Department of Conservation and Recreation
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Department of Conservation and Recreation
Understanding flood risk requires knowing which areas of your community are exposed to flooding today, and which areas are expected to be exposed in the coming decades. Changing patterns of precipitation and sea level rise, as well as new patterns of development, mean that historic flooding trends are no longer a useful predictor of future risk.
Nationwide, we lack consistent data that forecasts flooding based on multiple risk sources specific to the local level. Through the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan and Coastal Resilience Master Plan the Commonwealth is working to close these data gaps and provide data and tools to localities to support local resilience planning efforts.
The Coastal Resilience Web Explorer hazards page allows users to view projected areas of inundation based on sea level rise projections, and the expected impacts of sea level rise on tidal and coastal storm surge flooding over time. You can also download data from the Flood Resilience Open Data Portal. Additional data resources include:
VFRIS – compiles information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Fish and Wildlife Service, Esri GIS and the Virginia Geographic Information System into a map viewer with links to download Flood Insurance Studies, HEC-RAS Models and GIS data produced by FEMA. These maps and data do not incorporate future-looking projections based on changing precipitation patterns, new development or compound flood risk from tidal flooding events.
Storm Surge Risk Maps include data viewers and data downloads based on modeling which forecasts the extent and depth of storm surge resulting from hurricanes (category 1-5) for the Virginia coast.
NOAA 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report provides nationwide forecasts for sea level rise through 2150. The report provides more recent forecasts than were included in DCR's coastal resilience web explorer and Phase I of the Coastal Resilience Master Plan. NOAA's Sea Level Rise Viewer allows users to map and download the data.
NOAA Mid-Atlantic RISA Projected IDF Curve Data Tool is a county-level tool for forecasting changes in precipitation depths from historic ATLAS-14 modeling to two future conditions (2020-2070 and 2050-2100) under two emissions scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). The model forecasts precipitation change across six average recurrence intervals (2-year to 100-year) and 14 durations (5 minute to 7 day).
There are many tools that exist to aid organizations in crafting a flood resilience plan. Below is an abbreviated list of useful planning tools. Additional tools can be found on the information gateway portals linked below.
The US Climate Resilience Toolkit is a national portal that includes a variety of tools for building resilience to flooding impacts, including the Steps to Resilience Framework, which outlines a straightforward step-by-step process for creating a resilience plan alongside resources to use to get there.
The Resilience Adaptation Feasibility Tool (RAFT) Team is a Virginia state university partnership which brings capacity building and technical assistance to local governments over a period of 18 months to help build their resilience to the impacts of flooding. Their team's PREP Tool provides access to the RAFT's methods and approach for assessing local government capacity for resilience, and identifying and prioritizing projects to implement.
USACE's International Guidelines on Natural and Nature-Based Features for Flood Risk Management consolidates best practices for constructing natural and nature-based features for flood risk management into a guidance document for decision-makers and practitioners to use when considering these practices in flood resilience plan development.
US DOI Nature Based Solutions Roadmap outlines information on nature-based solutions, including specific strategies, considerations for implementation, co-benefits, examples and resources.
A Virginia-specific guide for climate adaptation planning for decision-makers across the Commonwealth. The website outlines steps for developing a plan, with detailed case studies, definitions, tools, legal considerations and best practices.
The Coastal Resilience Web Explorer Funding Opportunities tab provides an inventory of funding sources that may be available to finance the development and/or implementation of your plan. While it is catered to the coastal region, non-coastal activities may be eligible for some listed opportunities.
Organizations developing flood resilience plans should consider approaches which align both with DCR's flood resilience plan guidance, as well as with federal resources and funding opportunities. Resources to help you understand how to align your approach to resilience planning with available funding resources include:
These portals and databases contain a variety of resources across data, planning and funding that may be useful to your organization as you develop your resilience plan:
Historic reports relevant to flood resilience planning in Virginia are archived via the dropdown menus below.
In 2023, the Commonwealth’s Chief Resilience Officer and Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources directed the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation to establish a Resilience Coordination Working Group (RCWG). Its focus was improving the flood resilience of both human and natural systems and infrastructures across the entire Commonwealth. The RCWG reported recommendations from their examination of these items to the Governor and General Assembly in 2023.
The Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Center for Public Policy (CPP) facilitated the RCWG with financial support from the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency (CCRFR).
In 2023, the Commonwealth’s Chief Resilience Officer published a biennial report to the Governor and General Assembly on the status of flood resilience in Virginia in accordance with the Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-220.5).
Read the 2023 Status of Flood Resilience Report. It is also available on the Virginia Legislative System.
During the 2024 General Assembly session, the Status of Flood Resilience Report requirements in the Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-220.5) were amended to include the status of overall resilience in the Commonwealth, including flood resilience. Beginning in July 2025, the report will include the status of actions undertaken by the Chief Resilience Officer and state agencies regarding resilience coordination and planning and all resilience funding received and distributed by the Commonwealth during the prior two years.
