Introduction

This is the HEC-FDA Quick Start Guide for Version 2.0 of the HEC-FDA software. The quick start guide topics provided here were written for newer users who have no, or limited, experience using the HEC-FDA software. In other words, the content covered in the quick start guide pages is brief and to the point. Advanced HEC-FDA users can also use the information provided in these guides, but might find the more detailed content listed in the Related Information section more helpful.

What is HEC-FDA?

The Flood Damage Reduction Analysis (HEC-FDA) software developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) Hydrologic Engineering Center (CEIWR-HEC) provides the capability to perform an integrated hydrologic engineering and economic analysis during the formulation and evaluation of flood risk management plans. HEC-FDA is designed to assist USACE study members in using risk assessment procedures for formulating and evaluating flood risk management measures pursuant to pertinent policy and guidance (EM 1110-2-1619, ER 1105-2-101). The software assists USACE staff in analyzing the economics of flood risk management projects. The HEC-FDA software:

1. Stores hydrologic, hydraulic, and economic data necessary for an analysis,
2. Provides tools to visualize data and results,
3. Computes expected annual damage (EAD) and average annual equivalent (AAEQ) damages,
4. Computes annual exceedance probability (AEP) and assurance as required for NFIP levee certification, and
5. Implements the risk assessment procedures described in EM 1110-2-1619 and provides outputs to the user that allow teams to describe results in compliance with ER 1105-2-101. 

HEC-FDA software follows functional elements of a study involving coordinated study layout and configuration, hydrologic and hydraulic engineering modeling, economic analyses, and plan formulation and evaluation. HEC-FDA is used continuously throughout the planning process as the study evolves from the base year without-project condition assessment through the assessments of alternative plans over their project life. Engineering modeling and portions of the economics are performed separately, but in a coordinated manner after specifying the study configuration and layout, and merged for the formulation and evaluation of the potential flood risk management plans.

What is Provided in the Guides

In this quick start guide, you'll find brief descriptions of the software components and steps on how to use the software. We have included some instructional videos to help work through the trickier steps. We suggest that highly experienced users skim the introduction and read the chapters on impact area scenarios, alternatives, and alternative comparison reports. In general, the guides provided for HEC-FDA lead users through the creation of a new HEC-FDA Version 2.0 study either from Version 1.4.3 data or from Scratch. Additional quick reference guides are also provided to highlight important information about Version 2.0.  To begin, review the list of quick start guide topics provided. 

Topics

Known Issues

This table organizes known issues that are immediately relevant for HEC-FDA users with suggested workarounds and important limitations. The authoritative source of known issues can be found on GitHub.

Related Information

Review the other HEC-FDA manuals, notes, and training materials for more information for new and advanced users of HEC-FDA Version 2.0, and flood damage assessments.

• Home page:
  HEC-FDA Release Notes — Summary of recent enhancements, software changes and bug fixes.
• Home page:
  HEC-FDA Training — Available training resources for HEC-FDA users - includes course materials, tutorials, webinars and other reference materials.