FLOODSResearchers Offer Hard-Hit Communities Solutions for Flood Recovery and Resilience
Long before flash floods damaged communities in Ohio and Marion counties this month, West Virginia University researchers were studying community resilience in flood-devastated areas of the state. The toolkit they developed will help communities better prepare for such emergencies and recover quicker.
Long before flash floods damaged communities in Ohio and Marion counties this month, West Virginia University researchers were studying community resilience in flood-devastated areas of the state. The toolkit they developed will help communities better prepare for such emergencies and recover quicker.
Aaron Maxwell is an associate professor of geography at the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and faculty director of the West Virginia GIS Technical Center. In collaboration with stakeholders, including the GIS Technical Center and former WVU faculty member Jamie Shinn, now with SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, and with funding from the National Science Foundation’s Civic Innovation Challenge, the team created a more effective framework for flood response and community recovery in West Virginia.
The West Virginia Flood Resiliency Framework offers analytical and visualization tools designed for anyone committed to strengthening flood resiliency in West Virginia communities. This includes decision makers at local, state, regional and federal levels, as well as floodplain managers, nonprofit organizations, planners and emergency managers.
Maxwell’s framework improves flood-risk knowledge and identifies gaps in organizational capacity that can hinder short-term flood response and long-term recovery. It also determines solutions for the kinds of cross-organizational coordination gaps that were revealed by the massive floods of 2016, when up to 10 inches of rain fell on parts of West Virginia over a period of 12 hours and claimed 23 lives.
For example, the tool’s Risk Explorer can be used to assess the number of critical facilities, historical assets and residences that would be inundated by a 100-year flood event or gather information associated with the number of structures that have been impacted by prior flood events. Additionally, the tool contains resources created by the team such as the Best Practices Guide, designed to assist community leaders in preparing for and responding to flood disasters.
