Depth To Flood Eastern Kansas

Severe, widespread flooding in southeast Kansas in Summer 2007 resulted in a Federal Disaster Declaration in 20 counties. Largely unprecedented in scope and magnitude, this catastrophic event exposed various information gaps affecting flood emergency response activities. In particular, there was no capability for real-time estimation of wide area floodwater extent, information vital for improving situational awareness.

With the support of the Kansas Adjutant General's Department, and using funding provided by the Kansas GIS Policy Board, the KBS FLDPLN ("Floodplain") model was used to create a Segmented Library of Inundation Extents (SLIE) spanning 40 counties in eastern Kansas. The SLIE, which includes more than 330 stream segments, was developed during 2007-2009 using 10-m USGS NED elevation data. Using real-time and forecast river stage information from more than 130 USGS and NWS stream gauges located in eastern Kansas, the SLIE allows for seamless, stage-varying estimation of floodwater extent during major riverine flood events.

In addition to real-time emergency response applications, the SLIE database is also used for scenario modeling to facilitate flood disaster training exercises conducted by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

The FLDPLN model was originally developed at KBS for river valley identification and "depth to flood" mapping. In addition to its emergency response applications, the FLDPLN model is currently used by KBS scientists for wetland stratification, river valley morphology assessment, and lake extent mapping.