I just learned that the National Flood Hazard Layer in Google Earth can be used for official floodplain determinations. Has anyone figured out how to produce a printout of the imagery displayed on GE in a manner that makes the printed version of the map just as authoritative... something similar to a FIRMette? I work for a city and get calls from time to time from people asking me if their house is in the floodplain. I can answer their question on the phone after checking Google Earth, but they usually want a document that they can take to their lender or insurance company as evidence of their status. The paper version of the FIRM for our city lacks the resolution to make parcel level determinations. The online FIRMs available on the FEMA site also lack good resolution and the imagery is dated. The attached file shows the difference.
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Producing FIRMette from Google Earth 3
- Thread starter SLOCivil
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I think you may need the Pro version of GE to print. I haven't successfully printed from GE to date. Perhaps a screenshot would suffice?
An alternative might be to use ArcGIS Explorer or some open source GIS software. You would have to order shapefiles of the floodplain data from FEMA which is only 5 or 10 dollars (or maybe your county or city floodplain admin could give them to you). There are several free servers that have aerial images, so all you would need would be GIS parcel data.
Good luck!
An alternative might be to use ArcGIS Explorer or some open source GIS software. You would have to order shapefiles of the floodplain data from FEMA which is only 5 or 10 dollars (or maybe your county or city floodplain admin could give them to you). There are several free servers that have aerial images, so all you would need would be GIS parcel data.
Good luck!
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Good idea about doing it outside of GE. That is probably the best was to go, since the GIS program would allow you to set a scale, layout template, etc. I'm not real handy with GIS, though, which is why I was hoping someone had figured out a way to do it with GE.
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if the City of SLO is the floodplain manager, then even a screenshot that you hand them should be acceptable, assuming it is accompanied by suitable documentation such as an attached letter stating that you produced it for them. You could easily take a screenshot, paste it into a template in Word with your letterhead and print an official document for them
I'd go with cvg's answer.
Alt-Prtsc in GE, ctrl-v in Word, print, sign.
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -
Alt-Prtsc in GE, ctrl-v in Word, print, sign.
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -
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I think the cut and paste idea looks pretty good. To get the screen shot at the right scale, I added a 1000' line to the top of the map in GE, took the screenshot, pasted it into MS Publisher, adjusted the image size so that the line is scaled correctly, then cropped out the line. I have attached the final result. Thanks for the ideas.
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Make sure you closely read the Google Earth user agreement. You might be breaking the law by distributing the Google Earth images. I believe even with the professional Google Earth, you still need to maintain the Google copy right stamp on the image for legal distribution.
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Drew08... you bring up an interesting point. The City of Morro Bay owns the rights to the imagery that Google Earth uses for our city (Morro Bay contracted for the air photo and Google purchased that same imagery from the same supplier... I'm sure it cost us much more than it cost Google!). The NFHL layer is public domain. So what does Google Earth really own here? That said, I will put this to our attorney and see if we need to buy the Pro version and keep their stamp on the image. I'll probably end up producing the same image in a simple GIS package that I can purchase for a lot less than the Pro subscription!
Your not buying the content, your buying the use of the content distribution system for profit. A lot of Google Earth imagey is USDA NAIP, free for use from many public sources, but same rules apply to its use within Google Earth. You might be ok using for non-for-profit use, but my point is simply to make sure.
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Drew08... Rather than deal with Google Earth use agreements, I went ahead and created the same map with the free MapWindow GIS program. It wasn't as hard as I thought and not only provides a better product, but I discovered that the NFHL layer in GE doesn't map all of the Zone X areas in our community. The attached shows the correct map (everything that is not AE is X)
If you are dealing with an insurance company or bank dealing with an official determination, the FIRM panal is the legal source of the data. The GE information is not certified. I would use the GE info as general information, but if someone is trying to get a mortgage, they need a FIRMette.
Robert Billings
Robert Billings
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Robert,
That is what I had thought, too. But several years ago FEMA gave their blessing to locally produced GIS maps using FEMA produced flood hazard layers. That is why I was asking the original question: How do you locally produce a map that has the same credibility and legal standing as a FIRMette? I am certain that what I produced meets the requirements of the attached memo. If a homeowner's insurance agent or bank does not accept this, I would suggest he find another insurance agent.
That is what I had thought, too. But several years ago FEMA gave their blessing to locally produced GIS maps using FEMA produced flood hazard layers. That is why I was asking the original question: How do you locally produce a map that has the same credibility and legal standing as a FIRMette? I am certain that what I produced meets the requirements of the attached memo. If a homeowner's insurance agent or bank does not accept this, I would suggest he find another insurance agent.
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