South Carolina Community Lowers Flood Insurance Premiums Using NOAA’s Land Cover Data

Challenge

A small coastal town in South Carolina sought to lower the expensive floods insurance premiums residents and businesses faced, while reducing risks from floods and storms.

Solution

Using high-resolution land cover data from the Digital Coast, the town mapped open spaces protected from development, which earned them credits through FEMA’s Community Rating System. This resulted in a 25-percent discount on flood insurance for home and business owners. By leveraging advanced technologies and data analysis, the town demonstrated the importance and benefits of proactive floodplain management.

This image shows a portion of the area mapped by the Town of Pawleys Island. Wetlands (green), parks (purple), and beach areas (brown) are protected open space in the floodplain. Impervious surfaces are shown in gray.

Where this page came from

This page was imported from NOAA Office for Coastal Management. A Digital Coast story by NOAA's Office for Coastal Management; as a work of the United States government, in the public domain.

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