FEMA’s new Risk MAP Guidelines provide Geographic Planners Ability to Integrate Lower Cost Intermap Elevation Data in Risk MAP Updates

News Releases

17 Nov, 2010

Intermap’s interferometric synthetic aperture radar (IFSAR)-derived elevation data can now be considered  for low and medium risk specification levels within watersheds for large portions of the U.S. according to FEMA’s new standards for Lidar and other high-quality digital topography

November 17, 2010 – DENVER – Intermap Technologies, a worldwide 3D digital mapping and geospatial solutions company, today announced its NEXTMap USA IFSAR-derived digital elevation dataset is a potential source of data to satisfy the recently released FEMA guidelines for accuracy and density for low and medium risk specification levels within watersheds. NEXTMap USA data, which provides coverage for the contiguous United States and Hawaii, is available immediately and is less expensive than many higher-accuracy datasets on the market.

“This update to the FEMA guidelines is great news for Intermap and geographic planners across the country. With our cost-efficient NEXTMap® USA dataset being thoroughly compatible with, and complementary to, Lidar-derived data, planners have more options than ever before to broaden their elevation data coverage for updating risk maps,” said Rick Eagle, Intermap’s senior vice president of products. “For areas where Lidar data is limited, we offer a proprietary data fusion process that merges existing Lidar and other high quality topographic data with our IFSAR-generated data; thus, creating a seamless transition between the two datasets and providing tremendous value to state agencies and tax payers.” 

NEXTMap USA’s high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM) is hydro-enforced, with elevation points removed from the tops of bridges, culverts, and other selected drainage structures – perfectly suited for many Risk MAP updates throughout the country. Additionally, the metadata within the NEXTMap USA DTM is fully compliant with Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) standards and is easily incorporated into FEMA’s Mapping Information Platform (MIP) via a simple documented process provided by Intermap. Furthermore, the Company’s production, quality assurance, and quality control processes are certified according to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 standards.

Join an upcoming Intermap webinar covering this topic on December 7, 2010 at 9 am PST by registering at: https://intermap.webex.com/intermap/onstage/g.php?d=339294867&t=a

Information on FEMA’s new guidelines contained in Procedure Memorandum No. 61 can be found by visiting: http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=4345 

About Intermap Technologies

Intermap (TSX: IMP.TO) is a preeminent digital mapping and geospatial solutions provider that has set the industry standard for creating uniform high-resolution 3D digital models of the earth’s surface. The Company has proactively remapped entire countries and built uniform national databases, called NEXTMap®, consisting of affordably priced elevation data and geometric images of unprecedented accuracy. Demand for NEXTMap data and the Company’s contract mapping services is growing as commercial applications emerge within the GIS, federal & civil government, national mapping, defense and intelligence, automotive, insurance risk assessment, wireless telecommunications, and cloud-based web services markets. 

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap has offices in Australia, Calgary, Detroit, Jakarta, London, Munich, Prague, and Washington D.C. 

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For more information, please contact: 

Intermap Technologies
Kevin Thomas, Vice President, Marketing
kthomas@intermap.com 
(303) 708-0955