National Risk Index Version: March 2023 (1.19.0)A Hurricane is a tropical cyclone or localized, low-pressure weather system that has organized thunderstorms but no front (a boundary separating two air masses of different densities) and maximum sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour (mph). Annualized frequency values for Hurricanes are in units of events per year.The National Risk Index is a dataset and online tool that helps to illustrate the communities most at risk for 18 natural hazards across the United States and territories: Avalanche, Coastal Flooding, Cold Wave, Drought, Earthquake, Hail, Heat Wave, Hurricane, Ice Storm, Landslide, Lightning, Riverine Flooding, Strong Wind, Tornado, Tsunami, Volcanic Activity, Wildfire, and Winter Weather. The National Risk Index provides Risk Index values, scores and ratings based on data for Expected Annual Loss due to natural hazards, Social Vulnerability, and Community Resilience. Separate values, scores and ratings are also provided for Expected Annual Loss, Social Vulnerability, and Community Resilience. For the Risk Index and Expected Annual Loss, values, scores and ratings can be viewed as a composite score for all hazards or individually for each of the 18 hazard types.Sources for Expected Annual Loss data include: Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Arizona State University’s (ASU) Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security (CEMHS), California Department of Conservation, California Office of Emergency Services California Geological Survey, Colorado Avalanche Information Center, CoreLogic’s Flood Services, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program, Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX), Iowa State University's Iowa Environmental Mesonet, Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MLRC) Consortium, National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Cooperative Open Online Landslide Repository (COOLR), National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (NWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office for Coastal Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System, Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, State of Hawaii’s Office of Planning’s Statewide GIS Program, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), U.S. Forest Service's Fire Modeling Institute's Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, U.S. Forest Service's National Avalanche Center (NAC), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Geological Survey's Landslide Hazards Program, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), University of Alaska – Fairbanks' Alaska Earthquake Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln's National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), University of Southern California's Tsunami Research Center, and Washington State Department of Natural Resources.Data for Social Vulnerability are provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Social Vulnerability Index, and data for Community Resilience are provided by University of South Carolina's Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute’s (HVRI) 2020 Baseline Resilience Indicators for Communities.The source of the boundaries for counties and Census tracts are based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 TIGER/Line shapefiles. Building value and population exposures for communities are based on FEMA’s Hazus 6.0. Agriculture values are based on the USDA 2017 Census of Agriculture.

According to their physical exposure to tropical cyclones, the Dominican Republic and Haiti were the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean which faced the highest hazard to this type of storms in 2024. The risk index is calculated based on the estimated number of people exposed to tropical cyclones per year. Saint Kitts and Nevis also stood high in the ranking, with a hazard and exposure index of 8.6 points.

This data reflects areas with a risk of storm tide flooding from hurricanes, based on potential storm tide heights calculated by the National Weather Service's SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes) Model. The SLOSH Basin used for mapping was Chesapeake Bay (CP5), released in 2014. This data was prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Planning Division in January 2016. SLOSH storm tide elevations used for this mapping are based on the Maximum of Maximums (MOM) SLOSH output dataset. The MOM output elevations represent the highest calculated storm tide values based on thousands of SLOSH simulations using different combinations of approach direction, forward speed, landfall point, astronomical tide, and intensity (Category 1 through Category 4). Categories 1 through 4 refer to the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. This map does not reflect the expected storm tide flooding for every hurricane, or for any one particular type of hurricane. This map shows the overall footprint of the area that has some risk of storm tide flooding from hurricanes, based on the MOM output dataset.

