![]() ![]() Looking ahead, Johnson said there will likely be numerous uses for the project’s findings during other floods that will hit the Bluegrass State down the road: “We could use the data to calibrate our flood models, verify our flood hazard maps and develop new evacuation routes. “We can use these data to calculate an estimated flood depth, which is one of the most important things for us to know and understand during a flood.” The reason flood depth is so critical, Johnson explained, is that they use it to estimate the amount of damage to specific structures. “During floods, we need information on flooding extent,” Johnson said. “Our partners can use the maps and analysis to determine the most effective and efficient transportation systems to take when responding to a flood, potentially reducing response times across the region and allowing more targeted flood warning messages,” Cook said.įor Johnson, at the Kentucky Division of Water, this new information will be extremely valuable in future flooding events. Credit: NASA DEVELOPĬook says that in addition to flood risk maps, the team provided local and federal officials a detailed look at what infrastructure would likely be impacted in subsequent Ohio Valley floods. The Ohio River Valley floodplain is the region on the Kentucky side of the river where the Ohio River has historically flooded and deposited sand, gravel, and. Green are locations with a high risk of damage from flooding blue is low risk. ![]() During the 2018 flooding in particular, the team discovered that 667 miles (1,073 kilometers) of major roadways in the Ohio Valley were impassable and 16% of all hospitals within the study area were inaccessible.Ī flood risk map for the lower Ohio River Valley looks at the combination of a community’s flood threat and socioeconomic vulnerability. “The team found that smaller suburban areas outside of major cities along the Ohio Valley – such as Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky – were at the highest flood risk and also contained the most inaccessible transportation routes,” said NASA's Kane Cook, the DEVELOP team lead. –Carey Johnson, Kentucky Division of Water The river has a reasonably consistent flow and is navigable the entire length of its course. Since colonization, the Ohio River has served as a vital transportation corridor. “We can use to calculate an estimated flood depth, which is one of the most important things for us to know and understand during a flood.” The river rapidly loses depth from Louisville, with an approximate depth of 20 ft (6.1 m) due to the free-flowing river. For well information this can be a district-assigned local number. Site name This is the official name of the site in the database. The team then compared that environmental data to socioeconomic and population data, as well as road networks and infrastructure information, to create flood risk maps for communities along the river. Site identification number Each site in the USGS data base has a unique 8- to 15-digit identification number. They tapped into satellite imagery of precipitation, flood-water extent, local elevation and topography from 2015 to the severe flooding of 2018. Partnering with the Kentucky Division of Water, the National Weather Service’s Ohio River Forecast Center, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA), the NASA team looked at three years of Ohio Valley floods. “Different states that manage that program can ratchet down and be more vigilant with the permits that they issue to industries so that less pollution and less waste is flowing into the river,” said Rich Cogen, Ohio River Foundation executive director.Įnvironmental experts also suggest that anyone who lives near the river use less fertilizer to reduce stormwater runoff. They’re also asking people to write letters to legislators to have them push for laws that would help improve the quality of the river’s water.Ohio River flooding in downtown Louisville, February 2018. Where Ohio joins the Mississippi is the lowest elevation in the state of Illinois, at 315 feet (96 m) The Ohio River flows. ![]() They said that affects water habitats and may eventually impact the water we drink. That’s why they say it’s important that the 14 states in the Ohio River Watershed should enforce more rules under the Clean Water Act. The Ohio River is 981 miles (1582 km) long, starting at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and ending in Cairo, Illinois, where it flows into the Mississippi River. CINCINNATI - The Ohio River, which is the water source for more than five million Ohioans, has been deemed one of the most endangered rivers. And that’s why environmentalists say it’s important to work toward a solution.Įxperts from the Ohio River Foundation said the Ohio River receives nearly 40 million pounds of toxins every year. The Ohio River is 981 miles (1582 km) long, starting at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and ending in. ![]()
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