Author: Josh Kastrinsky (Page 3 of 6)

CRC funded five students to attend the 2019 RISE conference at the University of Albany. From left: Emily Gvino, Alex Halloway, UNC faculty member Dr. Shaleen Miller, Siri Nallaparaju, Kejing Zhou and Sarah Lipuma. Photo submitted.

By Emily Gvino, Kejing Zhou, Siri Nallaparaju, Sarah Lipuma and Alex Halloway

 On Nov. 17-20, 2019, the Coastal Resilience Center sponsored five students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University to travel to New York for the University at Albany’s 2019 RISE conference. The conference’s theme centered on university engagement in pre- and post-disaster environments, specifically in the context of Hurricane María in Puerto Rico. Students attended panels and plenary talks on preparedness, response, and recovery, while networking with practitioners and researchers.

We were inspired by the words of Cecilio Ortiz Garcia, RISE Co-Chair, who said, “You don’t create resilience – resilience is already there in the community.” We have written our collective insights from this experience below.

Public health preparedness and recovery from natural disasters: Public health’s impact after hurricanes and natural disasters

By Emily Gvino (UNC-CH Master of Public Health and Master of City and Regional Planning Candidate, 2021)

The RISE Conference allowed opportunities to explore the research of various aspects of natural disasters, including public health perspectives. Miguel Cruz, the Senior Emergency Operations Officer (CDC/NCEH/EM), led the incident response team coordination through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Puerto Rico Department of Health. This team was deployed for hurricanes Irma and María, and was responsible for general public health, health communications, epidemiological assessments and restoration of services, including healthcare facility assessment following the CASPER model for immediate health concerns. One of the most stirring moments was when Cruz described the deficiencies in the response efforts from other locations and organizations seeking to help the island. This was one of many ways in which the panel identified improvements that need to be made to university-led response efforts.

“We asked for assets and resources,” Cruz said. “They sent us people who don’t speak Spanish.” Continue reading

The 2018 AMS Summer Policy Colloquium participants prepare to meet with Congressional staff members.

By Jessamin Straub

Jessamin Straub is a graduate student in the Marine Sciences Department at UNC-Chapel Hill and part of a CRC education program led by CRC Director Dr. Gavin Smith. Straub co-organized a Climate Change and Resilience Symposium last spring and was chosen as a participant in the American Meteorological Society’s Summer Policy Colloquium this summer. She is a CRC Science  and Engineering Workforce Development Grant recipient for the upcoming school year.

Portions of this post originally appeared on the UNdertheC blog.

Last fall semester I was excited to take CRC Director Dr. Gavin Smith’s Survey of Natural Hazards and Disasters course. During the course, Dr. Smith brought in many great speakers that enriched our discussions in class and exposed us to new knowledge and opportunities. One of those speakers, Dr. Bill Hooke, spoke of the importance of learning from past natural disasters to improve policies and getting scientists involved in the policy process. When I spoke with Dr. Hooke after class, he encouraged me to apply to the American Meteorological Society’s Summer Policy Colloquium (AMS SPC), to expand on my interests in science policy.

This June I attended the AMS SPC, where I had the opportunity to immerse myself in science policy through discussions with working professionals and hands-on exercises. The goal of the program is to arm scientists with expertise in the policy-making process and to help the scientific community engage with decision-makers. I believe it’s important for scientists to have a seat at the table when policy decisions are made to ensure available scientific knowledge is used to inform policy. Continue reading

Naeema Muhammad, organizing co-director of North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (third from right) speaks on the “Rural Disaster Recovery and Hurricane Matthew” panel at the Climate Change and Resilience Symposium on April 20, 2018. The panel also included (from left) Dr. Larry Engel, professor in the UNC Department of Epidemiology; Chuck Flink, professor in Landscape Architecture at NC State University; and Linda Joyner, Mayor Pro Tem of Princeville, N.C.

Graduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill who are part of a Natural Hazards Resilience Certificate course taught as part of a Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) education project hosted a Climate Change and Resilience Symposium on April 20, 2018. The event included a keynote speaker; two plenary panels focusing on resilience issues; and a student poster contest highlighting local climate-related research.

The student group leading the event, Carolina Hazards and Resilience Planners (CHRP), was formed by students of CRC Director Dr. Gavin Smith who are part of the CRC education project. The event was co-organized by students Christian Kamrath, Margaret Keener and Jessie Straub.

The Symposium was the fusion of the 5th annual Climate Change Symposium (hosted by Carolina Climate Change Scientists) and the 2nd annual Resilience Symposium (hosted by Carolina Hazards & Resilience Planners (CHRP,) also supported by the CRC).

