Cape Fear Research Articles

Landscape Pollution Source Dynamics Highlight Priority Locations for Basin‐Scale Interventions to Protect Water Quality Under Hydroclimatic Variability

AbstractExtreme weather is associated with a variety of water quality issues that can pose harm to humans and aquatic ecosystems. Under dry conditions, contaminants become concentrated in streams with a greater potential for harmful algal blooms, while wet conditions can cause flooding and broadcast pollution. Developing interventions to improve water quality in a changing climate requires a better understanding of how hydroclimatic variability affects watershed processes, and which places are most vulnerable. We developed a Soil and Water Assessment Tool model of the Cape Fear River Basin (CFRB) in North Carolina, USA, representing contemporary land use, point and non‐point sources, and weather conditions from 1979 to 2019. The CFRB is a large, complex river basin undergoing urbanization and agricultural intensification, with a history of droughts and floods. To identify intervention priorities, we developed a Water Quality Risk Index (WQRI) using the average and variability of contaminant loads across dry, normal and wet conditions. The landscape generally contributed the majority of pollutants (e.g., via erosion, fertilizer and manure applications), including 90.1% of sediment, 83.2% of total nitrogen, and 52.4% of total phosphorus at the City of Wilmington's drinking water intake, yet point sources were influential during dry periods. Approximately 16% of the watershed contributed most of the pollutants across conditions—these represent priority locations for interventions such as restoration, urban, or agricultural best management practices. The WQRI approach considering risks to water quality across conditions can help identify locations where interventions are more likely to improve water quality under climate change.

Benefits from recreational catch improvements may hinge on fish consumption safety: Evidence from the Cape Fear River, North Carolina

Stock declines in the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina have prompted management actions to improve the ability of migratory fish species to reach suitable spawning habitat. Understanding the benefits of improvements to migratory fish passage will help policy makers make informed decisions regarding potential net gains from modifying existing locks and dams that inhibit upstream access by migratory species. A survey of licenced recreational anglers employing stated preference valuation methods was used to assess angler preferences and willingness to pay for improvements in fishing quality. Results from a contingent valuation exercise suggest that efforts to improve fish passage will generate economic benefits, with a majority of anglers willing to donate to a fund dedicated to improving the ability of migratory fish species to reach spawning habitat. Lower bound estimates of average willingness to donate range from approximately US $18.00 to US $21.00 per year, illustrating a viable source of revenue from donations by licenced anglers. Results from a discrete choice experiment suggest that recreational anglers have strong preferences for avoiding fish consumption advisories and catching more fish and are willing to incur higher travel costs for higher quality fishing trips, providing more evidence of benefits to recreational anglers from improving fish passage. However, anglers’ strong aversion to fish consumption advisories suggests that the economic benefits of improved catch quality will be significantly diminished if fish are not considered safe to eat.

Good Grief: Sorrow, Screams, and Silence in the Contemporary Horror Film

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Original emphasis on “voice” and “through the wound” removed for clarity.2 For example, Vivian Sobchack considers the symbolic role of the family in films of the later twentieth century to unite the genres of melodrama, science fiction, and horror. See Sobchack (2021 Sobchack. 2021. “Bringing It All Back Home: Family Economy and Generic Exchange.” In The Dread of Difference. 2nd ed., 171–191. Edited by Barry Keith Grant. New York: University of Texas Press. [Google Scholar]). Constanza del Río Álvaro similarly considers how Scorsese’s Cape Fear (1991) stands out from other films in the psycho-thriller genre by intertwining the generic conventions of melodrama, horror, and fantasy. See Álvaro (2004 Álvaro, Río. 2004. “Genre and Fantasy: Melodrama, Horror, and the Gothic in Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear (1991).” Atlantis 26 (1): 61–71. [Google Scholar]).

Pressure‐Reducing Valves Protect 14‐Mile Raw Water Transmission Main

In 2015, three North Carolina water utilities—Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA), Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority (LCFWASA), and Brunswick County—prepared a raw water supply analysis that found raw water demands in southeastern North Carolina would increase by 190% in the next four decades. Driven by population growth, the projections also indicated that the supply capacity of LCFWASA's Kings Bluff Raw Water Facilities, which serves local governments and industry across five counties, would most likely be surpassed by 2025.