National Hurricane Center - National Storm Surge Hazard Maps - https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/nationalsurge/The SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) model is a numerical model used by NWS to compute storm surge. Storm surge is defined as the abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the predicted astronomical tides. Flooding from storm surge depends on many factors, such as the track, intensity, size, and forward speed of the hurricane and the characteristics of the coastline where it comes ashore or passes nearby. For planning purposes, the NHC uses a representative sample of hypothetical storms to estimate the near worst-case scenario of flooding for each hurricane category.This is version 3 of the NHC National Storm Surge Risk Maps. The updates in this version include data mapped to 10m DEMs for the US Gulf and East Coast. The following new regions have been added: Southern California (hurricane wind category 1 and 2 storms), Guam, American Samoa, and the Yucatan Peninsula for parts of Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. For simplicity, the tiled map services are published by hurricane wind category and all available mapped regions for that category are provided in that web map.The following areas are mapped in the hurricane wind Category 1 Maps:US Gulf and East CoastPuerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsSouthern CaliforniaHawaiiGuamAmerican SamoaHispaniolaYucatan Peninsula- parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and western HondurasSLOSH employs curvilinear polar, elliptical, and hyperbolic telescoping mesh grids to simulate the storm surge hazard. The spatial coverage for each SLOSH grid ranges from an area the size of a few counties to a few states. The resolution of individual grid cells within each basin ranges from tens to hundreds of meters to a kilometer or more. Sub-grid scale water features and topographic obstructions such as channels, rivers, and cuts and levees, barriers, and roads, respectively, are parameterized to improve the modeled water levels.The NHC provides two products based on hypothetical hurricanes: MEOWs and MOMs. MEOWs are created by computing the maximum storm surge resulting from up to 100,000 hypothetical storms simulated through each SLOSH grid of varying forward speed, radius of maximum wind, intensity (Categories 1-5), landfall location, tide level, and storm direction. A MEOW product is created for each combination of category, forward speed, storm direction, and tide level. SLOSH products exclude Category 5 storms north of the NC/VA border. SLOSH products only include hurricane wind Category 1-4 scenarios for Hawaii and hurricane wind category 1-2 scenarios for Southern California. For each storm combination, parallel storms make landfall in 5 to 10 mile increments along the coast within the SLOSH grid, and the maximum storm surge footprint from each simulation is composited, retaining the maximum height of storm surge in a given basin grid cell. These are called MEOWs and no single hurricane will produce the regional flooding depicted in the MEOWs. SLOSH model MOMs are an ensemble product of maximum storm surge heights. SLOSH MOMs are created for each storm category by retaining the maximum storm surge value in each grid cell for all the MEOWs, regardless of the forward speed, storm trajectory, or landfall location. SLOSH MOMs are available for mean tide and high tide scenarios and represent the near worst-case scenario of flooding under ideal storm conditions. A high tide initial water level was used for the storm surge hazard maps.This product uses the expertise of the NHC Storm Surge Unit to merge the operational SLOSH grids to build a seamless map of storm surge hazard scenarios using the MOM product. Each individual SLOSH grid for the Category 1-5 MOMs are merged into a single, seamless grid. The seamless grid is then resampled, interpolated, and processed with a DEM (Digital Elevation Model, i.e. topography) to compute the storm surge hazard above ground for each hurricane wind category. The SLOSH MOM storm surge hazard data used to create these maps are constrained by the extent of the SLOSH grids and users should be aware that risk due to storm surge flooding could extend beyond the areas depicted in these maps.Users of this hazard map should be aware that potential storm surge flooding is not depicted within some levee areas, such as the Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System in Louisiana. These areas are highly complex and water levels resulting from overtopping are difficult to predict. Users are urged to consult local officials for flood risk inside these leveed areas. If applicable to the region displayed by the map, these leveed areas will be depicted with a black and white diagonal hatch pattern. Not all levee areas are included in this analysis - in particular, local features such as construction walls, levees, berms, pumping systems, or other mitigation systems found at the local level may not be included in this analysis. Additionally, some marshy or low lying areas are not mapped in this analysis.In locations that have a steep and narrow continental shelf, wave setup can be a substantial contributor to the total water level rise observed during a tropical cyclone. Wave setup is defined as the increase in mean water level due to momentum transfer to the water column by waves that are breaking or otherwise dissipating their energy. The following locations use SLOSH+Wave Setup simulations to create MEOW and MOM products that account for the increase in the mean water level due to wave setup: Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Hispaniola, Guam, American Samoa, and Southern California. Through the USAID/WMO Coastal Inundation and Flooding Demonstration Project, these SLOSH storm surge risk products were created for the Island of Hispaniola.

As of 2024, there were more than 7.7 million single-family homes at risk of storm surges from hurricanes in the Atlantic and Gulf coasts in the United States. Hurricanes of category 1 and 2 alone could put around 2.8 million homes at risk. Between 1851 and 2022, more than 200 Category 1 and 2 hurricanes made landfall in the U.S.

Data for analysis of hurricane storm surge and sea level rise effects on hospital flooding along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts

Storm and hurricane risk has been assessed based on a database called IBTrACS obtained from the NOAA (National Centers for Environmental Information). The hazard classification is determined by the frequency of the events. The information is showed by country, department and municipality of Central America (Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador)

For more information contact GIS4Tech: info@gis4tech.com. You can also visit the PREDISAN platform https://predisan.gis4tech.com/ca4 for detailed, accurate information.

