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Army Corps Mitigates Hurricane Impact with GIS

The Philadelphia and Baltimore Districts use mapping and analysis to help the Northeast prepare for — and recover from — big storms.

The 2009 Atlantic Ocean hurricane season is winding down — it officially ends November 30 — but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers works year-round to safeguard coastal states in the Northeast from storm events.

The devastating power of big storms was on display in 2003, when Hurricane Isabel's powerful winds and rough waves bombarded the Atlantic Coast. Isabel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane that year, taking the lives of 51 people and costing taxpayers $4.22 billion, according to 2009 figures.

To help protect states in the Northeast, the Army Corps' Philadelphia and Baltimore Districts are relying on GIS — a computer application and tool that enables operators to capture, store, analyze, and display localized information. GIS combines layers of information from various sources, such as aerial photographs and electronic data, to perform analysis. The system produces electronic maps, reports, and charts that agencies like the Army Corps can use to perform missions and solve complex problems.

Reducing Beach Erosion

Hurricane Isabel put New Jersey's shore community in a state of emergency. Along the 125-mile shoreline, Isabel created waves 10 feet higher than normal, killing a surfer and causing flooding and severe beach erosion.

To restore the New Jersey shore and help protect it from future storms, the Philadelphia District is replacing sand along the shoreline. Beach replenishment is a costly process that includes obtaining sand from the ocean offshore using a dredging process and relocating it to the shore.

Beach maintenance projects, such as the replacement of sand displaced during a hurricane, help protect nearby buildings from future storms.

To minimize the cost and better manage the sand replenishment work, the district — in collaboration with the State of New Jersey — initiated a study to consolidate its efforts and prioritize sources of sand. In addition, the district created a website using GIS tools, which is helping to make this study a success, said J. Bailey Smith, project manager, Philadelphia District, Army Corps.

"The goal of the New Jersey Alternative Long Term Nourishment Alternative Study is to address New Jersey's beach nourishment issues on a multi-project level rather than on a project-by-project basis," said Smith.

"Planning beach nourishment projects with a system-wide, regional mindset, including the use of GIS, helps to reduce shore protection costs and resources utilized and minimize environmental impacts, as well as helps to identify and critique alternative shore protection strategies for the New Jersey coast," Smith continued.

The New Jersey Regional Sediment Management website was designed to help district personnel share beach nourishment information with each other, as well as with stakeholders and the public. The website comprises an interactive map with layers of data from the study area, overlaid on a base map of the New Jersey coast.

The map of the study area was created using ESRI ArcMap, an application that helps users visualize and organize the data to produce meaningful information about the project. Data sources include aerial photography, bathymetry, and environmental and geotechnical records.

Using ArcGIS Server technology, the map is published to the web, enabling any end user with access to an Internet browser to view the data. The interactive nature of the map helps engineers, scientists, and stakeholders visually review, manage, and analyze the geographically referenced data from multiple perspectives.

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