How Baton Rouge-area homes might fare in hurricane's storm surge shown in new interactive map

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_0cd8a9dc-ea30-11e6-a090-0bced60a87ed.html?sr_source=lift_amplify

In Louisiana, even inland areas such as Baton Rouge are vulnerable to coastal flooding from storm surges.

Researchers modeled hundreds of thousands of storms and found that the risk for flooding around Baton Rouge shoots up precipitously from the worst-case Category 2 storm and the most destructive Category 3 storm. Storm surges are caused when a storm system pushes water from the sea onto land and are measure based on peak conditions.

The latest maps show that coastal flooding from a Category 3 hurricane nearing the coastline could push water over much of Baton Rouge that lies between Highland Road and the Mississippi River, depending on the storm's track and conditions at the time.

It could also cause Ward Creek to overrun and the Amite River to overflow, especially south of Interstate 12. Even hurricanes of a lower category could inundate large parts of the River Parishes and southern Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes, the documents reveal.

"These maps make it clear that storm surge is not just a beachfront problem, with the risk of storm surge extending many miles inland from the immediate coastline in some areas," states the disclaimer on the National Storm Surge Hazard Maps.

Interactive map (link below)

http://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=d9ed7904dbec441a9c4dd7b277935fad&entry=1