The research efforts for this project will produce a state of the art synthetic GOM hurricane model to evaluate hurricane risk, as expressed by n-year wind speeds, to offshore and coastal locations for current and future climate scenarios. As a result risks from hurricane will be reduced by developing and refining a synthetic hurricane model to improve the characterization of the hurricane risk, and, ultimately, the industry understanding of the hurricane hazards resulting from high wind and wave conditions will in turn result in safer designs for offshore structures, minimizing the risk of infrastructure and personnel loss.

Visually prepared Wind Force Probability (120 Hour Forecast) for wind speeds of 64 knots or greater (Hurricane Force Winds).

This layer features tropical storm (hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones) tracks, positions, and observed wind swaths from the past hurricane season for the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Basins. These are products from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). They are part of an archive of tropical storm data maintained in the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS) database by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.Data SourceNOAA National Hurricane Center tropical cyclone best track archive.Update FrequencyWe automatically check these products for updates every 15 minutes from the NHC GIS Data page.The NHC shapefiles are parsed using the Aggregated Live Feeds methodology to take the returned information and serve the data through ArcGIS Server as a map service.Area CoveredWorldWhat can you do with this layer?Customize the display of each attribute by using the ‘Change Style’ option for any layer.Run a filter to query the layer and display only specific types of storms or areas.Add to your map with other weather data layers to provide insight on hazardous weather events.Use ArcGIS Online analysis tools like ‘Enrich Data’ on the Observed Wind Swath layer to determine the impact of cyclone events on populations.Visualize data in ArcGIS Insights or Operations Dashboards.This map is provided for informational purposes and is not monitored 24/7 for accuracy and currency. Always refer to NOAA or JTWC sources for official guidance.If you would like to be alerted to potential issues or simply see when this Service will update next, please visit our Live Feed Status Page!

Tropical Storm Risk - University College London - gust footprint for Matthew in kml format.

If you zoom in (using Google Earth) the footprint shows the towns and villages in western Haiti which UCL model predicts will be worst affected by wind damage (with peak gusts of 160 mph (260 kmph)).

National Risk Index Version: March 2023 (1.19.0)The National Risk Index Counties feature layer contains county-level data for the Risk Index, Expected Annual Loss, Social Vulnerability, and Community Resilience.The National Risk Index is a dataset and online tool that helps to illustrate the communities most at risk for 18 natural hazards across the United States and territories: Avalanche, Coastal Flooding, Cold Wave, Drought, Earthquake, Hail, Heat Wave, Hurricane, Ice Storm, Landslide, Lightning, Riverine Flooding, Strong Wind, Tornado, Tsunami, Volcanic Activity, Wildfire, and Winter Weather. The National Risk Index provides Risk Index values, scores and ratings based on data for Expected Annual Loss due to natural hazards, Social Vulnerability, and Community Resilience. Separate values, scores and ratings are also provided for Expected Annual Loss, Social Vulnerability, and Community Resilience. For the Risk Index and Expected Annual Loss, values, scores and ratings can be viewed as a composite score for all hazards or individually for each of the 18 hazard types.Sources for Expected Annual Loss data include: Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Arizona State University’s (ASU) Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security (CEMHS), California Department of Conservation, California Office of Emergency Services California Geological Survey, Colorado Avalanche Information Center, CoreLogic’s Flood Services, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program, Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX), Iowa State University's Iowa Environmental Mesonet, Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MLRC) Consortium, National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Cooperative Open Online Landslide Repository (COOLR), National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (NWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office for Coastal Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System, Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program, State of Hawaii’s Office of Planning’s Statewide GIS Program, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), U.S. Forest Service's Fire Modeling Institute's Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, U.S. Forest Service's National Avalanche Center (NAC), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Geological Survey's Landslide Hazards Program, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), University of Alaska – Fairbanks' Alaska Earthquake Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln's National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), University of Southern California's Tsunami Research Center, and Washington State Department of Natural Resources.Data for Social Vulnerability are provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Social Vulnerability Index, and data for Community Resilience are provided by University of South Carolina's Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute’s (HVRI) 2020 Baseline Resilience Indicators for Communities.The source of the boundaries for counties and Census tracts are based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 TIGER/Line shapefiles. Building value and population exposures for communities are based on FEMA’s Hazus 6.0. Agriculture values are based on the USDA 2017 Census of Agriculture.

