nation. Hsieh was recognized by the Partnership for Public Servicefor his timely scientific analysis that convinced Federal leaders responding to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill that the cap placed over the Macondo well was working, allowing for a safe shutdown.

DOI Assistant Secretary Anne Castle Christens the USGS R/V Kaho. The Kaho is one of two sister ships that will begin research work in the Great Lakes.

USGS scientists worked on several regional and national issues. We contributed to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, including new treatment tools to help control Asian carp, an invasive species, and launch of new research vessels being deployed to understand the deep-water ecosystems and fishes of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. USGS water quality monitoring and analysis, and water availability monitoring is taking place in waterways across the Nation at seven pilot locations that are part of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership: the Anacostia, Patapsco, Harlem, Bronx, and Los Angeles watersheds; the South Platte River, and the Lake Pontchartrain area. In the Grand Canyon, USGS science on uranium resources, hydrology, and the past impacts of mining informed the decision to withdraw Federal lands around the Grand Canyon from new mining claims. USGS science also played a significant role in Department of the Interior Natural Resource Damage Assessmentsettlements including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Tyrone Mine area in New Mexico.

Wind turbines at certain sites in North America each cause dozens of bat fatalities per year.

On the new energy frontier the USGS continues to lead the way in the Department of the Interior with the release of “Wind Energy in the United States and Materials Required for the Land Based Wind Turbine Industry from 2010 Through 2030.” The data suggest that, with the exception of rare earth elements, there should not be a shortage of the principal materials required for electricity generation from wind energy. In the area of wind and wildlife, our scientists are using near-infrared videography to monitor and research bat activity at wind turbines, as a side effect of the expansion of wind energy is increased bird and bat mortality at turbines. We also continue to focus on conventional sources of energy development, evidenced in our summary report of the science needs for conventional energy development for the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. In the area of unconventional gas, the USGS worked with the Department of Energy and provided information for their report on the needed reforms for unconventional gas production, and the USGS is working with the Environmental Protection Agency and DOE on a strategy to fill those research gaps.

A submarine berg emerges from the advancing terminus of Yahtse Glacier. Iceberg calving is a key process in the global sea level budget.

In the area of climate change, the USGS completed the establishment of the eight climate science centers across the country with universities and consortia in Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Hawaii, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Arizona. We also completed a study measuring the amount of stored carbon in the ecosystems of the Great Plains. This study was the first regional report that applied a comprehensive methodology designed by the USGS in 2010.

Scientists hike up the Little Colorado River to assist in installing remote PIT tag readers to more efficiently keep track of native, endangered fish populations.

Water continues to be a contentious issue in various parts of the country. In 2011, the USGS launched a geographic focus study on the Colorado River basin, part of the WaterSMART availability and land use assessment, a three-year study that will provide an inventory of water supply and demand. The effort includes assessing water needed to support ecosystems and will report significant competition over water resources and the factors causing the competition. Water information can also be sent to your email inbox or your phone, thanks to WaterAlert. This tool allows users to be notified daily of water levels at any of our 7,600 real-time streamgages across the country. Addressing the Nation’s water resource challenges is a priority for the USGS, and in 2011 we formed an innovative partnership to do just that with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This partnership will provide a one-stop portal to integrated water information for stakeholders with forecasts showing where water for drinking, industry, and ecosystems will be available.

Josh Latimore stands in front of Burney Falls. Latimore started at the USGS as a summer intern and now serves as a USGS hydrologic technician while pursuing his bachelor of science.

The USGS engaged in a wide array of youth activities nationwide in 2011. From the collaboration with GeoFORCE at the University of Texas-Austin, to the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program’s EDMAP training component, to the Rocky Mountain Science and Sustainability Summer Academy (RMSSN). GeoFORCE engages minority high school students in the earth sciences, the EDMAP encourages high school graduates of this program to continue to work with the USGS throughout their college careers, and RMSSN provides training in field observation, data entry, and scientific communication to diverse students.

This map shows the various reported levels of shaking around Oklahoma City after the November 5 M5.6 earthquake

The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut drill, held in April of 2011, is just one example of the USGS’s role in preparing for and responding to natural hazards. Another example is the National Earthquake Information Center’s provision of real-time data to on the magnitude and potential damage of the August earthquake in Virginia, and the November earthquake and aftershocks in Oklahoma. To better monitor aftershocks, mobile seismic monitors were deployed, bringing the total of earthquake sensors in the Advanced National Seismic System to over 2,200. Flooding was also a concern last year, with more than 30 states affected. To educate Congress about the 2011 floods, we conducted a congressional briefing titled “2011 — The Year of the Flood?” For more than 100 years the USGS has played a critical role in reducing flood losses by operating a nationwide streamgage network that monitors the water level and flow of the Nation’s rivers and streams. This information was critical to the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to simultaneously open the Mississippi River floodgates for the first time.

The 2006 image (left) show the river in a more normal state, while the 2011 image (right) shows the massive flooding. The dark blue tones represent water or flooded areas, the light green is cleared fields, and light tones are clouds.

During the heavy flooding that occurred on the Mississippi River, Missouri River, and other major waterways, the USGS’s Landsat satellites produced images of the affected areas to provide an overview of the situation. Landsat has often helped provide a big-picture perspective on natural hazards both domestic and foreign and ranging from tornados to tsunamis to wildfires. Landsat is a joint effort of both USGS and NASA. In addition to imagery of natural hazard events, Landsat provides valuable data for land use research and advances the Department of the Interior’s important role in land remote sensing under the President’s National Space Policy. Landsat images provide complete global coverage, they are available for free, and they span nearly 40 years of continuous earth observation. No other satellite imagery has that combination of attributes. To date, over 6 million scenes have been downloaded; over 2.6 million were downloaded in 2011.

These highlights are but a few of the USGS’s significant accomplishments and activities in 2011. Keep up with what we do in 2012 by visiting www.usgs.gov and following us on Twitter @usgs or on Facebook.

Gagehouse at 06225500 Wind River near Crowheart WY right before it washed away.