FEMA Flood Map Modernization

Nationwide

As the prime contractor and program manager, Michael Baker led an integrated team to raise national awareness of flood hazards and mitigation. We deployed more than 400 credentialed staff with diverse skill sets and partnered with 43 subcontractors overseeing every Cooperating Technical Partner (CTP) in the nation actively producing FEMA flood hazard regulatory products. We also established ten Regional Management Centers, that coordinated with state, local and tribal governments, to assist in keeping all flood hazard maps and products up-to-date.

To ensure quality products, we developed national standards for automated flood mapping and coastlines. Our team directly produced 27,000 miles of riverine hydraulics and hydrology and coastal analyses and developed 9,400 Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panels.

We also have partnered with FEMA to encourage communities to participate in its National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) which promotes the adoption of floodplain management regulations to mitigate the impact of flooding on private and public structures. Through this 40-year partnership, we have helped FEMA attain a 96 percent adoption rate for flood maps.

Our engineering and mapping tools, processes and training reduced the time that it takes to produce an effective flood map from 52 to just 35 months. In addition, our team developed a web-based Electronic Letters of Map Amendment (eLOMA) tool allowing land surveyors and engineers to more efficiently submit map amendment requests. Automating this process saved FEMA $3.7 million. We also worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, owners, regions and communities to obtain data to determine if levees met FEMA’s accreditation requirements.

Driving action following Hurricane Katrina, our team supported high-profile flood recovery efforts, such as the Louisiana mapping project, which included comprehensive mapping services and coordinated outreach to 15 coastal parishes.