The countries most exposed to tropical cyclones across the globe are located in Asia and the Caribbean. According to a risk index which considers the number of people exposed to this type of event per year, the Dominican Republic ranked first with a score of 10 as of 2024, followed by the Philippines, which received a score of 9.3. Hurricane, typhoon or cyclone? Tropical cyclone is a general term used to describe powerful storms that form over warm ocean waters near the equator, characterized by strong winds, heavy rainfall, and low pressure at its center. The names used to identify them depend on the region where they originate. For instance, hurricanes are tropical cyclones that occur in the North Atlantic Ocean and the central-eastern North Pacific Ocean, and they commonly affect regions such as the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the southeastern United States. Meanwhile, typhoons occur in the northwestern Pacific Ocean and hit countries such as Japan, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Lastly, simply cyclones describe tropical cyclones in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean. Why is Japan on top of the list? Japan has the perfect cocktail for tropical cyclones. It is located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, where warm waters can fuel the development and intensity of these powerful storms. The country’s mountainous terrain can cause rapid changes in wind speed and direction, while its atmospheric conditions – such as the East Asian monsoon – also contribute to the formation and movement of tropical cyclones. This is topped by Japan’s island geography, characterized by a large coastline that increases the likelihood of typhoon landfalls in the country. Altogether, in order to mitigate the risks associated with tropical cyclones, Japan invests heavily in disaster prevention, including resilient infrastructure and early warning systems.

Hurricane tracks and positions provide information on where the storm has been, where it is currently located, and where it is predicted to go. Each storm location is depicted by the sustained wind speed, according to the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It should be noted that the Saffir-Simpson Scale only applies to hurricanes in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific basins, however all storms are still symbolized using that classification for consistency.Data SourceThis data is provided by NOAA National Hurricane Center (NHC) for the Central+East Pacific and Atlantic, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center for the West+Central Pacific and Indian basins. For more disaster-related live feeds visit the Disaster Web Maps & Feeds ArcGIS Online Group.Sample DataSee Sample Layer Item for sample data during inactive Hurricane Season!Update FrequencyThe Aggregated Live Feeds methodology checks the Source for updates every 15 minutes. Tropical cyclones are normally issued every six hours at 5:00 AM EDT, 11:00 AM EDT, 5:00 PM EDT, and 11:00 PM EDT (or 4:00 AM EST, 10:00 AM EST, 4:00 PM EST, and 10:00 PM EST).Public advisories for Eastern Pacific tropical cyclones are normally issued every six hours at 2:00 AM PDT, 8:00 AM PDT, 2:00 PM PDT, and 8:00 PM PDT (or 1:00 AM PST, 7:00 AM PST, 1:00 PM PST, and 7:00 PM PST).Intermediate public advisories may be issued every 3 hours when coastal watches or warnings are in effect, and every 2 hours when coastal watches or warnings are in effect and land-based radars have identified a reliable storm center. Additionally, special public advisories may be issued at any time due to significant changes in warnings or in a cyclone. For the NHC data source you can subscribe to RSS Feeds.North Pacific and North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone warnings are updated every 6 hours, and South Indian and South Pacific Ocean tropical cyclone warnings are routinely updated every 12 hours. Times are set to Zulu/UTC.Scale/ResolutionThe horizontal accuracy of these datasets is not stated but it is important to remember that tropical cyclone track forecasts are subject to error, and that the effects of a tropical cyclone can span many hundreds of miles from the center.Area CoveredWorldGlossaryForecast location: Represents the official NHC forecast locations for the center of a tropical cyclone. Forecast center positions are given for projections valid 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours after the forecast's nominal initial time. Click here for more information.

Forecast points from the JTWC are valid 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 hours after the forecast’s initial time.Forecast track: This product aids in the visualization of an NHC official track forecast, the forecast points are connected by a red line. The track lines are not a forecast product, as such, the lines should not be interpreted as representing a specific forecast for the location of a tropical cyclone in between official forecast points. It is also important to remember that tropical cyclone track forecasts are subject to error, and that the effects of a tropical cyclone can span many hundreds of miles from the center. Click here for more information.The Cone of Uncertainty: Cyclone paths are hard to predict with absolute certainty, especially days in advance.

