Fathom Selected To Provide Flood Data For Virginia's Statewide Flood Resilience Plan

Fathom’s data fills the gaps in publicly available flood maps to provide a comprehensive view of flood risk across the state of Virginia.

Water-risk intelligence firm Fathom has been selected to provide flood data to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) as it develops the Virginia Flood Protection Master Plan (VFPMP).

Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster in Virginia and, as sea levels rise and storm events become more intense and frequent, flood risk is expected to increase. Between 1950 and 2021, the state recorded almost $900m in flood related damages. The latest hazard mitigation plan for the Commonwealth of Virginia estimated that it can expect approximately $13M in flood damage per year from flood related events.

To build flood resilience throughout Virginia, DCR – in partnership with engineering firm Arcadis USA – is developing the VFPMP, an innovative plan to inform policies and programs that will actively reduce flood risk and mitigate the impacts of flooding.

To develop a plan informed by flood hazards and impacts, the team needs a holistic, statewide view of flood risk. However, Virginia has not previously had access to this data. Pluvial (flash) flooding data is not comprehensively included in current federal resources such as FEMA flood maps, and fluvial (river) flood models are limited, particularly in less populated areas.

Faced with incomplete and inconsistent publicly available flood data and a pressing project schedule, the VFPMP utilizes flood data from Fathom, a firm co-founded by world-leading scientists that provides comprehensive global flood data. Fathom’s US Flood Map is the first high-resolution map of the entire US covering all flood perils and climate scenarios.

Fathom provided current and future data on pluvial, fluvial and coastal flooding for the whole of Virginia to support Arcadis' flood impact assessments and plan development efforts for the VFPMP.

John Millspaugh, Arcadis Project Manager, said: “Consistent data across localities is essential for developing a meaningful statewide plan that addresses data gaps and enables comparison across regions. Fathom’s data stood out for its readiness, completeness and suitability for statewide applications.”

Matt Dalon, Virginia DCR Office of Resilience Planning Program Manager, added: “Fathom’s data offers information beyond the federally mapped regulatory floodplain. We look forward to using it in tandem with existing regulatory data to support more informed flood resilience planning.”

Peter Slater, Engineering Markets Specialist at Fathom, commented: “While national flood mapping has advanced significantly in recent years, earlier approaches were limited in scope, functionality and accuracy, restricting scientific and practical value. Fathom’s physics-based modeling and advanced computing offer a transformative view of flood risk, delivering data that is both nationally comprehensive and locally relevant. This data complements existing local engineering maps and integrates seamlessly into broader datasets, enabling a more evidence-based, holistic approach to planning. We cannot improve what we cannot measure, but high-quality data can reduce uncertainty and result in smarter decision-making.”

About Fathom
Founded in 2013, Fathom gives risk management professionals the most scientifically robust tools and intelligence to understand the climate’s impact on water risk. By publishing cutting-edge peer-reviewed academic research and applying it to real-world challenges, Fathom powers better decision-making for (re)insurance, civil engineering, corporate risk, financial markets, disaster response and government. Fathom’s dedicated team of scientists harness their passion for innovation and the environment to develop rigorous catastrophe models and comprehensive mapping and geospatial data that make a real-world difference to customers and communities worldwide.

Fathom is now (as of December 2023) part of Swiss Re, one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient.

For more information, visit www.fathom.global