“The event served as a venue for students to present their research, facilitate discussions around climate change and resilience, and connect those across the university involved in Climate Change and Resilience work,” Straub said. “We are excited about the success of this year’s event and look forward to enhancing the event next year and fostering a Climate Change and Resilience Triangle community with collaboration from UNC, Duke and N.C. State.”

The keynote speaker was Dr. Susan White, Executive Director of North Carolina Sea Grant, North Carolina Space Grant and UNC Water Resources Research Institute, who spoke about building resiliency through bridging science and society. Two panels of experts discussed “Climate Change Communication” and “Rural Disaster Recovery and Hurricane Matthew.” The latter panel focused on communities impacted by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 that are the focus of the Hurricane Matthew Recovery & Resilience Initiative. Continue reading

CRC, RENCI and federal partners recently released a report, “Rethinking Floods Analytics,” from last fall’s Flood Analytics Colloquium. Read the report on the CRC website.

Website news/blog posts/publications:

• New standard helps predict and evaluate erosion caused by storms (March 26, 2018)
• Students in the Workforce – Lea Sabbag, North Carolina Emergency Management (March 22, 2018)
• FEMA Administrator to speak at UNC as part of CRC speakers series (March 19, 2018)
• Responding to community needs: Hurricane Matthew recovery and resilience in eastern North Carolina (blog post) (March 8, 2018)

CRC Researchers in the News:

• Helping Hands: Grants by The (Greensboro) News & Record (3.30.18)
• Decisions and Resilience: Community and Economic Development Analysis of Post-Disaster Buyouts in Eastern North Carolina by UNC Graduate School (March 2018)
• PrepTalks: Land use planning for community resilience by PreventionWeb (3.16.18)
• New standard helps predict, evaluate erosion caused by storms by ASTM International (3.14.18)
• University of North Florida’s forensic study of Hurricane Matthew by Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association (March 2018)
• Responding to community needs: Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts in eastern North Carolina by Jessica Southwell // UNC Institute for the Environment Blog (3.1.18)

Good reading:

• A NOAA report says more tidal flooding is coming soon by The (Jacksonville, N.C.) Daily News  (3.16.18)
• Attracting diversity by creating opportunities in EM by EM Weekly (podcast) (3.15.18)
• Six figures for six feet: Some Harvey victims in Houston spend huge sums to elevate their homes by The Texas Tribune (3.14.18)
• Taming the mighty Mississippi by The Washington Post (3.14.18) Continue reading

CRC staff, researchers, advisory board, federal reviewers and guests gathered for the 3rd PI meeting from Feb. 28-March 1, 2018.

The Links is a monthly roundup of articles from the Center, good reading and job links that have been posted on our website and social media in the last month.

Website news/blog posts/publications:

• Flood Apex program increases flood resilience through emerging tech (Feb. 12, 2018)
• CRC project expands emergency preparedness intervention program to high school students (Feb. 6, 2018)
• ADCIRC Week expands tracks to accommodate wide range of applications (Feb. 1, 2018)

CRC Researchers in the News:

• Fortified but still in peril, New Orleans braces for its future by The New York Times (2.24.18)
• Carolina Planning Journal, Volume 42: Re:(Anything) (2.14.18)
• Westerly High School students are the first in the state to take part in a new URI emergency preparedness program by The Westerly Sun (2.12.18)
• Calm, before and after storms by Terp (The University of Maryland) (1.7.18)
• Nation’s oil and gas lifeline in peril by The Weather Channel

Good reading:

• How to prepare your community for a disaster by The New York Times (2.15.18)
• Make no small memories: A tribute to David Godschalk by jimschwab.com (2.11.18)
• US Senate budget plan includes $125M for Hurricane Matthew relief by WWAY (2.8.18) Continue reading

By Jessica Southwell

This post originally appeared on the UNC Institute for the Environment blog.

Jessica Southwell is Project Manager for the Hurricane Matthew Disaster Recovery and Resilience Initiative, and coordinates work in six communities in eastern North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Matthew.

The Hurricane Matthew Recovery and Resilience Initiative is led by the Center for Natural Hazards Resilience at UNC-Chapel Hill, which also leads the Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence. The Initiative was started in early 2017 to address recovery concerns in six North Carolina communities.

A few months ago, local partners in Hurricane Matthew recovery sat at a six-top table at a diner in Kinston, N.C. We had spent the morning walking through the logistics for hosting an AmeriCorps team that would soon be in town, meeting just a few weeks following the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Matthew.

Our discussion soon turned to what it was like those first few days after the storm. Many discussed watching the river rise from their various posts in town, even in the days following Matthew when the sky had turned blue after dumping inches upon inches of rain on already drenched soil.

