Data Files for USGS Response to Hurricane Maria Flooding in Puerto Rico and Characterization of Peak Streamflows Observed September 20-22, 2017

This data release provides topographic (horizontal and vertical) data for 78 sites, surveyed from November 2017 to July 2019 as part of documentation of flooding that occurred in Puerto Rico during and after Hurricane Maria (September to November 2017). Hurricane Maria made landfall the Island of Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 and was one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) personnel conducted topographic surveys at selected stream sites to facilitate hydraulic modeling of peak streamflows (or discharges) – termed indirect measurements – using published standard USGS methods and hydraulic modeling studies to establish new stage-discharge relations for sites at which flooding substantially changed the pre-existing relation. Indirect (post-flood) measurements are used to characterize flood peaks that could not be determined using direct methods (for example current-velocity meters, hydro-acoustic instruments or established stage-streamflow relations) because flood conditions exceeded the capabilities of those methods, streamgage sites could not be accessed during flooding, or safety issues precluded access by USGS personnel during flooding. The standard-step hydraulic method, often referred to as the step-backwater method, is a widely accepted one-dimensional hydraulic model to determine (theoretical) water-surface elevations at a location of interest for specified streamflows.

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  "geospatial"
]