NOAA unveils new flood mapping tech to help communities better see risks before storms

In the days leading up to Helene, forecasters used words like devastating, unprecedented, historic, and catastrophic to describe the expected impacts from the storm.

However, words can only do so much to truly prepare a community for a disaster.

Now, newer technology from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), can not only better communicate flood risks, but more importantly, help visualize them, as well.

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Monica Youngman is Chief Scientist for NOAA’s National Weather Service. Since Helene, she's worked to improve how communities prepare for flood-related natural disasters.

"Our forecasters were warning of catastrophic impacts 48 hours before the event; however, I heard from my neighbors, from my community members, that they didn't know this was coming and that really struck me," Youngman said.

Now, newer models called Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM) will allow for a much better idea of what to expect the next time it floods.

"Here we can see the FIM for Biltmore Village. As we know, this was a highly impacted area. Imagine if we could have seen what Biltmore Village would look like before Helene and what Swannanoa could have looked like," Youngman said, showing News 13 how the mapping works.

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"The FIM, Flood Inundation Mapping service, is really about ensuring we can warn all communities as early as possible to the extent of flooding," she added.

FIM is the National Weather Service's forecast for the extent of river flooding. It combines 3-D visualizations and infrastructure data, including water treatment plants, power substations, highways, and even hospitals and schools.

"By providing those critical 3-D visuals to communities, the forecast can become real. We can take the unimaginable and make it imaginable," Youngman said.

Additionally, a product called “Cascading Impacts” will translate future flood forecasts into local impacts on infrastructure and who's likely to be affected.

"With this data, we can then prepare communities earlier, save more lives, and really support the people who are in potential harm's way," Youngman said.

The National Weather Service works directly with partners like emergency managers, first responders, media, and federal agencies to prepare communities for disasters. Youngman emphasized that more data from networks of weather observation sites across the globe are necessary to improve existing disaster-focused models.