Pilot-scale biofiltration of 1,4-dioxane at drinking water-relevant concentrations

1,4-Dioxane is a drinking water contaminant of emerging concern. Because conventional and many advanced drinking water treatment technologies are ineffective for 1,4-dioxane removal, cost-effective technologies for the removal of 1,4-dioxane at drinking water-relevant concentrations are needed. In this research, a gravity-fed, cometabolic biofiltration system was developed to degrade 1,4-dioxane that was spiked into coagulated, settled surface water at a concentration of ∼10 µg/L. Objectives were to determine whether cometabolic degradation of trace levels of 1,4-dioxane can be sustained using n-butane as primary substrate and whether filter media properties and empty bed contact time (EBCT) affect biofiltration efficiency. A mixed culture of bacteria derived from the Cape Fear River basin and previously enriched using isobutane served as inoculum for biologically active filters. Two granular activated carbons (GACs) with different grain sizes and one carbonaceous resin were used as attachment media, and n-butane served as the primary substrate for biologically active filters. Non-inoculated controls with the same media were evaluated in parallel to distinguish between biological and adsorptive removals of 1,4-dioxane. For the duration of the pilot study (>3 months), 1,4-dioxane was degraded in inoculated biofilters receiving n-butane. In control filters containing larger and smaller grain GAC, 1,4-dioxane broke through completely within 750 and 1250 bed volumes, respectively, corresponding to 15 to 30 days of operation at an EBCT of 30 min. 1,4-Dioxane removal increased with increasing EBCT in all biologically active filters. At an EBCT of 30 min, the biologically active GAC filter containing the larger-grain GAC removed on average 87% of 1,4-dioxane at pseudo steady-state. When the hydraulic loading rate was decreased to achieve an overall EBCT of 60 min, 1,4-dioxane was removed to <1 µg/L in the biologically active GAC filter containing the larger-grain GAC. Activity-based labeling showed the presence of catalytically active monooxygenases in backwash water from biologically active filters that degraded 1,4-dioxane. Amplicon sequencing results showed that while taxa shifted after the initial inoculation of biologically active filters, taxa in biologically active filters remained more similar to the inoculum than those in the non-inoculated control filters. Overall, results of this research demonstrate that cometabolic degradation of 1,4-dioxane at trace levels is possible for extended periods of time in inoculated biofilters that receive n-butane as primary substrate.

A Content Analysis of Journalistic Framing of Chemical Contamination of the Cape Fear River

Guided by Entman’s Framing theory, this content analytic study explores the journalistic framing of the Cape Fear River contamination in North Carolina, USA. Chemours, a spin-off company of DuPont was responsible for the release of a hazardous chemical known as GenX into the river, which caused the contamination. The study involved an inductive analysis of 359 news reports about the issue. The results indicated that 78.83% of the articles framed the problems, 72.7% framed the causes, 60.17% framed the effects, and 55.71% framed the potential solutions. Five principal problem frames (i.e., river contamination, Chemours’s involvement, scientific uncertainty about GenX, governmental inaction, and the inability of the water treatment plants to filter GenX), four cause frames (i.e., Chemours’s malfeasance, wastewater spillage from Chemours’s facility, politics, and a lack of regulatory standards for GenX), six effect frames (i.e., the revocation of Chemours’s permit, legal action against Chemours, health effects of GenX, stakeholders’ demands for answers, scammers targeting stakeholders, and the potential declaration of Cape Fear River as a swampland), and five solution frames (i.e., stopping the wastewater discharge, securing grants to deal with the issue, using alternative techniques to filter GenX, advancing bills to prevent further corporate contamination, and using alternate sources for drinking water) were identified. By looking at all the four frames together, the current study adds to the framing literature, and can be used in the future to determine how the analyzed news media frames contributed to the formation of public opinion regarding the issue.

