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One in Five Texans Lives in a Floodplain
Almost 6 million Texans, or about 20% of the population, live in an area susceptible to flooding and one-fifth of the state’s land is in a 100-year floodplain. Texas launched a statewide effort to harden Texas against floods and rising sea levels.
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How Well-Managed Dams and Smart Forecasting Can Limit Flooding as Extreme Storms Become More Common in a Warming World
The United States is home to over 50,000 operable reservoirs that are overseen by dozens of state and federal agencies. As rising global temperatures make extreme storms more common, the nation’s dams and reservoirs – crucial to keeping communities dry – are being tested.
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Geoscientists Aim to Improve Human Security Through Planet-Scale POI Modeling
Geoinformatics engineering researchers developed MapSpace, a publicly available, scalable land-use modeling framework. By providing data characteristics broader and deeper than satellite imagery alone, MapSpace can generate population analytics invaluable for urban planning and disaster response.
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Moving Communities Away from Flooding Risks with Minimal Harm
As sea levels rise and flooding becomes more frequent, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes.
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Researching the Future of Emergency Management
The research will consider emerging innovations in areas such as artificial intelligence, geospatial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and decision aids, to equip and support emergency managers for the future.
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One- to Four-Family Properties with Multiple Losses Insured by the National Flood Insurance Program
What are the characteristics of properties that have experienced multiple flood losses (e.g., percentage of overall claims payments, number of losses, and structure characteristics)? What are the socioeconomic characteristics of multiple loss property (MLP) households and the communities in which they are located? What percentage of MLPs have been mitigated, what are the socioeconomics characteristics of neighborhoods where MLPs have been mitigated, and how effective has mitigation been in reducing risk?
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What Causes Mudslides and Floods After Wildfires? Hint: It’s Not What Scientists Thought
Researchers believed a waxy coating in burnt soil caused water to run over the ground’s surface. They now find that burnt ground can absorb water, findings that can help them more accurately predict flooding and mudslides after a fire.
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Florida’s Home Insurance Crisis Isn’t Going Away
It’s hard to make money selling home insurance in Florida. For one thing, the state is very vulnerable to hurricanes, and those hurricanes are getting stronger thanks to climate change. A legal loophole has made the state a hotbed for fraudulent litigation over insurance claims, and companies lose even more money fighting those lawsuits. And reinsurers are charging insurance companies much higher fees owing to climate change-driven disaster losses.
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Adapting to Wildfires in a Warming World
Recent wildfires in Canada and California offer a preview of a world made far more dangerous by climate change, one in which smoke and fire exact an ever-increasing toll on public health and the economy.
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Climate Change Is Increasing Stress on Thousands of Aging Dams Across the U.S.
There are more than 91,000 dams across the U.S., in all 50 states, with diverse designs and purposes. The average dam age is 60 years, and more than 8,000 dams are over 90 years old. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ report card for the nation’s infrastructure gave U.S. dams a “D” grade.
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As Unprecedented Rainfalls Occur More Frequently, What Can Be Done About the Resulting Flash Floods?
Record rainfall is wreaking havoc in northern India and New York state as flash floods inundate communities. Experts have called for better resilience through ‘weatherproofing.’
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Radar Can Help Fight Wildfires, Identify Flash-Flood Risks
Radar imaging technology can provide valuable insight into the location and extent of wildfires in remote Arctic and Subarctic forests, like those currently burning in Canada. Capable of penetrating clouds and smoke, and imaging day and night, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) can play a critical role in wildfire monitoring.
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Forecasting Flash Floods an Hour in Advance
Korea has recently seen a surge in localized torrential rain and floods due to global warming. Frequent flash floods are hard to forecast and, when forecast, the accuracy is low. Forecasting of localized flash floods, based on rainfall radar, to commence soon.
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What Are the Odds of a Truly Catastrophic, Even Extinction-Causing, Disaster?
The Forecastong Research Institute (FRI) brought together forecasters from two groups with distinctive claims to knowledge about humanity’s future — experts in various domains relevant to existential risk, and “superforecasters” with a track record of predictive accuracy over short time horizons. FRI asked tournament participants to predict the likelihood of global risks related to nuclear weapon use, biorisks, and AI, along with dozens of other related, shorter-run forecasts.
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Testing Next Generation Flood and Wildfire Alerting Technology
DHS S&T conducted a demonstration of new technology that integrates unattended flood and wildfire sensors with Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS) with Open Platform for Emergency Networks (IPAWS-OPEN). These systems have the potential to provide life-saving critical emergency alerts to people in affected areas.
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The long view
Huge Areas May Face Possibly Fatal Heat Waves if Warming Continues
A new assessment warns that if Earth’s average temperature reaches 2 degrees C over the preindustrial average, widespread areas may become too hot during extreme heat events for many people to survive without artificial cooling.
Trump’s Cuts to Federal Wildfire Crews Could Have “Scary” Consequences
President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the federal workforce have gutted the ranks of wildland firefighters and support personnel, fire professionals warn, leaving communities to face deadly consequences when big blazes arrive this summer. States, tribes and fire chiefs are preparing for a fire season with minimal federal support.