New Online GIS Training: Mapping Repetitive Flood Risk
The Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) and Coastal States Organization (CSO) are excited to announce a new online GIS training. Mapping Repetitive Flood Risk is designed to help local floodplain managers, with little to no prior experience using GIS, work through the process of mapping repetitive flood loss areas and other relevant local data to better understand their community’s flood risk. The course is now available on ASFPM’s Learning Management System.
The Mapping Repetitive Flood Risk training is part of a larger effort to provide technical assistance and guidance to communities on reducing repetitive flooding, called the Community Resilience Guide for Repetitive Flood Loss. This web-based guide was created to help communities overcome the common barriers that emerged from a nationwide community needs assessment that ASFPM and CSO conducted in 2021. The Community Resilience Guide for Repetitive Flood Loss features an array of resources geared toward reducing repetitive flooding, such as training, tools and data, case studies, and guidance documents. In addition to the Mapping Repetitive Flood Risk training, ASFPM and CSO aim to create two additional online trainings in the future: Communicating Repetitive Flood Risk to the Public and Obtaining Funding for Repetitive Flood Risk Projects. For more information, visit the Community Resilience Guide for Repetitive Flood Loss website.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Mapping Repetitive Flood Risk Course
What will I learn from this training? By the end of this training, you will be able to…
- Understand the fundamentals of using GIS in the context of floodplain management.
- Navigate the GIS environment in ArcGIS Pro.
- Map Repetitive Loss Areas for CRS Credit.
- Identify the questions that GIS data can help answer related to mitigating repetitive losses.
Are there requirements for this training? In order to complete this training, you must have a subscription to ArcGIS Pro and have the software downloaded to your computer. There are instructions on how to do this in the beginning steps of the training.
Does it cost anything to have a subscription to ArcGIS Pro? Yes, a basic subscription to ArcGIS Pro costs $100 per year. If this cost is not within your budget, we highly recommend talking to other local and state agencies and organizations to see if they have an extra user subscription that you can use. It is our goal to create an alternative version of this training using QGIS, a free GIS software, in the future.
How long should this training take? This training is self-paced and will save your progress as you work through each of the five exercises. Each exercise was designed to take less than an hour to complete, making the average time to complete the entire training to be around four hours.
Can I get continuing education credits? Yes, users who complete the course content and the post-course survey will automatically receive four (4) Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for their CFM certification and a Certificate of Completion from ASFPM.
How do I access the training? Visit ASFPM’s Learning Management System (LMS) at www.pathlms.com/asfpm and find the Mapping Repetitive Flood Risk under the Courses tab. You must be logged into ASFPM’s LMS or you will need to create an account to access the training. This will ensure that your progress is tracked and that you receive continuing education credits once the training is complete.
Do I need to be an ASFPM member to access the training? No, you do not. You only need an account with ASFPM’s LMS.
Have additional questions? Please direct them to Eleanor Rappolee at eleanor@floods.org.
This training was developed by ASFPM and CSO. Funding was provided by NOAA through the Digital Coast Fellowship and FEMA.
