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Water Resources Center (WRC)

Innovating for Water Resource Solutions.

Flood Risk Management graphic describing shared responsibility

 

IWR Support to Flood Risk Management

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Flood Risk Management mission is to reduce the threat to life and property from inland flooding and coastal storms. USACE Flood Risk Management – Coastal Storm Risk Management (FRM-CSRM) programs and projects provide dependable delivery of vital FRM-CSRM infrastructure nationwide, including levees, dams and sea walls, as well as natural and nature-based approaches such as wetland restoration, beach nourishment, and marsh creation. Visit the Flood and Coastal Storm Risk Management website to learn more.  

The Water Resources Center provides enterprise-level support to important programs such as the National Flood Risk Management, Silver Jackets, Floodplain Management Services and Flood Damage Data Collection. 

National Flood Risk Management Program and Silver Jackets

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established the National Flood Risk Management Program in May of 2006; it is the ‘umbrella program’ for USACE support to Silver Jackets. Silver Jackets state-, territory-, and tribe-led teams bring together multiple state, federal, tribal, and local partners to manage risk from floods and other natural disasters. Teams enhance preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts, with each agency and team member supporting via its own programs and resources within the constraints of available budgets and agency authorities. Visit the Silver Jackets website for more information.  

Floodplain Management Services Program

The Floodplain Management Services (FPMS) program, first authorized in Section 206 of the Flood Control Act of 1960, addresses the need for those who live and work in floodplains to understand flood hazards and the actions they can take to reduce property damage and prevent the loss of life caused by flooding. Visit the USACE HQ page on Floodplain Management Services for more information. 

Flood Damage Data Collection Program

The Flood Damage Data Collection Program was created to provide economists, planners and other analysts with tools to more accurately and efficiently estimate the economic impacts of flooding by collecting primary data, providing analysis, and supplying analytical tools as determined by soliciting information from USACE economists. The program is designed to compile generic damage relationships, estimation models, and data collection tools for organizing floodplain inventory data.

ERR Risk Analysis Reporting System dashboard imageThis program will enable USACE districts and communities applying for FEMA Hazard Mitigation grants to more accurately and efficiently estimate the economic consequences of flooding. Field analysts will not have to collect their own basic data, make their own detailed analyses of damage relationships, or invent their own tools for collecting and managing data.

Program accomplishments include the design, testing and release of updated Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved questionnaires for flood damage surveys, the release of a floodplain inventory tool, and the collection of data and development of a model for estimating damages to roads.