Hurricane Storm Surge and Hurricane Evacuation Maps

New Bedford Storm Surge (Inundation) Map

The US Army Corps of Engineers recently updated all Hurricane Inundation Maps for Massachusetts communities that are along a coast or have a river or other waterway that is connected to the ocean. Hurricane Inundation Maps depict those areas of land that may be inundated by flood waters during a hurricane. These maps are created using the Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model developed by the National Weather Service (NWS) to estimate potential storm surge and inundation flooding that will occur during Category 1, Category 2, Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane.

The Storm Surge Map available through the above link was developed by the city’s Management Information Services (MIS) Department using information provided by the Corps of Engineers. The city’s map depicts residences and other buildings that lie within each of the surge zones.

Please refer to Map Legend Notes below for information on the storm surge protection factor of the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier.

New Bedford Hurricane Evacuation Map

The Army Corps of Engineers, working with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and local officials, has also created Hurricane Evacuation Maps for all of Massachusetts’s coastal communities and communities along rivers or other waterways that are connected to the ocean. For most coastal communities there are two Evacuation Zones: Zone A for Category 1 and 2 hurricanes, and Zone B for Category 3 and 3 hurricanes.

These maps are designed to be tools for local public officials to make local evacuation decisions as a hurricane approaches and to provide critical information to citizens who live or work in areas that may need to be evacuated as a hurricane approaches.  People who live or work in a Hurricane Evacuation Zone may be asked or ordered to evacuate the zone prior to a hurricane making landfall in the area.

The Hurricane Evacuation Map available through the above link was developed by the city’s Management Information Services (MIS) Department using information provided by MEMA. As with the city’s Storm Surge Map, it depicts residences and other buildings that lie within each of the two Evacuation Zones.

Know whether you live or work in an Evacuation Zone and follow evacuation orders or recommendations if they are issued.

If you cannot locate your home or business on the evacuation map, you may utilize MEMA’s interactive Know Your Zone page and type in your address and zip code, or you may contact New Bedford Emergency Management at 508-961-3060 for additional information and assistance.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = == =

Map Legend Notes from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and MEMA

Storm Surge Map:

Hurricane surge elevations were determined by the National Hurricane Center using the PV2 SLOSH model basin, and assumed peak hurricane surge arriving at mean high water.

The hurricane surge inundation areas shown on this map depict the inundation that can be expected to result from a worst case combination of hurricane landfall location, forward speed, and direction for each hurricane category.

The source of basemap transportation features such as roads and railroads is Tele Atlas 2009. The source of other basemap features are MassGIS.

The primary elevation data source was LiDAR data collected by Photo Science for USGS between late 2010 and early of 2011. This data was supplemented with LiDAR data collected in November 2006 by Camp Dresser and Mckee. This data was also supplemented with MassGIS Digital Terrain Model (DTM) files which where made available in April 2003.

Hurricanes that are Category 4 can produce a tidal surge that exceeds the height of the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier. The New Bedford Hurricane Barrier project design hurricane tide is 15.17 feet NAVD88 and the height of the barrier gate is 19.17 feet NAVD88. The worst case Category 3 hurricane can produce a tide of 16.19 feet NAVD88. The worst case Category 4 hurricane can produce a tide of 21.9 feet NAVD88.

Hurricane Evacuation Map:

This map shows shaded Hurricane Evacuation Zones that are recommended to be evacuated from potential worst-case Hurricane Surge Inundation. Inland areas which may be exposed to fresh water flooding only are not included in the Evacuation Zones.

Evacuation Zone “A”, shown in red, is recommended to be evacuated prior to an expected category 1 or 2 hurricane. Evacuation Zone “B”, shown in yellow, is recommended to be evacuated prior to an exepected category 3 or 4 hurricane.

Hurricane surge elevations were determined by the National Hurricane Center using the PV2 SLOSH model basin, and assumed peak hurricane surge arriving at mean high water.

The Evacuation Zones are based on the Hurricane Surge Inundation that can be expected to result from a worst case combination of hurricane landfall location, forward speed and direction for each hurricane category. For the Hurricane Surge Inundation Areas, see the map series entitled “Massachusetts Hurricane Evacuation Study, Hurricane Surge Inundation Mapping”, March, 2013.

The source of the basemap transportation features such as roads and railroads is Tele Atlas 2009. The source of other basemap features is MASSGIS.

The horizontal projection of this map is Massachusetts State Plane NAD83 feet.