Hurricane season starts on 1 June each year and ends six months later on 30 November. During this long season you can expect Tropical Storms, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and Flooding.
Being properly prepared and aware of your surroundings and the potential hazards and risks is key to keeping you, your family and your business safe. There are two types of maps you should be familiar with; Floodplain Maps and the Hurricane Surge Evacuation Map.
Providence Floodplain Map
The City of Providence Floodplain Map is a flood risk map developed using FEMA's regulatory floodplain boundaries. FEMA has sole authority for developing floodplain boundaries that communities use in regulations development in the 1% Annual Chance Flood Zone, alternatively referred to as the "100 Year Floodplain". This map shows areas that are at risk of flooding and are required to purchase flood insurance and comply with the City of Providence Flood Hazard Regulations (Article IV, Section 423, City of Providence Code of Ordinances).
Areas shaded in light blue are the regulatory 1% Annual Chance Flood Zones or "100 Year Floodplains". Areas shaded in dark blue are the non-regulatory 0.2% Annual Chance Flood Zones or "500 Year Floodplains". It is important to remember that even if you home or business does not reside within one of the shaded blue areas, it does not mean you have no risk for flooding. Urban drainage and flash flooding are common in areas across the City of Providence and are not limited to the mapped floodplain areas.
If you require flood insurance visit the National Flood Insurance Program for information.
Providence Hurricane Surge Evacuation Map
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under the Hurricane Evacuation Study Program, develops information that assists Federal, State, and Local Emergency Management officials in planning for and responding to a hurricane. Under this program, the Army Corps recently (2012) updated the inundation maps for coastal areas in Rhode Island. The maps were developed using GIS software by overlaying the hurricane surge water surface elevations from Sea, Lake, and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model results on top of ground elevations from FEMA LiDAR data to show which areas would be inundated (flooded) by hurricane storm surge.
The areas shaded in blue on this map are areas that would be inundated by Hurricane Surge flooding only in the event of an overtopping of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier from a Category 4 or 5 Hurricane.
If you are in either "zone" review the designated evacuation routes for your location.