Consumers will soon be able to see the results of a NationalHurricane Center model using a Google service so they could viewtheir exposure to storm surge resulting from a variety ofhurricanes.

Stephen Baig, an oceanographer with the NHC, said consumers willbe able to input their location and then view various tracks ofhypothetical hurricanes, ranging in speed and size.

They can then see precomputed storm surge damage results basedon data compiled by the NHC. The service will be accessed throughGoogle Earth. “What we're doing is making available, in Googleformat, data from what we call our SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and OverlandSurges from Hurricanes) model–our storm surge model,” said Mr.Baig.

The service will cover regions at risk from hurricanes,including Florida, the Gulf Coast and the East Coast as far northas Maine, Mr. Baig said. He added that it is expected to be up andrunning by this coming hurricane season.

Mr. Baig stressed that this service should not be used to formpersonal decisions on evacuation planning. “Absolutely not,” hesaid. “I discourage that as strongly as I can. The people to listento are the local emergency managers when it comes toevacuations.”

Julie Pulliam, director of public affairs, Southeast region, forthe American Insurance Association, said she was not familiar withthis upcoming service, but that her initial thoughts were positive.“If it's an educational tool that consumers could use, then thatwould be very positive,” she said.

Speaking to whether a service that demonstrates the potentialfor storm surge damage in hurricane-prone regions could helpincrease the take-up of flood insurance, Ms. Pulliam said it woulddepend on the level of detail that consumers have access to.

“Theoretically, it certainly could [help with flood insurancetake-up]. If people…are aware that they're at higher risk for stormactivity including flooding, then perhaps that would be anadditional inducement to get out there and buy the flood coveragethat they need,” she said.