Projecting Compound Flood Hazard Under Climate Change With Physical Models and Joint Probability Methods

AbstractAccurate delineation of compound flood hazard requires joint simulation of rainfall‐runoff and storm surges within high‐resolution flood models, which may be computationally expensive. There is a need for supplementing physical models with efficient, probabilistic methodologies for compound flood hazard assessment that can be applied under a range of climate and environment conditions. Here we propose an extension to the joint probability optimal sampling method (JPM‐OS), which has been widely used for storm surge assessment, and apply it for rainfall‐surge compound hazard assessment under climate change at the catchment‐scale. We utilize thousands of synthetic tropical cyclones (TCs) and physics‐based models to characterize storm surge and rainfall hazards at the coast. Then we implement a Bayesian quadrature optimization approach (JPM‐OS‐BQ) to select a small number (∼100) of storms, which are simulated within a high‐resolution flood model to characterize the compound flood hazard. We show that the limited JPM‐OS‐BQ simulations can capture historical flood return levels within 0.25 m compared to a high‐fidelity Monte Carlo approach. We find that the combined impact of 2100 sea‐level rise (SLR) and TC climatology changes on flood hazard change in the Cape Fear Estuary, NC will increase the 100‐year flood extent by 27% and increase inundation volume by 62%. Moreover, we show that probabilistic incorporation of SLR in the JPM‐OS‐BQ framework leads to different 100‐year flood maps compared to using a single mean SLR projection. Our framework can be applied to catchments across the United States Atlantic and Gulf coasts under a variety of climate and environment scenarios.

A Numerical Investigation of Hurricane Florence‐Induced Compound Flooding in the Cape Fear Estuary Using a Dynamically Coupled Hydrological‐Ocean Model

AbstractHurricane‐induced compound flooding is a combined result of multiple processes, including overland runoff, precipitation, and storm surge. This study presents a dynamical coupling method applied at the boundary of a processes‐based hydrological model (the hydrological modeling extension package of the Weather Research and Forecasting model) and the two‐dimensional Regional Ocean Modeling System on the platform of the Coupled‐Ocean‐Atmosphere‐Wave‐Sediment Transport Modeling System. The coupled model was adapted to the Cape Fear River Basin and adjacent coastal ocean in North Carolina, United States, which suffered severe losses due to the compound flood induced by Hurricane Florence in 2018. The model's robustness was evaluated via comparison against observed water levels in the watershed, estuary, and along the coast. With a series of sensitivity experiments, the contributions from different processes to the water level variations in the estuary were untangled and quantified. Based on the temporal evolution of wind, water flux, water level, and water‐level gradient, compound flooding in the estuary was categorized into four stages: (I) swelling, (II) local‐wind‐dominated, (III) transition, and (IV) overland‐runoff‐dominated. A nonlinear effect was identified between overland runoff and water level in the estuary, which indicated the estuary could serve as a buffer for surges from the ocean side by reducing the maximum surge height. Water budget analysis indicated that water in the estuary was flushed 10 times by overland runoff within 23 days after Florence's landfall.

Cape Fear (1962) Filminin Türsel Açidan Değerlendirilmesi

The concept of genre has had a significant place in cinema studies since the 1970s. Genre films are commercial feature films telling identical stories with similar characters. Definition and debate of genus and genres in cinema has tended to focus on mainstream, commercial films in general and Hollywood films in particular. In this study, it is aimed to make a generic evaluation of the movie Cape Fear directed by John Lee Thompson in 1962. The movie was selected with a teleological sample method because it inhibits the characteristics of some main genres and some sub-genres and makes the changes of some main species visible over time. The movie has the characteristics of psychological-thriller, psycho-thriller, film noir and neo-noir. The film was chosen in terms of both showing the change in the main genre, film noir, and blurring the boundaries of psycho-thriller and psychological thriller, which are two sub-genres of thriller. Movie selected as a sample, analyzed according to the generic criticism method. In this direction Cape Fear is evaluated from a generic perspective under the headings of “subject, narrative structure, characters, iconography and direction of photography.”

Blood concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are associated with autoimmune-like effects in American alligators from Wilmington, North Carolina.

