Assessing Flood Inundation Mapping with the Use of a DEM and GIS along the Missouri River at Sioux City, Iowa

There are various methods that are used to predict flood inundation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided inundation maps for the 2011 Missouri River flood event that did not utilized aerial photo imagery. This study assesses the suitability of using a digital elevation model (DEM) in combination with aerial photo imagery within a geographic information system to predict flood inundation mapping along the Missouri River in Sioux City, Iowa. GPS data was collected during the height of this flood event in order to validate the positional accuracy of the DEM. Using the GPS receiver’s accuracy standards to determine the suitability of the DEM and GIS for inundation mapping, it was concluded that the DEM and GIS could be used for small scale site-specific management of flooding in Sioux City, Iowa more effectively than the basic USACE inundation map