SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The state of South Dakota is working on new online flood mapping tools for the Big Sioux River Basin.

The Google maps-style program should allow cities, counties, developers and emergency managers to test the flooding potential of increased flows in the basin's various waterways.

State officials say the push to create a more accurate model was born out of a failure to predict the path of a massive flood pulse in June of 2014. That resulted in the closure of a section of Interstate 29 and a railroad line to protect against flooding that didn't overtake either transportation route.

South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources spokesman Tim Cowman tells the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that the tools will help local governments be better prepared for flooding.

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