{"id":45087,"date":"2025-07-15T10:33:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T14:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=45087"},"modified":"2025-07-16T12:52:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:52:56","slug":"maryland-department-of-natural-resources-introduces-planning-tool-to-enhance-coastal-flood-preparedness-around-the-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2025\/07\/15\/maryland-department-of-natural-resources-introduces-planning-tool-to-enhance-coastal-flood-preparedness-around-the-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Department of Natural Resources Introduces Planning Tool to Enhance Coastal Flood Preparedness around the State"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/mdfloodexplorer.org\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland Coastal Flood Explorer<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> gives planners and decision makers access to the most current coastal flood data<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 409px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53452184187_5954d71bc5.jpg\" alt=\"City street flooded\" width=\"399\" height=\"299\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flooding in Annapolis in 2023. Photo submitted to Maryland DNR MyCoast app.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland coastal residents can now explore local coastal flooding risks today and into the future. This month, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources released the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/mdfloodexplorer.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maryland Coastal Flood Explorer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a user-friendly and interactive mapper that allows users to visualize predicted high tide flooding, sea-level rise projections, and historic flooding events for all of Maryland\u2019s coastal areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Any resident can go to the Flood Explorer, enter an address, and explore various flood risk scenarios around their property as well as within their broader community.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cKnowledge is our greatest defense, and the Flood Explorer puts the latest coastal flood science directly into the hands of the public,\u201d said Dr. Natalie Snider, director of DNR\u2019s Watershed and Climate Services. \u201cUnderstanding our flood risk is the first step to building resilience, whether it&#8217;s securing your own home with flood insurance or a living shoreline, or as a community through nature-based solutions and resilience projects.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Communities and residents can explore varying scenarios including:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Current and future high-tide flooding<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Current and future flood events\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Projections for sea-level rise by decade through 2120<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Historic flood events such as Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Isabel.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Coastal flooding is an increasing hazard faced by Maryland communities. The average number of minor flood days per year in Annapolis has quadrupled from the 1970s to present day according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sealevel.nasa.gov\/data_tools\/15\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">NASA\u2019s flooding analysis tool<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. As a result of this growing threat, an increasing number of communities have sought to create local flood visualizations. In 2021, DNR\u2019s Watershed and Climate Services led the development of this tool for the Maryland Coastal Zone, giving Maryland communities equal access to high quality and high resolution flood visualizations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The tool was created with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the Maryland Coastal Zone Management Program and in collaboration with Salisbury University&#8217;s Eastern Shore GIS Cooperative (ESRGC), University of Maryland Sea Grant, and University of Maryland Sea Grant Extension. This tool was made possible by a NOAA grant to the Maryland Coastal Zone Management program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The tool is the first to display our Maryland-specific <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umces.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/Maryland%20Sea-Level%20Rise%20Projections%202023%20report_0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sea level rise projections<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> prepared by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and provides communities with a common resource when preparing grant applications, developing Hazard Mitigation and Nuisance Flood Plans, and assessing vulnerable areas for restoration and resilience projects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Maryland Coastal Flood Explorer presents flood depths created from locally collected elevation data and Maryland sea-level rise projections. The tool was designed based on feedback from stakeholders and end-users collected throughout the development process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHaving a visual, interactive platform will be a tremendous asset to the communities it serves, said Amanda Pollack of the Center for Watershed Protection, a national nonprofit that works with stormwater management and watershed planning. \u201cThe ability to zoom in and assess impacts at the local level is especially useful. What really sets this tool apart is the inclusion of historic event visualizations in addition to sea level rise scenarios and high tide flooding data.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Communities can use this tool for local planning efforts such as:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Updating hazard mitigation plans, comprehensive plans, and nuisance flood plans;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Identifying priority areas for adaptation and mitigation projects; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Communicating about flooding and sea level rise for broad\u00a0 outreach and education<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Residents can use the tool to view the flood risk of their neighborhood, their common roadways to work or school, and their valuable community spaces such as parks, schools, and churches.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Community leaders and residents with questions about the tool can contact <\/span><a href=\"mailto:mdfloodexplorer.dnr@maryland.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mdfloodexplorer.dnr@maryland.gov<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dnr.maryland.gov\/ccs\/Pages\/Coastal-Flood-Explorer.aspx#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">walkthrough of the Explorer and its features<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> can be viewed on the DNR website:.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Maryland Coastal Flood Explorer gives planners and decision makers access to the most current coastal flood data Maryland coastal residents can now explore local coastal flooding risks today and into the future. This month, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources released the Maryland Coastal Flood Explorer, a user-friendly and interactive mapper that allows users<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2025\/07\/15\/maryland-department-of-natural-resources-introduces-planning-tool-to-enhance-coastal-flood-preparedness-around-the-state\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,33],"tags":[5460,3357,5612,3358,5582],"class_list":["post-45087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-the-bay","tag-climate-resilience","tag-flooding","tag-maryland-coastal-flood-explorer","tag-sea-level-rise","tag-watershed-and-climate-services"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45087"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45098,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45087\/revisions\/45098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}