Exploring FEMA's 2015 Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (PFIRM) for NYC using Python

Author: Mark Bauer

1. Introduction

FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps delineate areas at high risk of flooding and are used to determine flood insurance rates and requirements, and where floodplain development regulations apply. This project demonstrates how to analyze FEMA's 2015 Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (i.e. PFIRM) for New York City using Python.

To learn more about Flood Insurane Rate Maps (FIRMs), please visit FEMA's Region 2 Coastal Analysis and Mapping website. Additionally, to view FIRMs and other flood hazards in New York City, check out the NYC Flood Hazard Mapper.

Note: Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps do not immediately affect flood insurance rates and the requirement to purchase Federal flood insurance in high risk flood areas. Only the effective FIRM can be used to rate flood insurance policies or require the purchase of flood insurance. For more information, visit Region 2 Coastal Analysis and Mapping FAQs.

2. Notebook

• The exploratory data analysis is located in the exploratory-analysis.ipynb notebook.
• To download the data, please see the download-data.ipynb notebook.

3. Data

The 2015 Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Map (PFIRM) source data was downloaded from FEMA's Region 2 Coastal Analysis and Mapping data page.

4. Say Hello!

Feel free to reach out.

• LinkedIn: markebauer
• Portfolio: mebauer.github.io
• GitHub: mebauer