From data to decisions: using advanced flood risk modeling to strengthen emergency management planning and response

Learn how state agencies can use high-resolution flood data to drive faster, actionable flood risk and response decisions.

State emergency management agencies increasingly face pressure to make faster, more defensible decisions amid escalating flood risk and constrained resources. Traditional flood maps and static plans are no longer sufficient for today’s mitigation, preparedness and response needs. This webinar explores how high-resolution flood risk data and scenario-based modeling can be operationalized, not just visualized, to support actionable planning and response decisions.

Fathom will introduce advanced flood hazard and risk datasets that offer unprecedented spatial resolution and climate-conditioned insight, revealing flood risk not captured in regulatory products and enabling consistent, statewide screening for planning and warning system placement. WSP will then demonstrate how this data can be embedded into real-world emergency management frameworks, including state hazard mitigation plans, evacuation planning, emergency operations plans and response playbooks.

Drawing on WSP’s experience supporting state agencies, the session will highlight practical examples where advanced flood data and flood scenarios can strengthen outcomes through improved risk prioritization, more realistic response planning and enhanced interagency coordination. The webinar will conclude with actionable guidance for agencies seeking to move from static flood maps to dynamic, decision-ready flood intelligence.

What attendees will learn:

1. Understand the limitations of traditional flood maps and why static, regulatory products are insufficient for modern mitigation, preparedness and response decision-making.
2. Learn how high-resolution, climate-conditioned flood risk data can be operationalized to support statewide screening, risk prioritization and warning system placement.
3. See practical examples of integrating advanced flood data and scenarios into state emergency management workflows, including hazard mitigation plans, evacuation planning, EOPs and response playbooks.
4. Gain actionable guidance on moving from maps to decision-ready flood intelligence, including implementation pathways, data governance considerations, and steps to embed dynamic flood insights into planning, training and operations.

This session is for agencies ready to move beyond maps. Attendees will gain practical insight into how advanced flood intelligence can strengthen mitigation, preparedness and response decisions statewide.