Surface and groundwater of the Cape Fear River basin in central and coastal North Carolina is contaminated with high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Elevated levels of PFAS have also been found in blood of fish and wildlife from the Cape Fear River, and in the blood of human populations reliant on contaminated well or surface water from the Cape Fear River basin as a source of drinking water. While the public and environmental health impacts of long-term PFAS exposures are poorly understood, elevated blood concentrations of some PFAS are linked with immunotoxicity and increased incidence of some chronic autoimmune diseases in human populations. The goal of this One Environmental Health study was to evaluate PFAS exposure and biomarkers related to immune health in populations of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), a protected and predictive sentinel species of adverse effects caused by persistent toxic pollutants. We found that serum PFAS concentrations in alligator populations from the Cape Fear River were increased compared to a reference population of alligators from the adjoining Lumber River basin. The elevated serum PFAS concentrations in the Cape Fear River alligators were associated with increased innate immune activities, and autoimmune-like phenotypes in this population. In addition to evidence of significantly higher double stranded-DNA binding autoantibodies in adult Cape Fear River alligators, our qRT-PCR analysis found remarkably high induction of Interferon-α signature genes implicated in the pathology of human autoimmune disease. We interpret the association of increased PFAS exposure with disrupted immune functions to suggest that PFAS broadly alters immune activities resulting in autoimmune-like pathology in American alligators. This work substantiates and extends evidence from experimental models and human epidemiology studies showing that some PFAS are immune toxicants.

Every Deep-Drawn Breath: A Critical Care Doctor on Healing, Recovery, and Transforming Medicine in the ICU, by Wes Ely. Published by Scribner, New York, NY. 332 pages, $28.00. 2021. ISBN: 9781982171148.

1 Cardiac Surgical ICU, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Fayetteville, NC 2 Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA

Understanding the role of initial soil moisture and precipitation magnitude in flood forecast using a hydrometeorological modelling system

AbstractWe adapted the WRF‐Hydro modelling system to Hurricane Florence (2018) and performed a series of diagnostic experiments to assess the influence of initial soil moisture and precipitation magnitude on flood simulation over the Cape Fear River basin in the United States. Model results suggest that: (1) The modulation effect of initial soil moisture on the flood peak is non‐linear and weakens as precipitation magnitude increases. There is a threshold value of the soil saturation, below and above which the sensitivity of flood peak to the soil moisture differentiates substantially; (2) For model spin‐up, streamflow needs longer time to reach the ‘practical’ equilibrium (10%) than the soil moisture and latent heat flux. The model uncertainty from spin‐up can propagate through the hydrometeorological modelling chain and get amplified into the flood peak; (3) For ensemble flood modelling with a hydrometeorological system, modelling uncertainty is dominated by the precipitation forecast. Spin‐up induced uncertainty can be minimized once the model reaches the ‘practical’ equilibrium.

North Carolina Water Utility Builds Resilience with Distributed Energy Resources

As the frequency and duration of grid outages increase, backup power systems are becoming more important for ensuring that critical infrastructure continues to provide essential services. Most facilities rely on diesel generators, which may be ineffective during long outages owing to limited fuel supplies and high generator failure rates. Distributed energy resources such as solar, storage, and combined-heat-and-power systems, coupled with on-site biofuel production, offer an alternative source of on-site generation that can provide both cost savings and resilience (i.e., the ability to respond to catastrophic events with longer-term consequences). A mixed-integer linear program minimizes costs and maximizes resilience at a wastewater treatment plant in Wilmington, North Carolina. We find that the plant can reduce life-cycle energy costs by 3.1% through the installation of a hybrid combined-heat-and-power, photovoltaic, and storage system. When paired with existing diesel generators, this system can sustain full load for seven days while saving $664,000 over 25 years and reducing diesel fuel use by 48% compared with the diesel-only solution. This analysis informed a decision by the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority to allocate funds for the implementation of a combined-heat-and-power system at the wastewater treatment plant in fiscal year 2023. The benefits of deploying hybrid combined-heat-and-power technologies and the utilization of on-site biofuel production extend, on a national scale, to thousands of wastewater treatment facilities and other types of critical infrastructure. Funding: This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office [Grant DE-AC36-08GO28308].

