Corps’ expanded viewer maps flooding and includes forecast info

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District announced Feb. 24 that its online viewer for inundation mapping has been updated to include new forecast information and additional areas in the district’s jurisdiction.

The viewer now includes inundation data for areas along the main stem of the Mississippi River within the district’s jurisdiction, which spans approximately from north of Arkansas City, Ark., to south of Vidalia, La. The viewer also contains updated data for the Pearl River from Hinds County to the Gulf of Mexico; the Yazoo Backwater Area in Mississippi’s South Delta; and the Red River Backwater Area in east-central Louisiana.

The viewer, which is accessible through a web browser, allows 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 continue to 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 allows 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 is also open for the public to use and 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.

The viewer was created by engineers and technical experts on the district’s hydraulics and hydrology teams and at the USACE Mapping, Modeling and Consequences Center, a national center of expertise based at the district headquarters building in Vicksburg, Miss. The viewer launched Feb. 12.

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.