For GIS Day this year, I decided to focus on something that has become a huge part of my life lately which is my internship. Most people outside of GIS have no idea what flood zone mapping actually looks like, so I thought it would be interesting to walk my friends through it. Since I was not able to attend an official event, I set everything up at home and turned it into my own little GIS Day moment.
I work with the parish on FEMA flood zone mapping, and it has opened my eyes to how much responsibility goes into maintaining accurate maps. These maps are used for everything from insurance decisions to new construction, so I wanted to show the people close to me what I actually do every week. I started by opening ArcGIS Pro and pulling up the flood zone layers and FEMA panels I have been reviewing. It was kind of funny watching everyone lean in toward the screen trying to make sense of the colors and labels.
I explained how the parish uses both the older effective flood maps and the newer preliminary ones and how part of my job is reviewing panel numbers, checking the dates, and seeing which areas are changing. I talked about what each zone type means, like Zone AE, VE, and X, and how even small boundary shifts can change someone’s insurance requirements. My friends did not realize how much detail goes into FEMA flood maps or how often people rely on them without knowing it.
One thing I really wanted to highlight was how important accuracy is. Louisiana has constant flooding concerns, and the parish gets questions all the time from homeowners, builders, and real estate agents. I am usually the person who pulls the maps, checks the panels, and helps confirm the flood zone so they can make decisions. It is a lot of pressure sometimes, but it also makes me feel like the work I am doing actually matters.
As we looked through the maps, I showed them how different panels overlap, how the FIRM indexes work, and how I bring everything together in the project. They asked a ton of questions like how the zones are created, who updates them, how long the process takes, and how accurate the preliminary maps usually are. It turned into this long conversation about hurricanes, drainage, and why certain neighborhoods flood more than others.
Even though it was just at my kitchen table with some friends and a FaceTime call, it honestly felt like one of the most meaningful GIS Days I have had. I was able to talk about real work that affects real people, and it made me appreciate my internship even more. It reminded me that GIS is not just about running tools or turning layers on and off. It is about helping communities understand risk and make better decisions.
Sharing this part of my life with people who don’t work in GIS made the whole day feel special. It gave me a chance to step back and look at how much I have learned and how far I have come in the program. It also made me excited about the future and the kind of work I want to keep doing. Mapping flood zones might seem dry to some people, but to me it is one of the clearest examples of why GIS actually matters.
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