Flood iQ Expands, Adds South Carolina
Residents of SC can now search for their property and city’s flood risk
We are excited to announce the addition of South Carolina to FloodiQ.com! Users can now search their property or city’s flood risk for the state of South Carolina. This state becomes the third available on Flood iQ, joining Florida and Virginia, and currently offers flood risk information for frequent tidal floods, the highest annual high tide, and Hurricane Category 1, 3, and 5.
Flood Concerns in South Carolina
This state expansion for Flood iQ is timely, as the concern for sea level rise and flooding in South Carolina is growing. The city of Charleston already floods roughly once a week, with 6 hospitals and 5,543 residential properties in risk zones. One hospital in Charleston, Roper St. Francis, has even made plans to relocate because of multiple flood events that caused more than $500,000 of damage and months of closure. Even more daunting? The city is projected to flood every other day by 2045.
South Carolina residents are growing more aware of the risks. In a recent survey, over half of residents in the area responded that they were concerned about the impact of flooding on road access and parking around hospitals. Many residents also realize that flooding will only grow worse over time- like the group of concerned South Carolina citizens who started Groundswell, a grassroots organization created to spark action in their city, county, and state governments.
It’s not just local residents who are at the mercy of flood waters- two major army bases in South Carolina are also at risk, which impacts national military readiness. High tides and storms have the potential to impact access roads and readiness at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort.
In addition to the military and medical facilities at risk, many iconic and heavily trafficked public areas flood during high tide and summer storms. Just 4 feet of sea level rise would completely inundate the Historic City Market, and with just 2 feet of sea level rise, the historic homes just south of Colonial Lake Park would be lost to water as well.
A Tool That Can Help
It’s with this need in mind that we chose South Carolina as our next city to add data for on Flood iQ. We are excited to offer this much needed tool to help the residents of South Carolina find their flood risk. With resources like Flood iQ and SeaLevelRise.org, citizens will be better informed and equipped to take proactive steps to combat sea level rise.
The addition of this new state to our Flood iQ site comes after some exciting updates and added features, such as city data, and the customized Flood iQ Flood Risk Report. Residents of South Carolina can explore all of the new features offered on the site by clicking here to search their address or city. Annual highest high tide flood levels and Category 5 hurricanes will soon be available for users searching Florida and Virginia.
We recognize the need for this type of tool, as well as the incredible value to both individuals and elected officials, and feel that it should be accessible to all coastal residents. We will will keep adding more states to Flood iQ and hope to one day offer flood risk data to all communities at risk for flooding. Our current expansion will continue along the East Coast, then branch out to the Gulf Coast and West Coast states.
As always, we love feedback and are always trying to improve.
Comment below or email us at info@floodiq.com