A framework for inland cities to prevent marine debris: A case study from Durham, North Carolina

Land-based sources of litter are increasingly recognized as significant contributors to marine debris, and rivers can carry debris to the coast from far-inland sources. In this paper, we demonstrate the important role inland cities can play in the marine debris crisis by reducing their own marine debris contributions. Given this role, we provide a framework for inland cities to prevent plastic pollution along with the lessons learned from introducing these strategies in Durham, North Carolina, a mid-sized, inland city that drains to the ocean through the Cape Fear and Neuse River watersheds. This framework guides city officials, resource managers, and community partners on how to characterize the plastic pollution problem in their city by collecting baseline data on plastic waste and litter. This framework also provides practical and equitable solutions for inland cities to address plastic pollution. We recommend that inland cities prioritize policy solutions that reduce waste at the source – to the extent that their state constitutions allow – and to also use authorities for stormwater controls to capture and remove debris as long as litter persists. Replicating this framework in other inland cities opens vast opportunities to manage and reduce marine debris from an often-overlooked source.

Who Rules the Rural South?

Columbus County, North Carolina, is a great flat reach of farms and homes and timberland where August days get so heavy-hot that, as someone once put it to me, "the birds don't sing." By land area, it is one of the biggest counties in the state. It sits on the South Carolina border, stretching west and south of Wilmington. On its northeastern edge, it touches the Cape Fear River, and then the county line dives west until it finds the Lumber River and follows it southwest to the state line. Much of its land is quite literally backwater—wetlands upstream of rivers.

Undulating sediments of the Cape Fear submarine landslide system, offshore U.S. Atlantic margin: Sediment waves versus creep deformation

We interpret a region of undulatory sediments adjacent to a major headwall of the Cape Fear submarine landslide system offshore of North Carolina, USA, as sediment waves rather than creep or fault-related deformation. The wave package extends 19 km upslope from the S4 landslide headwall and thickens upslope from approximately 250 to 450 m. The field of undulating sediments displays the continuity of seismic horizons, upslope-migrating crests, downslope thinning, and wave heights and lengths of approximately 26 m and approximately 1 km, respectively, which are consistent with sediment wavefields. The Western Boundary Undercurrent formed contourites on the nearby Blake Ridge and it is possible that these sediment undulations were deposited via similar mechanisms. Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) cores near the sediment undulation field suggest that the turbidity currents also may have played a role in wave formation. Although most of the 19 km long field comprises unaltered sediment waves, we observe an approximately 5 km long zone adjacent to the landslide scarp that expresses evidence of faults that offset and deform the sediment wave strata. We interpret this deformation as the result of reduction in stress following the removal of the landslide mass. Given that the Cape Fear system has generated several episodes of potentially tsunamigenic slope failure, the future stability of the system is pertinent. Redefining these undulatory sediments as sediment waves eliminates a major slope instability mechanism of the system and is important for understanding the future slope stability hazards of Cape Fear. Our analysis highlights the importance of understanding sediment waves in hybrid submarine landslide-sediment wave systems. Geological feature: Cape Fear submarine landslide sediment waves Seismic appearance: Continuous undulating horizons Alternative interpretations: Downslope creep or faults Features with similar appearance: Extensional slope failure Formation: Alongslope and downslope currents Age: Quaternary Location: Cape Fear submarine landslide complex, offshore North Carolina Seismic data: High resolution multichannel seismic data Analysis tools: Multichannel seismic data, multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom Chirp

Clarifying Taxonomic Boundaries in Nuphar sagittifolia (Nymphaeaceae): Insights from Morphology and Population Genetic Diversity