The cone represents the probable track of the center of a tropical cyclone and is formed by enclosing the area swept out by a set of circles along the forecast track (at 12, 24, 36 hours, etc). The size of each circle is scaled so that two-thirds of the historical official forecast errors over a 5-year sample fall within the circle. Based on forecasts over the previous 5 years, the entire track of a tropical cyclone can be expected to remain within the cone roughly 60-70% of the time. It is important to note that the area affected by a tropical cyclone can extend well beyond the confines of the cone enclosing the most likely track area of the center. Click here for more information.Coastal Watch/Warning: Coastal areas are placed under watches and warnings depending on the proximity and intensity of the approaching storm.Tropical Storm Watch is issued when a tropical cyclone containing winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph) or higher poses a possible threat, generally within 48 hours. These winds may be accompanied by storm surge, coastal flooding, and/or river flooding. The watch does not mean that tropical storm conditions will occur. It only means that these conditions are possible.Tropical Storm Warning is issued when sustained winds of 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph) or higher associated with a tropical cyclone are expected in 36 hours or less. These winds may be accompanied by storm surge, coastal flooding, and/or river flooding.Hurricane Watch is issued when a tropical cyclone containing winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or higher poses a possible threat, generally within 48 hours. These winds may be accompanied by storm surge, coastal flooding, and/or river flooding. The watch does not mean that hurricane conditions will occur. It only means that these conditions are possible.Hurricane Warning is issued when sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or higher associated with a tropical cyclone are expected in 36 hours or less. These winds may be accompanied by storm surge, coastal flooding, and/or river flooding. A hurricane warning can remain in effect when dangerously high water or a combination of dangerously high water and exceptionally high waves continue, even though winds may be less than hurricane force.RevisionsMar 27, 2022: Added UID, Max_SS, Max_Wind, Max_Gust, and Max_Label fields to ForecastErrorCone layer.This map is provided for informational purposes and is not monitored 24/7 for accuracy and currency. Always refer to NOAA or JTWC sources for official guidance.If you would like to be alerted to potential issues or simply see when this Service will update next, please visit our Live Feed Status Page!

In 2021, there were 68 fatalities due to hurricanes reported in the United States. Since the beginning of the century, the highest number of fatalities was recorded in 2005, when four major hurricanes – including Hurricane Katrina – resulted in 1,518 deaths.

The worst hurricanes in U.S. history
Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in August 2005, ranked as the third deadliest hurricane in the U.S. since records began. Affecting mainly the city of New Orleans and its surroundings, the category 3 hurricane caused an estimated 1,500 fatalities. Katrina was also the costliest tropical cyclone to hit the U.S. in the past seven decades, with damages amounting to roughly 186 billion U.S. dollars. Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, both of which made landfall in 2017, ranked second and third, resulting in damage costs of 149 and 107 billion dollars, respectively.

How are hurricanes classified?
According to the Saffir-Simpson scale, hurricanes can be classified into five categories, depending on their maximum sustained wind speed. Most of the hurricanes that have made landfall in the U.S. since 1851 are category 1, the mildest of the five. Hurricanes rated category 3 or above are considered major hurricanes and can cause devastating damage. In 2021, there were 38 hurricanes recorded across the globe, of which 17 were major hurricanes.

Visually prepared Wind Force Probability (120 Hour Forecast) for wind speeds of 50 knots (Strong Tropical Storm Force Winds).

In 2022, New York was the leading U.S. metropolitan area based on single-family homes at risk of storm surge, with over 786 thousand units estimated to be at risk. Miami, Florida ranked second, with also more than 700 thousand homes at risk. Storm surge refers to the unusual rise in seawater during a storm or hurricane, which can result in fatalities and severe property damage.

FEMA Modeling Task Force (MOTF)-Hurricane Sandy Impact Analysis

The FEMA Modeling Task Force (MOTF) is a group of modeling and risk analyst experts from FEMA Regions VIII (Denver) and IV (Atlanta) that may be activated by the FEMA NRCC for Level 1 events in support of disaster response operations. The group consists of individuals with experience in multi-hazard loss modeling and impact assessments, including earthquakes, hurricanes, riverine and coastal floods (surges, tsunamis), winter storms and others. The MOTF plays an important role in coordinating hazard and modeling information from a variety of sources, including other federal agencies, universities, the National Labs, and State and local agencies, to develop consensus for best estimates of impacts before, during, and after events. The MOTF integrates observed information throughout disasters to “ground-truth,” verify, and enhance impact assessments.

