Normalized and animated inundation maps

• US 6,947,842 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2003
• Issued: 09/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: User-Centric IP, L.P. (Locator IP LP)
• Original Assignee: User-Centric Enterprises, Inc.
• Inventors: Long, Mark David, Smith, Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gutierrez, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US10/336,781
• Publication Number:
  US 20040133530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 988 Days
• Field of Search: 702/3, 702/16, 702/2, 702/5
• US Class Current: 702/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 2203/00 Application of thermometers in cryogenics
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/10 Devices for predicting weather conditions computers per se G06; display devices G09
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 10/40 Controlling or monitoring, e.g. of flood or hurricane; Forecasting, e.g. risk assessment or mapping

Abstract

Methods and systems for normalizing flood warnings and potential flood levels across multiple river gauges by converting localized flood stage levels to a datum-based normalized value are disclosed. The normalized flood levels can then be used to plot flood levels from multiple river gauges on an inundation map. Methods and systems are also disclosed for creating animated inundation maps that illustrate flood levels geographically, and may include an indication of the certainty that flooding will reach one or more of the indicated flood levels through the use of multiple colors, shades, dithering, or the like.

Claims

1. A computer-assisted method for creating an inundation map, comprising:

(a) receiving a flood forecast comprising a localized flood level for each of a plurality of river gauges; and

(b) determining a normalized flood level for each received localized flood level based on the river gauge to which each localized flood level corresponds.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(c) plotting the normalized flood levels on a map.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein (a)-(c) are performed in real time as a flood causing event is occurring.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each normalized flood level is expressed as an elevation above sea level.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein (b) comprises, for each received localized flood level:

i. determining a datum value of the river gauge to which the localized flood level corresponds, wherein the datum value represents an elevation above sea-level of a base value of the river gauge; and

ii. adding the received localized flood level to the datum value.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising plotting the normalized flood levels on a map by illustrating on the map a basin filled to an elevation of a normalized flood level determined in (b).

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the flood forecast comprises a plurality of localized flood levels for each of the plurality of river gauges, and further comprising:

(d) repeating the determining step for the plurality of localized flood levels for each of the plurality of river gauges,

wherein plotting comprises illustrating in a first frame of an animation a basin filled to a first elevation determined in (b) based on a first localized flood level for each of the plurality of river gauges, and illustrating in a second frame of the animation the basin filled to a second elevation determined in (b) based on a second localized flood level for each of the plurality of river gauges.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein in the second frame of the animation, a first filled in portion is illustrated in a first color, and a second filled in portion is illustrated in a second color, wherein the first portion corresponds to the filled in portion of the first frame of the animation, and the second portion corresponds to the filled in portion beyond that which is filled in the first frame of the animation.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the second color is lighter than the first color.

10. A computer readable medium storing a data structure, comprising:

a first data portion representing a first frame of an animated inundation map, wherein the first frame illustrates a geographic basin filled in to a first predetermined elevation based on flood warning information; and

a second data portion representing a second frame of the animated inundation map, wherein the second frame illustrates the geographic basin filled in to a second predetermined elevation based on the flood warning information,

wherein the flood warning information comprises a flood stage level for each of a plurality of river gauges, and wherein the flood stage level for each of the plurality of river gauges has been normalized.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein in the second data portion, a first filled in portion is illustrated in a first color, and a second filled in portion is illustrated in a second color, wherein the first filled in portion corresponds to the filled in portion of the first frame of the animation, and the second filled in portion corresponds to the portion filled beyond that which is filled in the first frame of the animation.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the second color indicates a lower threat level than the first color.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 10, further comprising a third data portion of one or more animation frames illustrating the geographic basin gradually filled in from the first predetermined elevation to the second predetermined elevation.

14. A computer readable medium storing computer executable instructions that, when executed, perform a method for creating an inundation map, comprising:

(a) receiving a flood forecast comprising a localized flood level for each of a plurality of river gauges;

(b) determining a normalized flood level for each received localized flood level based on the river gauge to which each localized flood level corresponds.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the computer executable instructions further comprise:

(c) plotting the normalized flood levels on a map.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the flood forecast comprises a plurality of localized flood levels for each of the plurality of river gauges, and wherein the computer readable instructions further comprise:

(d) repeating the determining step for the plurality of localized flood levels for each of the plurality of river gauges, and

wherein plotting comprises illustrating in a first frame of an animation a basin filled to a first elevation determined in (b) based on a first normalized flood level for each of the plurality of river gauges, and illustrating in a second frame of the animation the basin filled to a second elevation determined in (b) based on a second normalized flood level for each of the plurality of river gauges.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein in the second frame of the animation, a first filled in portion is illustrated in a first color, and a second filled in portion is illustrated in a second color, wherein the first portion corresponds to the filled in portion of the first frame of the animation, and the second portion corresponds to the filled in portion beyond that which is filled in the first frame of the animation.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein each normalized flood level is expressed as an elevation above sea level.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein (b) comprises, for each received localized flood level:

i. determining a datum value of the river gauge to which the localized flood level corresponds, wherein the datum value represents an elevation above sea-level of a base value of the river gauge; and

ii. adding the received localized flood level to the datum value.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising plotting the normalized flood levels on a map by illustrating on the map a basin filled to an elevation of a normalized flood level determined in (b).

21. A method for creating an animated inundation map, comprising:

(a) receiving a flood forecast comprising a plurality of localized flood levels for each of a plurality of river gauges;

(b) determining a normalized sea-level elevation flood level corresponding to each received localized flood level by determining a datum value of the river gauge to which the each localized flood level corresponds, wherein the datum value represents an elevation above sea-level of a base value of the river gauge, and adding each localized flood level to the datum value of the river gauge to which each localized flood level corresponds; and

(c) plotting the normalized flood levels by illustrating in a first frame of an animation a geographic map of a flood basin filled to a first normalized flood level determined in (b) based on a first localized flood level for each of the plurality of river gauges, and illustrating in a second frame of the animation the basin filled to a second normalized flood level determined in (b) based on a second localized flood level for each of the plurality of river gauges,

wherein in the second frame of the animation, a first filled in portion is illustrated in a first color, and a second filled in portion is illustrated in a second color, wherein the first filled in portion corresponds to the filled in portion of the first frame of the animation, and the second portion corresponds to the filled in portion of the second frame of the animation beyond that which is filled in the first frame of the animation.