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The following are selected projects and developed tools from recent years, focusing on flood risk assessment and resilience.
West Virginia Flood Resiliency Framework (WVFRF)
The WVFRF is a publicly accessible, statewide platform providing flood risk assessment, visualization, planning, and training tools to support community flood resilience in West Virginia. Developed collaboratively with civic partners and academic researchers, the framework integrates localized analytics, mapped flood exposure, and cumulative risk indicators to support risk planning and mitigation prioritization.
Funded by the National Science Foundation CIVIC Innovation Challenge.
Link: https://wvfrf.org/
Role: Project Coordinator at WVGISTC; Risk Analyst; System Designer
West Virginia Risk Explorer (WVRE)
Developed as a core component of the WV Flood Resiliency Framework, the West Virginia Risk Explorer (WVRE) is a suite of localized flood risk assessment and visualization tools designed to support community-level decision-making in West Virginia. The platform enables users to assess flood risk at multiple geographic scales, visualize disaster scenarios, and evaluate mitigation strategies. The WVRE includes four tool groups: Risk Assessment (interactive maps, reports, dashboards, & building-level tools), Risk Communication (visualizations), Mitigation Assessment (dashboards), and Hazard Library.
Funded by the National Science Foundation CIVIC Innovation Challenge.
Link: https://www.wvfrf.org/wvre/
Role: Project Coordinator; Risk Analyst; System Designer; Graphic Designer
West Virginia Flood Tool
The West Virginia Flood Tool provides floodplain managers, planners, insurance professionals, developers, real estate agents, and the public with building- and parcel-scale flood risk information to support informed decision-making. The tool delivers detailed analyses of flood exposure and mitigation measures for all primary structures in the statewide high-risk 100-year (1%-annual-chance) floodplain.
Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, Region 3).
Link: https://www.mapwv.gov/flood/
Role: Risk Analyst; GIS Specialist; Team Supervisor
West Virginia Hazard Library
The West Virginia Hazard Library is an online repository of flood-related data, documents, and media for West Virginia. It enables users to search and access hazard information to support risk assessment, planning, and communication. The library supports practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers by centralizing comprehensive flood hazard information in an accessible, searchable format.
Funded by the National Science Foundation CIVIC Innovation Challenge.
Link: https://www.wvfrf.org/library/
Role: System Designer; Data Analyst
West Virginia Flood Risk Index
The West Virginia Flood Risk Index integrates hazard, exposure, and social vulnerability data to identify geographic areas most at risk from riverine flooding. Developed across seven spatial scales, the index combines indicators related to: floodplain characteristics, building exposure, building characteristics, critical infrastructure, community assets, damage estimates, and social variables.
Funded by the National Science Foundation CIVIC Innovation Challenge.
Link: https://data.wvgis.wvu.edu/pub/RA/RI/WVRE/DOCS/WVRE_TechnicalDoc.pdf
Role: Project Coordinator; Model Developer; Data Analyst; GIS Specialist
West Virginia Social Vulnerability Index (WVSVI)
The WVSVI, based on eight indicators, was developed as a localized measure to quantify social vulnerability to disasters across five geographic scales in the state. It combines economic indicators (Poverty Rate and Unemployment Rate), population characteristics (Vulnerable Ages Rate, Disability Rate, Population without a High School Diploma, Population Change), and housing indicators (Median Housing Unit Value, and Percentage of Mobile Homes in Housing Units).
Funded by the National Science Foundation CIVIC Innovation Challenge.
Role: Project Coordinator; Data Analyst; Index Developer
Significant Structures in Floodplain Inventory
This project inventories all essential facilities in West Virginia, including police and fire stations, E-911 centers, hospitals, nursing homes, and schools, that fall within high-risk (100-year) or moderate-risk (500-year) floodplains. It also maps non-historical community assets in the high-risk (100-year) floodplain, such as religious institutions, post-secondary schools, EMS facilities, government buildings, utilities, and some other significant buildings that contribute to the community's built environment. Historical assets in the 100-year floodplain are included as well, covering buildings in national register areas or structures in registered historic districts constructed before 1930. These frequently updated datasets are reflected on the West Virginia Flood Tool and the Building-Level Significant Structures tool.
Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, Region 3).
Role: Project Manager; Data Analyst; GIS Specialist
Riverine Flood Risk Assessment of Six Communities in South Central WV
This study investigated the detailed riverine flood risk assessment for six West Virginia communities: Camden-on-Gauley in Webster County, Clendenin in Kanawha County, Marlinton in Pocahontas County, Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier County, and Richwood in Nicholas County. These communities were selected for in-depth analysis because they were significantly affected by the 2016 or 1985 floods in West Virginia.
Funded by the National Science Foundation CIVIC Innovation Challenge.
Role: Project Manager; Risk Analyst; GIS Specialist
Flood Model Study of Greenbrier County, WV
The goal of this research project was to document lessons learned from the 2016 flood in Greenbrier County to identify gaps in organizational capacity, cross-organizational coordination, and flood-risk knowledge that need to be addressed for more comprehensive flood response and long-term flood recovery in West Virginia. The project also included specific risk assessment analyses for Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs, two municipalities in Greenbrier County heavily impacted by the 2016 disaster.
Funded by the National Science Foundation CIVIC Innovation Challenge.
Role: Risk Analyst; GIS Specialist
Regional Risk Assessment Studies
These studies investigated flood exposure, essential facilities, and community assets located within floodplains across 11 Planning and Development Council regions in West Virginia. The analyses were aimed at supporting regional planning efforts by identifying high-risk areas and critical assets vulnerable to flooding. Findings were documented in three region-specific risk reports for each region.
Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, Region 3).
Role: Project Manager; Risk Analyst
Flood Human Exposure, Population Displacement, and Shelter Needs in West Virginia
This project develops complementary models for FEMA’s Hazus Flood Loss Estimation Program to estimate population exposure within 100-year floodplains, flood-related displacement, and short-term shelter needs. The methodology improves upon existing models by estimating exposure and displacement based on residents of flood-prone buildings and includes updates to FEMA’s shelter needs calculation approach.
Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, Region 3).
Role: Model Developer; Data Analyst; GIS Specialist
Open Space Preservation (OSP) Analysis
This project applied a selection of flood mitigation activities described in the coordinator’s manual for the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System (CRS), published by FEMA in 2017, to assess achievable credits for incorporated and unincorporated communities across West Virginia. The analysis included CRS calculations for Open Space Preservation (OSP), Deed Restrictions (DR), Natural Functions Open Space (NFOS), Freeboard (FRB), and Acquisition and Relocation (AR).
Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, Region 3).
Role: Model Developer; Data Analyst; GIS Specialist
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