By News staff
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - There's a new way to check out whether a property is near a floodplain in Rhode Island.
The state Emergency Management Agency has released a new mapping tool that allows users to look up an address to find out whether it's near an area that's at risk of flooding. The Rhode Island Floodplain Mapping Tool also allows users to look in a neighborhood or region of the state for flooding risk.
The agency says it's able to give people an approximate idea about flood risk. The agency cautions that the tool is not designed for legal or engineering use, but is designed to help educate the public and to help them make planning decisions.
The tool is available at http://www.riema.ri.gov.