Use of Google Fusion Tables for a public floodplain interface

Session Type: 
Tech Session
Presenter(s): 
Bruce Rindahl, Ventura County Watershed Protection District

In 2010, Ventura County applied for inclusion in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Rating System. This program allows a reduction of flood insurance premiums in return for a comprehensive ongoing effort to reduce flood risk. A part of that comprehensive program includes conveying current flood risk to the public. In order to provide a simple yet accurate interface for the public to view the latest floodplain boundaries, flood zones and flood depths in the county, a Google Maps interface was created using Fusion Tables. The details of this interface, along with the automated scripts and procedures developed to maintain the data from FEMA download, storage on PostGIS, and KML conversions for Fusion Tables is the subject of this paper. Topics will include tips, tricks, lessons learned and example code for the interface and upload procedures. Future directions will also be discussed including inter-agency cooperation and collaboration.

Speaker Bio: 

A registered professional engineer, Mr. Rindahl has more than 30 years of experience in a wide variety of water resource disciplines.  Much of his experience is in the area of water supply planning and flood warning systems.  He also has extensive experience in optimization of water resource systems, design and integration of computer models, geographical information systems and their use in water resource applications and floodplain analysis.

Schedule info

Time slot: 
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 2:00pm - 2:30pm
Room: 
Tower Court B