Gotta love it when three of my interests—maps, insurance, and online technology—collide. Insurance Journal has passed along a Reuters report on an upcoming Google mashup against storm surge projections:
Bill Read, who was appointed head of the Miami-based U.S. forecasting center in January, said a planned program will couple a Google application with storm surge data that meteorologists have used for years to determine the flooding threat from any category of storm.
“People can plug in their address and see at what level they are at risk,” Read told Reuters in an interview.[...]
The idea to make it available to the public evolved from calls that inundate local emergency managers and weather forecast offices every time a hurricane threatens. Read said people ask what flooding will be like at their house.
Storm surge projection data is already public, if you know where to look, but seeing it mashed up against Google maps will be just so darned cool.
Now, if we could get a mashup of Google maps and FEMA flood zones, that would be an even handier tool for the public.