First Floor Elevation Mapping

Buildings in coastal communities are often raised to different levels. This presents a challenge for flood risk analysis. U-Surge uses innovative technology to map first floor elevation using Google Street View images. 

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​​Flood Inundation Tool

U-Surge has partnered with Tailwind Labs to generate the Flood Inundation Tool. This map shows estimated inundation levels in dozens of homes for the 100-year flood in the year 2020, given intermediate sea-level rise. The tool also estimates that 59% of the buildings in this area will be flooded in this event and estimates 1.9 feet of water will be inside a home near the middle of the map.

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​Comparison to FEMA Base Flood Elevation (BFE) Tool

U-Surge partnered with Tailwind Labs to generate the Comparison to FEMA Base Flood Elevation (BFE) Tool. This tool estimates that 33% of buildings in a coastal community are elevated below FEMA's BFE, with a specific home, near the top of map, elevated 1.34 feet lower than the BFE (address hidden). The map is interactive, enabling users to obtain info for any mapped building.