FEMA MOTF FTP Site: http://184.72.33.183/GISData/MOTF/

Storm Surge Products

Below are links to the FEMA MOTF FTP Site for the latest Hurricane Sandy storm surge data (Interim High Resolution – Field-Verified). All products are created from field-verified High Water Marks (HWMs) and Storm Surge Sensor data from the USGS through 11-November 2012. HWMs and Surge Sensor data are used to interpolate a water surface elevation, then subtracted from the best available DEM, to create a depth grid and surge boundary by state.

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State: New Jersey

HWM: Through November 11, 2012

Projection: NAD83 (Geographic)

Horizontal: 3-meter (USGS 1/9 Arc-Second NED)

Vertical: Feet (water depth above ground, NAVD88)

Files: ESRI Grid (raster, depths)/Shapefile (vector, flood extent)

FTP Link: http://184.72.33.183/GISData/MOTF/NJ_Nov11Interim3mSurgeData.zip

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State: New York

HWM: Through November 11, 2012

Projection: NAD 1983 State Plane New York Long Island FIPS 3104 Feet

Horizontal: 1-meter (NYCOEM DEM: Richmond, New York, Kings, Queens)

3-meter (NYOEM DEM: Bronx, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk)

Vertical: Feet (water depth above ground, NAVD88)

Files: ESRI Grid (raster, depths)/Shapefile (vector, flood extent)

FTP Link: http://184.72.33.183/GISData/MOTF/NYC_Nov11Interim1mSurgeData.zip or

http://184.72.33.183/GISData/MOTF/NY_Nov11Interim3mSurgeData.zip

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State: Connecticut

HWM: Through November 11, 2012

Projection: NAD83 (Geographic)

Horizontal: 3-meter (USACE DEM)

Vertical: Feet (water depth above ground, NAVD88)

Files: ESRI Grid (raster, depths)/Shapefile (vector, flood extent)

FTP Link: http://184.72.33.183/GISData/MOTF/CT_Nov11Interim3mSurgeData.zip

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This resource contains shapefiles for FEMA Damage Assessments, Auto Claims, Property Claims, and geodatabases for Hazus windfield data, publicly available here [see NOTE 1].
Damage assessments are organized in daily map layers. These appear to be cumulative, but some days' records do not include all the previous days' records. - Aug 27, 2017: Coastal damage assessments (26,027 records) - Aug 28: Damage assessments (78,218) - Aug 29: Damage assessments (115,412) - Aug 30: Damage assessments (137,754) - Aug 31: Damage assessments (161,366) - Sep 02: Damage assessments (156,099) A document is provided that explains the damage assessment methodology.

Auto and Property Claims are each in a single shapefile, containing all records from Aug 25-Sep 08: - Auto claims, Aug 25-Sep 08 (203, 312 records) - Property claims, Aug 25-Sep 08 (226,167) These identify location, date and type of loss. These are all claims submitted during this period, which may include damages not caused by Hurricane Harvey.

Other damage assessments and inundation depth grids are available at the FEMA Natural Hazard Risk Assessment Program (NHRAP) [2]. These include: - Windfield contours [3] - PDC Hazus Wind Adv26 (Hurrevac) [4] - PDC Hazus Windfield geodatabases for Harvey [5]

References NOTE 1: As of the summer of 2019, FEMA damage data was reorganized and moved to new URLs, which affected references [1,2,3,4,5]. Most of these data sources have been moved to https://disasters.geoplatform.gov/publicdata/NationalDisasters/2017/HurricaneHarvey/Data/. Some of the original datasets are no longer available from FEMA. The original and current datasets are available for download below in the contents list.

[1] FEMA Damage Assessments [https://disasters.geoplatform.gov/publicdata/NationalDisasters/2017/HurricaneHarvey/Data/DamageAssessments/] [2] FEMA Natural Hazard Risk Assessment Program (NHRAP) [link no longer available] [3] Harvey_WindSpeedContours.zip, see contents list below. [4] PDC_HAZUS_Damage_Loss_Assessment_ADV26_26AUG17_2100UTC.PDF, see contents list below. [5] PDC_HarveyResults.gdb.zip and PDC_HarveyWindfield.gdb.zip from [https://disasters.geoplatform.gov/publicdata/NationalDisasters/2017/HurricaneHarvey/Data/Hazus/PDC/Wind/], also in contents list below.

This dataset shows hurricane evacuation zones used for communicating evacuation orders to the public. These zones indicate the areas at most risk of flooding due to storm surge during a hurricane. Zone A is the most at risk, followed by zone B, and then zone C.