Congress recently asked the National Research Council to review the technologies used to create the Federal Emergency Management Agency's floodplain maps, which are undergoing a $200 million-a-year upgrade to replace paper maps with digital ones. The resulting report, BASE MAP INPUTS FOR FLOODPLAIN MAPPING, examines whether newer technologies could improve digital floodplain mapping, particularly measurements of land surface elevation. The report will be released Thursday, Feb. 1, at 4 p.m. EST.
REPORTERS:
Advance copies of the report will be available to reporters only beginning at noon EST on Wednesday, Jan. 31. THE REPORT IS EMBARGOED AND NOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE BEFORE 4 P.M. EST ON FEB. 1. To obtain a copy, contact the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information; tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu.