The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Office of Surface Water developed a mobile storm-surge network to capture information of the timing, extent, and magnitude of storm tide. This mobile network consists of 40-70 water-level and barometric-pressure monitoring devices that are deployed in the days and hours just prior to hurricane landfall.  The work enables the USGS to compile data and quantify storm-surge dynamics (wave heights, forces, speeds, and extent) for various storm conditions, topographies, ecologies, built environments, and land-uses. This information will lead to better storm-surge models, more accurate flood forecasts, more effective flood-protection infrastructure, and wiser land-use policies. 

The USGS report, "Monitoring Inland Storm Surge and Flooding from Hurricane Rita," explains that "Preventing flood hazards from becoming human disasters requires an understanding of the relative risks floods pose to specific communities and knowledge of the processes by which flood waters arise, converge, and abate. Such understanding can lead to improvements in the design of levees, dams, bridges, and other infrastructure; aid the delineation of flood plain boundaries and evacuation routes; and serve as the basis for wise land-use planning."