Nuphar sagittifolia (Nymphaeaceae), Cape Fear spatterdock, is an aquatic macrophyte endemic to the Atlantic Coastal Plain and of conservation concern in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia in the United States. The existence of populations of unclear taxonomic identity has precluded assessment of the number of populations, distribution, and conservation needs of N. sagittifolia. The circumscription of the species was re-assessed using morphological and genetic analyses. Approximately 30 individuals from each of 21 populations of Nuphar across the N. sagittifolia range were included in genetic and morphological analyses, along with the type populations for three taxa. Genetic diversity was assessed by genotyping individuals across 26 SNP loci identified for this study, and morphological variation was assessed through measurement of 31 leaf, flower, and fruit characters. STRUCTURE analysis identified three genetic groups with corresponding morphological differences in the N. sagittifolia range: N. sagittifolia, N. advena subsp. advena, and a third group in the Chowan-Roanoke River drainage that requires further study. A revised key based on Classification and Regression Tree (CART) and Bayesian analyses identifies N. sagittifolia based on a leaf sinus-to-leaf length ratio <0.22, leaves not emergent, and leaf length-to-width ratio usually greater than 2.4. Genetic analyses within the N. sagittifolia group as indicated by the revised key indicated relatively low clonality, low gene flow, and low allelic differentiation among populations. Observed heterozygosity was higher than expected heterozygosity in all populations, an observation consistent with a combination of limited clonal reproduction and sexual reproduction resulting in long-lived genets.

Rethinking our chemical legacy and reclaiming our planet

Rethinking our chemical legacy and reclaiming our planet

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in river discharge: Modeling loads upstream and downstream of a PFAS manufacturing plant in the Cape Fear watershed, North Carolina

The Cape Fear River is an important source of drinking water in North Carolina, and many drinking water intakes in the watershed are affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). We quantified PFAS concentrations and loads in river water upstream and downstream of a PFAS manufacturing plant that has been producing PFAS since 1980. River samples collected from September 2018 to February 2021 were analyzed for 13 PFAS at the upstream station and 43–57 PFAS downstream near Wilmington. Frequent PFAS sampling (daily to weekly) was conducted close to gauging stations (critical to load estimation), and near major drinking water intakes (relevant to human exposure). Perfluoroalkyl acids dominated upstream while fluoroethers associated with the plant made up about 47% on average of the detected PFAS downstream. Near Wilmington, Σ43PFAS concentration averaged 143 ng/L (range 40–377) and Σ43PFAS load averaged 3440 g/day (range 459–17,300), with 17–88% originating from the PFAS plant. LOADEST was a useful tool in quantifying individual and total quantified PFAS loads downstream, however, its use was limited at the upstream station where PFAS levels in the river were affected by variable inputs from a wastewater treatment plant. Long-term monitoring of PFAS concentrations is warranted, especially at the downstream station. Results suggest a slight downward trend in PFAS levels downstream, as indicated by a decrease in flow-weighted mean concentrations and the best-fitting LOADEST model. However, despite the cessation of PFAS process wastewater discharge from the plant in November 2017, and the phase-out of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in North America, both fluoroethers and legacy PFAS continue to reach the river in significant quantities, reflecting groundwater discharge to the river and other continuing inputs. Persistence of PFAS in surface water and drinking water supplies suggests that up to 1.5 million people in the Cape Fear watershed might be exposed.

Flood Extent Mapping During Hurricane Florence With Repeat‐Pass L‐Band UAVSAR Images

AbstractExtreme precipitation events are intensifying due to a warming climate, which, in some cases, is leading to increases in flooding. Detection of flood extent is essential for flood disaster response, management, and prevention. However, it is challenging to delineate inundated areas through most publicly available optical and short‐wavelength radar data, as neither can “see” through dense forest canopies. In 2018, Hurricane Florence produced heavy rainfall and subsequent record‐setting riverine flooding in North Carolina, USA. NASA/JPL collected daily high‐resolution full‐polarized L‐band Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) data between September 18th and 23rd. Here, we use UAVSAR data to construct a flood inundation detection framework through a combination of polarimetric decomposition methods and a Random Forest classifier. Validation of the established models with compiled ground references shows that the incorporation of linear polarizations with polarimetric decomposition and terrain variables significantly enhances the accuracy of inundation classification, and the Kappa statistic increases to 91.4% from 64.3% with linear polarizations alone. We show that floods receded faster near the upper reaches of the Neuse, Cape Fear, and Lumbee Rivers. Meanwhile, along the flat terrain close to the lower reaches of the Cape Fear River, the flood wave traveled downstream during the observation period, resulting in the flood extent expanding 16.1% during the observation period. In addition to revealing flood inundation changes spatially, flood maps such as those produced here have great potential for assessing flood damages, supporting disaster relief, and assisting hydrodynamic modeling to achieve flood‐resilience goals.