Data processing: measuring – calibrating – or testing – Measurement system in a specific environment – Earth science
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-23
2004-01-13
Barlow, John (Department: 2862)
Data processing: measuring, calibrating, or testing
Measurement system in a specific environment
Earth science
C701S200000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06678615
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present Invention generally relates to the analysis of geographic features and characteristics, and, in particular, to a system and method for performing flood zone determinations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FEMA Flood Maps
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) publishes a large set of “flood maps.” These paper maps are the official, Federally sanctioned source for determining flood risk. The flood maps delineate regions that are assigned a flood zone designation from among a limited set of possible designations.
For example, a region designated “Zone A” on a flood map is a high risk area, which FEMA believes has at least a 1 in 30 chance of flooding during any given year. A region designated “Zone V” combines the properties of a “Zone A” with the additional risk of wave action or flowing water. Other zone designations include “X,” “AE,” “B,” “C,” and “D,” see FIG.
2
. In the foregoing context, performing a “flood zone determination” (also known as a “flood hazard determination” or a “flood certification”) relative to a location entails a two-step process: (1) determining, based on FEMA flood maps and other materials, the FEMA-designated flood zone for the location in question, and, then, (2) completing required paperwork to report this determination (along with certain other required information) to interested parties, such as home buyers, their lenders, and real estate brokers.
FEMA flood maps come in a variety of styles, but broadly speaking they can be divided into two types of maps, namely, index panels or index panel maps, see
FIG. 5
, and regular panels or regular panel maps, see
FIGS. 1-4
and
7
.
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a regular panel map
10
shows a relatively small geographic area at a fairly high level of detail. Each regular panel
10
depicts various “features” of the relevant area. These features include (without limitation) streets
12
railroad tracks
14
, streambeds
16
, lakes, intersections
18
of the foregoing, and detailed delineations of the boundaries of various extant flood zones
22
(see
FIG. 2
) and their classifications.
FIG. 2
depicts a regular panel map
10
in which flood zones
22
are depicted. As is typical, the flood zones
22
are denoted or “flagged” as variously shaded regions contained within irregular curvilinear boundaries (the “rood zone boundary”). Legends or labels
30
on regular panels
10
designate the types of flood zones
22
that have been shaded. With the exception of regular panels
10
described as “not printed” (“PNP”) and panels presenting flood zone-designated communities, described in greater detail below, all flood zone determinations are made by reference to appropriate regular panel maps
10
.
Continuing to refer to
FIGS. 1 and 2
, each regular panel map
10
is bounded by a “neatline,” that is, a rectangular frame or border
32
surrounding the geographic area
33
of interest. The geographic area of interest
33
may not completely “fill” the neatline
32
, as indicated at
34
in
FIGS. 1 and 2
. For example, the actual geographic area
33
contained within the neatline
32
of a regular panel
10
might consist of (a) a portion
35
of a community and the designated flood classification of the portion and (b) unincorporated or other portions
36
which surround, are surrounded by, or abut the community, and which have no flood classification depicted on the panel
10
.
Referring to
FIG. 3
, if FEMA has designated a regular panel map
10
as being applicable to determining the flood zone classification of only a portion
35
of an incorporated community, then the regular panel
10
cannot be used to determine the flood classification of any depicted unincorporated areas
38
. According to FEMA protocol, the foregoing obtains whether or not flood zones for the unincorporated area are shown on the regular panel
10
. Indeed, a FEMA panel map
10
often does not show flood zones for areas outside of the designated region for the map
10
(the designated region
35
is a portion of the community in this example). Sometimes the area outside of the designated area is just shown as a blank area on the panel, as at
38
. Regardless of how much or how little detail is shown, by convention, a flood determination can be made using a panel
10
only in the region designated by FEMA.
The “inset”
44
of a panel
10
is any geographic region that is both shown on the panel
10
and as to which FEMA mandates the application of the flood zone designations set forth on the panel
10
. A panel inset
44
may be self-connected (connected with all parts of itself) as in
FIGS. 1-3
, or, as shown in
FIG. 4
, it may comprise two or more self-connected regions
46
,
48
separated by one or more intervening, non-designated areas
60
on the panel
10
and may include other non-designated areas, such as those shown at
52
and
54
. The inset
44
of a panel map
10
may comprise a collection of disjoint, self-connected regions
46
,
48
which collectively contain all of the designated area of the panel
10
, and themselves constitute a subset of the geographic region contained within the neatines
32
.
Thus, from the foregoing, an actual map panel
10
consists in general, of three parts: (1) the inset(s)
44
, (2) other (non-designated) geographic regions
34
,
36
,
38
,
50
,
52
,
54
within the neatlines
32
, which are not included within the inset(s)
44
, and (3) areas of the panel which are outside of the neatlines
32
, and generally show various types of textual information such as a map legend, the map panel number, and panel effective date, etc. It is true that, In the ideal case, an inset
44
should include only designated regions of the panel
10
, but as a practical matter it is sometimes convenient to include some non-designated areas within the insets, so as to simplify the process of gathering inset border data.
Referring to
FIG. 5
, an Index panel map
60
shows a considerably broader area than a regular panel
10
, but at a lesser degree of detail, and usually without the flood zones being indicated thereon. Typically, an index panel
60
shows a broad geographic view of the locations of the various regular panels
10
that make up an entire community, or other large geographic area. It should be noted that, while FEMA “defines” communities, these FEMA defined communities often do not correspond to one's intuitive sense of what a community is.
The index panel
60
, generally depicted in
FIG. 5
, provides its broader, less detailed overview by displaying an “outlines” of regular panels
10
, that is, the neatline boundaries
32
of each of its regular panels
10
against a background of major geographic features (e.g. municipal boundaries, highways, lakes, etc.). The outlines of the regular panels
10
bear legends or labels informing of the corresponding designation of its regular map panel
10
, as represented by “XX,” “YY” and “ZZ” in FIG.
4
. The designations “XX,” etc. are set forth on the panels
10
outside the neatlines
32
. Index maps
60
, in effect, show how to “put together” the panel map
10
“jigsaw”, that is, how to associate panel maps
10
with each other to form a grid thereof, grid lines
62
thereof being comprised of the aligned and/or overlapping neatlines
32
of adjacent panels
10
.
Until the advent of the present invention, the primary purpose of the index maps
60
has been their use as an aid in manually determining which of the panel maps
10
should be consulted in order to make a flood zone determination. For example, if a property is known to be located in Community A, then a map analyst might first locate the property on the Community A index map
60
. The analyst could immediately determine—by examining the neatline borders
32
,
62
and the labels “XX,” “YY” “ZZ” displayed on the index map
60
—which regular panel map
10
to consult. Since there are hundreds of panel maps
10
in the index map
60
of various communities, identification of a particular panel map
10
by examining an index map
60
can be effected more quickly
Higgins Darin Wayne
Howard John Willard
Scott Dan Martin
Barlow John
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
SourceProse Corporation
Taylor Victor J.
LandOfFree
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