The Adapting to Rising Tides program has developed this website to help Bay Area communities prepare for the impacts of current and future flooding due to sea level rise and storm surges by learning about causes of flooding, exploring maps of flood risk along our shoreline, and downloading the data for further analysis. These maps increase understanding of what could be at risk without future planning and adaptation, helping Bay communities, governments, and businesses to drive action.The Flood Explorer and associated flood maps are intended to be used as a planning guide to understand where our shoreline is at risk from current and future flooding from sea level rise and storms.The maps support adaptation planning by:Showing low points along the shoreline that can lead to inland flooding, enabling resources to be directed to areas that pose the greatest risk.Presenting flooding as a “Total Water Level” above mean higher high water (MHHW), which represents various combinations of storm-surge and sea level rise. In using this approach, the Flood Explorer communicates that some areas will be temporarily flooded before they are permanently inundated and therefore, supports development of early-, mid-, and long-, term thresholds for action.Providing high quality spatial information to support planning given that these high-resolution maps were carefully reviewed by local stakeholders.It is important to note that while the maps depict flooding that would result if water levels were higher, the shoreline is shown as it appears today. Thus, the maps represent flooding that would occur absent any preparatory action or shoreline changes. Additionally, users should note that while the maps represent areas that could be at risk of flooding in the absence of adaptation action, there are numerous adaptation planning efforts occurring at many scales all around the Bay Area. These maps are meant to help inform those efforts and reduce the risks associated with sea level rise.You can read more about mapping methodologies and analysis in the technical methods report.
