Date of Award
6-26-2026
Date Published
August 2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Geography & the Environment
Advisor(s)
Jonnell Robinson
Keywords
Cartography;FEMA;Flooding
Subject Categories
Geography | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Flooding accounts for almost 90% of all natural disasters in the United States. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is the authoritative agency tasked with mapping Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) that determine high-risk flood zones. These maps, known as Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), are used to establish mandatory flood insurance requirements, regulate local floodplain building requirements, inform future development, and mitigate potential flood damage. However, the process for updating and implementing flood maps has come under significant scrutiny for being oversimplified, inaccurate, and incomplete. Despite existing scholarship on the shortfalls of FEMA’s recent responses to disasters, there is limited scholarship exploring how FEMA’s map design contributes to effectively communicating flood risk. In this research, I used discourse and content analysis to examine FEMA’s in-use documents, reports, and flood maps and conclude that inconsistent map purpose and audience lead to an overly complex map form. I also conducted a survey of professional cartographers to evaluate FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Survey results suggest that while some of the updates that FEMA has made to FIRMs during the remapping process are regarded by professional cartographers as improvements, other changes result in a map product that is overly technical for their purpose and audience. This research highlights the importance of the cartographic process and map design choices in mapping flood risk, especially in the context of FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs).
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Cabal, Michael, "Inundated with Uncertainty: A Cartographic Assessment of FEMA’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and Flood Risk Discourse" (2026). Theses - ALL. 1059.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/1059
