Nicolas Zegre and Jamie Shinn, experts in hydrology and adaptation to climate change, respectively, used flooding in the Greenbrier County, West Virginia, communities of Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs in 2016 to focus, not only on what the floods did and the damage they caused, but how residents reacted and adjusted how and where they live in relationship to the water.
Washington University in St. Louis research examined how personal exposure to natural disasters and policy knowledge affect voters’ support for long-term disaster preparedness.
Expert Q&A: Do breakthrough cases mean we will soon need COVID boosters? The extremely contagious Delta variant continues to spread, prompting mask mandates, proof of vaccination, and other measures. Media invited to ask the experts about these and related topics.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $11 million in funding for new research studying how critical ecosystems, such as forests, arid lands, and coastal environments, are impacted by extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and heat waves.
In Japan, thousands of homes and businesses and hundreds of lives have been lost to typhoons. But now, researchers have revealed that a new flood forecasting system could provide earlier flood warnings, giving people more time to prepare or evacuate, and potentially saving lives.
Puerto Rico is not ready for another hurricane season, let alone the effects of climate change, according to a new study that shows the island’s outstanding capacity to produce record-breaking floods and trigger a large number of landslides.
Summer is just around the corner, and so is hurricane season. Weather experts are warning Americans to prepare for an active and potentially dangerous Atlantic season – which gets its official start on June 1. With the potential for heavy rain and strong winds, the threat of power loss, and dealing with potentially dangerous cleanup in the aftermath of a storm, experts at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) say preparing in advance is the best way to weather anything hurricane season may bring.
Coral reefs provide many services to coastal communities, including critical protection from flood damage. A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the U.S. Geological Survey reveals how valuable coral reefs are in protecting people, structures, and economic activity in the United States from coastal flooding during storms.
Whatever ultimately caused inhabitants to abandon Cahokia, it was not because they cut down too many trees, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.
The rate of sea-level rise in the 20th century along much of the U.S. Atlantic coast was the fastest in 2,000 years, and southern New Jersey had the fastest rates, according to a Rutgers-led study.
An international team of researchers including the University of Adelaide has demonstrated that climate change is responsible for the changes in the flow and water volume of rivers globally, with major implications for Australia.
Why are “ghost forests” filled with dead trees expanding along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast? Higher groundwater levels linked to sea-level rise and increased flooding from storm surges and very high tides are likely the most important factors, according to a Rutgers study on the impacts of climate change that suggests how to enhance land-use planning.
When people think of sea level rise, they usually think of coastal erosion. However, recent computer modeling studies indicate that coastal wastewater infrastructure, which includes sewer lines and cesspools, is likely to flood with groundwater as sea-level rises.
Insurance policy premiums from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) allow policyholders to maintain a lower, grandfathered rate even when the risk escalates. But as coastal flooding increases due to rising sea level and more intense storms, new research published in the journal Risk Analysis suggests this grandfathered policy could lead to big losses for the NFIP.
A team of experts led by Carolyn Kousky, executive director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, studied the effect of sea level rise on a New York City neighborhood to illustrate how grandfathered rates could impact both policyholder premiums and program revenue for the NFIP over the next 30 years. Their results project losses to the NFIP as flood risk grows in the coming decades.
Phosphorous, calcium and charcoal in spotty patches of fertile soil in the Amazon rainforest suggest that natural processes such as fires and river flooding, not the ingenuity of indigenous populations, created rare sites suitable for agriculture, according to new research.
Research co-authored by University of California scientists has found that by 2050, as many as 24,500 affordable housing units in the United States are projected to be exposed to coastal flooding.
DHS S&T released “Low Cost Flood Sensors: Urban Installation Guidebook” to do just that—help communities deploy and operate low cost sensors for flood monitoring and management.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded $950,000 to develop a community-oriented, flood hazard modeling process.
In flood-prone areas of the Hudson River valley in New York state, census areas with more white and affluent home owners tend to file a higher percentage of flood insurance claims than lower-income, minority residents, according to a new study.
When a hurricane approaches, providing a few extra hours’ notice can be the difference between life and death. Now, Penn State researchers report that applying a machine learning technique to a group of possible storm paths could help meteorologists provide more accurate medium-term forecasts and issue timely warnings to communities in the path of these potentially deadly storms.
While many models suggest that climate change will prompt a substantial number of people to leave their homes, not all research so clearly finds this is the case. Investigating cases where computer models seemed to indicate only limited impacts of climate change on people leaving rural areas, a team of researchers now suggest that the models may reveal a more nuanced circular migration pattern in areas stricken by climate change impacts.
A new study reveals that urgent action is needed to protect billions of dollars in real estate investment across South Florida due to impacts of sea level rise over the next several decades. The report casts light on the issues and clarifies the alternatives available to South Florida, which embraces the four counties of Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. Together, these counties generate more than $337 billion in personal income annually with a combined real property value assessed at more than $833 billion.
In the last several decades, more than half of the deaths associated with tropical cyclones in the U.S. were due to inland flooding. Unfortunately, current forecasting capabilities are limited. Researchers are developing a warning system for more accurate and timely detection and forecasting of inland and coastal floods, under a variety of precipitation regimes. The technology will enable local and state governments to more effectively plan and respond to tropical storms.
Four years after the disastrous flooding in southern West Virginia, new research highlights the role faith-based groups and other community organizations have played in the relief and recovery efforts.
The Homeowners Handbook to Prepare for Natural Disasters is a critical resource for anyone wanting to reduce the risks to their family and property from natural hazards. The handbook covers essential information on emergency preparedness, evacuation planning, flood/wind insurance, and steps to protect life and property.
June 1 is the start of hurricane season in the Atlantic, with flooding often the most damaging effect of tropical storms. Now, in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology, researchers study water quality impacts of two recent hurricanes in North Carolina and suggest interventions to protect susceptible areas.