When the City of DeBary sought to better understand the vulnerability of its infrastructure to storm surge, hurricanes and other extreme weather events, it partnered with Stanley Consultants and Resilient Analytics to conduct a comprehensive vulnerability assessment. This effort focused on evaluating public infrastructure exposure and sensitivity to climate-driven flooding to help guide future investment and land use decisions that enhance long-term community resilience. The vulnerability assessment included data-driven, action-oriented recommendations for infrastructure upgrades, and policy and planning strategies to support the city’s long-term success.
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, Resilient Analytics evaluated 11 inundation scenarios spanning multiple time horizons, ranging from short term (2040) to long term (2070) outlook. The vulnerability assessment included:
- Exposure analysis to identify the degree to which public assets are subjected to climate hazards.
- Sensitivity analysis to determine the extent to which public assets are impacted by climate hazard exposure.
- Risk scoring to quantity overall vulnerability using a composite metric of exposure and sensitivity.
The team also overlaid zoning classifications on the inundation flood models to provide additional support with climate adaptation planning efforts. These overlays highlighted which land use zones were at the highest risk of flooding, thus providing the city with insights into potential tax revenue vulnerabilities which could be used to shape future land-use resilience planning. Results were validated by comparing impact data from Hurricane Milton, which caused significant flooding and power outages in DeBary in October 2024.
Throughout the assessment, Resilient Analytics engaged county and community stakeholders to foster a regional understanding of shared climate risks.
Filling Data Gaps with Smart Depth Estimation
A key challenge in the project was that many flood layers only indicate inundation extents, not water depth. To address this, Resilient Analytics adapted the Floodwater Depth Estimation Tool (FwDET), developed by the University of Alabama’s Surface Dynamics Modeling Lab. Where
applicable, FwDET was used to derive depth estimates by combining inundation maps with digital elevation models. To maintain both efficiency and accuracy, the team refined FwDET's methodology through data entry and geoprocessing, streamlining computation while preserving data integrity.
The Climate Vulnerability Assessment equips DeBary with policy, planning and asset-level recommendations to improve the resilience of the City’s infrastructure. Together, these recommendations serve as a roadmap for the City’s resilience initiatives and showcase Resilient
Analytics’ unique ability to bridge climate science, policy and infrastructure planning to deliver actionable solutions for long-term success.