VICKSBURG, Miss. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District announced that an online viewer for inundation mapping will launch Feb. 12.
The viewer, which will be accessible through a web browser, will allow users to view forecasted inundation layers for areas affected by high water across the district’s 68,000-square-mile jurisdiction in parts of Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. District engineers and technical experts will update the viewer as needed to reflect the most up-to-date forecasting from the National Weather Service.
The inundation data provided in the viewer will allow the district’s local, state and federal partners to make informed decisions on emergency planning and response actions to take in their respective jurisdictions. The viewer will also be open for the public to use and will be accessible on both computers and mobile devices.
The data presented in each map is compiled using the best information available and is believed to be accurate; however, its preparation requires many assumptions. Actual conditions during a flood event may vary from those assumed, and thus the accuracy of each map cannot be guaranteed. The limits of flooding depicted on each map should only be used as a guideline for emergency planning and response actions. Actual areas inundated will depend on specific flooding conditions and may differ from the areas shown on the map.
Inundation data for the Pearl River in Rankin and Hinds counties and the Yazoo Backwater Area in Mississippi will be available when the viewer launches.
“We are proud to launch our inundation mapping viewer and provide critical inundation data to our partners, stakeholders and the public in an innovative and engaging way,” said Vicksburg District Commander Col. Robert Hilliard. “I am grateful for the outstanding effort of the engineers and technical experts at our Mapping, Modeling and Consequences Center and our hydraulics and hydrology teams who developed and delivered this viewer as well as the data that powers it.”
The Mapping, Modeling and Consequences Center is a national center of expertise based at the district headquarters building in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The center is responsible for developing hydraulic modeling, consequence assessments, inundation mapping and study reports for USACE dam and levee projects and flood events. The center’s products are intended to support a risk-based assessment, prioritization, and management framework for dam and levee safety programs.
“The center has successfully used the technology and tools behind the viewer during previous flood events across USACE,” said Vicksburg District Chief of Hydraulics Cory Winders. “We are eager to use this innovative product in our own region.”
The viewer is available at the following link: https://go.usa.gov/xd5sb.
For more information about the viewer, please contact the district’s public affairs office via telephone at 601-631-5000 or via email at vicksburgdistrict@usace.army.mil.
The Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The district encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana that holds seven major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The district is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.
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