Model of storm-surge simulator uses Charleston to show street-level impact

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is testing a new feature that lets people get a look at what kind of damage and storm surges are possible, and using nearby Charleston for the preliminary model.

The Experimental Storm Surge Simulator, shows a street-level view of where water could rise in a storm surge.

"Surveys of the public show there is still a consistent misunderstanding of what the storm surge is, and how deadly it can be," reads the introduction to the app. "In part this is due to the challenge scientists encounter in trying to simplify the complex physics of hurricanes for the public, and in part this is due to poor misunderstanding of floodzone maps that represent the flooding scenario as it might be viewed from above."

The simulator places blue boxes on photographs of Charleston landmarks to show what could happen based on hurricane strength and tide.

People are asked to take a survey before and after using the simulator to help the NWS determine its effectiveness.

"Before you play with the model, we first need to point out that the model is very crude at this point and has many inherent uncertainties that make the displays uncertain," the instructions caution. "Do not make any life decisions based on the model because the projected water level could be quite different from reality."

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Model of storm-surge simulator uses Charleston to show street-level impact."