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New LiDAR Acquisition
Mid-Coastal Counties to be acquired next.
The State Planning Office working with the Maine GeoLibrary Board, FEMA and the USGS has initiated a new project to acquire high resolution topography for four coastal counties. This project will complement the recent coastal acquisitions done under the LiDAR for the Northeast project. The remaining areas of Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties will be collected in the spring, weather permitting. The collaborative effort may also involved other agencies depending upon funding availability. |
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New Floodplain Studies Initiated
FEMA contracted to initiate new coastal floodplain studies in five coastal counties. Under this new Task Order signed in September 2011 FEMA is beginning studies in Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo and Hancock counties.
The State Planning Office will be working with communities in these counties to complete a 'Discovery' process that solicits information from the local level to assist in the floodplain mapping studies. Meetings will be scheduled in each coastal county including Washington county to share with community officials how the mapping process will be completed and encourage their participation.
We will be scheduling at least one Discovery meeting in each County. They will begin in mid to late March starting in Sagadahoc county and continue through April finishing up in Washington County.
Following is a summary of the current status of work for these studies:
Waldo & Knox Counties: STARR is currently preparing the coastal transect workmaps which will be reviewed with FEMA Region I on January 24, 2012 Once transects are approved, a survey team will be in the field collecting elevation data at the transect locations. This data will be used in the detailed coastal analysis that will be conducted to determine floodplains.
Lincoln & Sagadahoc: STARR is currently conducting field reconnaissance of the coastal areas. This task is expected to be complete by the end of the month at which time STARR will prepare coastal transect maps for FEMA's review.
Hancock County: STARR will be preparing for field reconnaissance over the next 2 weeks. Also, basemaps are being acquired. LiDAR (topographic data) is expected to be available in Spring 2012.
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Cumberland and York Counties: Map MOD to Risk MAP Conversion
By Joseph Young
Mapping Coordinator
FEMA initiated a new task order to continue with more coastal studies in these counties in September of 2011. Preliminary work has begun.
The current status for
York County is: Coastal transects were identified and approved for field survey. A field survey of York County transects is currently taking place. Other tasks underway include base map acquisition and starting coastal analysis. The current status for Cumberland County is: Coastal transects are in the process of being identified based on existing data and data provided by communities. Other tasks underway include base map acquisition and starting coastal analysis. Kennebec County Kennebec County floodplain maps became effective on June 16, 2011. All of the communities have successfully updated their floodplain ordinances to reflect the date change and new floodplain map panel numbers. If you have any questions regarding ordinance language or the adoption process you can contact Sue Baker (624-6230) or Janet Parker (624-6233) Androscoggin County
Preliminary maps were distributed on May 2, 2011. A community meeting was held on June 1, 2011 with representatives from all communities in the county attending. Presentations were made by staff from FEMA, Maine Floodplain Management Program and the mapping contractor. The presentations focused on methodologies used in flood studies the review and adoption process for the proposed maps.
After review and discussions with communities final preliminary maps will be released in the near future to initiate the formal comment and appeals period.
Fort Kent The U. S. Geological Survey Maine Water Science Center is working with FEMA to finalize the preliminary floodplain maps. As soon as this process is completed a public meeting will be scheduled with town officials to review the maps and process going forward towards adoption of final updated floodplain maps. For any questions regarding the floodplain mapping program please contact Joseph Young (624-6234) |
 | LiDAR Image of Pleasant Point in Perry
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LiDAR Acquiision Update
The Northeast LiDAR project was completed with a final fall of 2011 collection. The final products will be available From the Maine office of GIS in the near future. Two out of three lots for the Maine section have been delivered to MEGIS and distributed to interested parties. The data available include coastal areas east of Edgecomb and a large area near Bangor. Details of this area can be seen at http://www.maine.gov/megis/projects/lidar.shtml (status map). Androscoggin County data is also available and recently two foot contour data produced by FEMA through its contractors was delivered and will be available from the Maine office of Geographic Systems. If you have questions regarding this project please contact Michael Smith, GIS Manager Maine office of GIS. |
 2011 Coastal Construction Manual - FEMA P-55 Now Available
The 2011 Coastal Construction Manual, Fourth Edition (FEMA P-55), is a two-volume publication that provides a comprehensive approach to planning, siting, designing, constructing, and maintaining homes in the coastal environment. Volume I provides information about hazard identification, siting decisions, regulatory requirements,
economic implications, and risk management. The primary audience for Volume I is design professionals, officials, and those involved in the decision-making process.
Volume II contains in-depth descriptions of design, construction, and maintenance practices that, when followed, will increase the durability of residential buildings in the harsh coastal environment and reduce economic losses associated with coastal natural disasters. The primary audience for Volume II is the design professional who is familiar with building codes and standards and has a basic understanding of engineering principles.
For additional information on residential coastal construction, see the FEMA Residential Coastal Construction Web site
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FEMA Publications for eBooks
There are currently over 80 mitigation publications available on the Google Books website, and each publication is available for download to an eReader device. Searching Google Books by author, users are able to locate and download mitigation publications in PDF or eReader formats. View a sample search. This year, Google launched an e-reader service, making every FEMA publication housed on Google Books convertible to formats that can be downloaded and read on portable e-reader devices such as Kindles, iPads, iPhones and a broad range of eReader devices.
A description of Google's eReader service is available on Google Books.
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SPO Newsletters
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Newsletter Funding
This newsletter is funded with a grant provided by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA)
EMB-2007-CA-0874
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