Learning ArcGIS Pro through hazard mapping: storm surge, FEMA risk, and wildfire hot spots

PadamPaudel — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 20:27:42 GMT

Hi Esri Community,

I recently completed a set of ArcGIS Pro exercises focused on GIS fundamentals, spatial data management, tabular joins, spatial analysis, raster analysis, and spatial statistics. As practice, I created several hazard-related map layouts for South Carolina and the Carolinas.

The examples include:

Bull Island storm-surge visualization using hurricane track data and a 4 m surge layer.
South Carolina county-level Expected Annual Loss map using FEMA National Risk Index-style risk categories.
Optimized Hot Spot Analysis of wildfires in the Carolinas, showing statistically significant hot and cold spot clusters.

My goal was not to produce a final operational hazard model, but to practice the full GIS workflow: data preparation, projection awareness, tabular joins, spatial/raster analysis, symbology, layout design, and map communication.

I would appreciate feedback on the following:

Are the legends and risk classes clear enough for a general audience?
How can I improve the layout balance, especially white space, north arrow size, scale bars, and map extent?
What is the best way to document assumptions and data sources in an ArcGIS Pro layout?
For the wildfire hot spot map, what additional method notes should I include so the statistical output is not over-interpreted?
For storm-surge visualization, what are the common mistakes beginners should avoid when presenting surge-exposure maps?

Data sources used in the layouts include NOAA IBTrACS hurricane track data, FEMA risk data, and Esri/OpenStreetMap basemap sources where applicable.

I welcome any cartographic, analytical, or workflow feedback.

Thank you,
Padam

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Learning ArcGIS Pro through hazard mapping: storm surge, FEMA risk, and wildfire hot spots