Hurricane Helene and Emergency Management

Hurricane Helene was catastrophic and caused an estimated $30.5 billion to $47.5 billion in damages. What you may not realize is that up to 86% of this damage ($26 - $41 billion) was caused by flooding, including coastal storm surge, riverine flooding, and flash flooding from intense rainfall.

As hurricane season intensifies, so does the pressure on emergency managers to stay ahead of destructive storms. Coastal and inland communities alike are facing increased flood risks due to recurring severe weather events, aging infrastructure, and complex logistics.

This year, agencies are stepping up with modern tools and advanced strategies. Below, we break down the top 5 actions emergency managers are taking to get hurricane-ready, and how live and predictive flood intelligence supports each step.

1. Identify At-Risk Areas with Predictive Flood Modeling

Knowing where flooding is most likely to occur is the first step toward effective preparation. With FloodMapp ForeCast, agencies can visualize street-level flood impacts 72 hours before the event starts.

ForeCast helps you:

• Pinpoint flood-prone roads, neighborhoods, and critical infrastructure
• Disseminate targeted alerts and warnings
• Prioritize evacuation planning
• Protect sites and mitigate flood damage to assets
• Allocate response resources more efficiently

2. Plan and Communicate Evacuation Routes

Once you know where the water is going, the next step is routing people and crews safely during the flood event. NowCast to help you:

• Identify flood-safe routes for emergency responders
• Gather and maintain dynamic situational awareness on impacted roadways
• Send localized and personalized alerts to communities at risk

Whether integrated into Waze for live traffic routing, your Esri dashboard, or shared with custom alerting platforms (such as Genasys), FloodMapp supports more informed, faster decisions when there is no time to waste.

3. Position Response Resources Strategically

Strategic staging of personnel and supplies can make or break a response effort. With hourly updates from NowCast, your field crews and swift-water teams stay informed about:

• Real-time flood movement
• Road access and closures
• Safe zones for staging and response

This insight helps optimize high-clearance vehicle routes, sandbag deployments, and emergency shelter access. Most importantly, it helps keep your teams safe in the field.

4. Coordinate in Real Time with Live Dashboards

Flood conditions evolve rapidly. With FloodMapp, you get dynamic flood data delivered directly to your existing systems.

Benefits for your EOC and agency partners:

• Unified situational awareness
• Custom alerts for rising water and critical thresholds
• Scalable common operating picture across departments

Learn more about how we integrate with your tools.

5. Accelerate Recovery with Post-Flood Intelligence

FloodMapp’s PostCast gives you rapid access to high-resolution flood depth and extent maps and data, without waiting for satellite imagery or on-the-ground surveys.

Use it to:

• Assess damage quickly and accurately
• Understand how many homes or assets have been impacted, and in which regions
• Inform grant program submissions to access disaster recovery funding
• Prioritize repairs and clean-up efforts

PostCast helps your agency transition from response to recovery in record time.

Be Hurricane-Ready with the Right Tools

In emergency management, preparation isn’t a checklist—it’s an operational system. FloodMapp empowers your agency to act sooner, respond smarter, and recover faster with flood intelligence built for real-time decision-making.