Everyone around the table had been through this before. When Hurricane Floyd hit North Carolina in 1999, residents believed the 500-year flood would be the only one they witnessed in a lifetime. Just 17 years later, in October 2016, the same residents were experiencing it again. Now, more than a year after Matthew, the topic of hurricane recovery in Kinston, and in communities across Eastern North Carolina, is still a regular, if not daily, part of the local conversation. Continue reading

An ADCIRC mesh of the North Carolina and Virginia region is shown.

The Links is a monthly roundup of articles from the Center, good reading and job links that have been posted on our website and social media in the last month.

Website news/blog posts/publications:

2018 Natural Hazards Resilience Speakers Series

Event: ‘Rising’ exhibition opening

CRC Researchers in the News:

• Louisiana struggles to save its coast and delta by Courthouse News Service (1.24.18)
• Harvey exposes another gap between rich and poor by Houston Chronicle (1.5.18)
• Why do people return to flawed places? Because it’s home by Fairbanks New-Miner (12.21.17)

Good reading:

• 2017 second-costliest year on record for natural-disaster insured losses: Aon by Reuters (1.24.18)
• Here’s how Louisiana plans to spend $92 million on coastal land loss response by The New Orleans Times-Picayune (1.23.18)
• For tsunami forecasters, speed Is everything by The New York Times (1.23.18)
• Cooper gauges storm recovery efforts by The Rocky Mount Telegram (1.12.18)
• Every $1 invested in disaster mitigation saves $6 by The Pew Charitable Trusts (1.11.18)
• As storms get bigger, oyster reefs can help protect shorelines by Smithsonian Magazine (1.10.18)
• Extreme hurricanes and wildfires made 2017 the most costly U.S. disaster year on record by The Washington Post (1.8.18) 
• In New York, drawing flood maps is a ‘game of inches’ by The New York Times (1.7.18) Continue reading

CRC PI Dr. Ginis and his collaborators combine data from hurricanes that have had severe impacts on Rhode Island in the past with hypothetical worst-case scenarios to simulate Hurricane Rhody. See more in our story from December.

The Links is a monthly roundup of articles from the Center, good reading and job links that have been posted on our website and social media in the last month.

Website news/blog posts/publications:

• December newsletter
• Hypothetical hurricanes: Modeling coastal hazards in Rhode Island (Dec. 15, 2017)
• Hurricane Matthew Recovery pages – new reports, photos, stories

CRC in the News:

• Planning prof presents hazard mitigation strategies in D.C. by archone (Texas A&M University College of Architecture) (12.11.17)

• CRC helps six communities with Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts by UNC Office of Research Communications (12.7.17)

• Connecting University research to policy by the UNC Institute for the Environment (12.1.17)

Good reading:

• How technology is advancing emergency response and survival during natural disasters by Forbes (12.15.17)
• Unfettered building, scant oversight add to cost of hurricanes in U.S. by Reuters (12.12.17)
• To test for climate disasters: Break, burn and throw stuff by The New York Times (12.11.17)
• New storm surge watches and warnings saved lives by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (12.5.17)
• This year’s hurricane season was intense. Is it a taste of the future? by National Public Radio (12.4.17)
• Builders said their homes were out of a flood zone. Then Harvey came. by The New York Times (12.2.17)
• The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season: What we learned by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (12.1.17) Continue reading

Image from the Princeville Community Design Workshop, held in August. More information from the event, including photos, is in the links below.

The Links is a monthly roundup of articles from the Center, good reading and job links that have been posted on our website and social media in the last month.

To read about Center experts discussing hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, visit our Hurricane Season 2017 Information page. To read additional Hurricane Matthew recovery news, visit our Hurricane Matthew page.

Website news/blog posts/publications:

• Center credited in report from National Academies (Nov. 27, 2017)
• Princeville resident guide plans for future of town (Nov. 13, 2017)
• Hurricane Matthew Recovery pages – new reports, photos, stories

CRC in the News:

• June 2017 webinar – Green Infrastructure by Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Agency (feat. PI Dr. Robert Twilley)
• Rick Luettich and the science of storm surge by Brad Rich // Coastal Review Online (10.25.17)

Good reading:

• Hurricane preparation, down to a science by UNC News (11.28.17)
• Puerto Rico hands FEMA power to approve any kind of hurricane aid by Bloomberg (11.27.17)
• Harris County proposing dramatic overhaul of floodplain regulations by Houston Chronicle (11.21.17)
• How Tulsa became a model for preventing floods by National Public Radio (11.20.17)
• House passes flood insurance extension with reforms by Insurance Journal (11.15.17)
• Gov. Cooper announces river basin studies to reduce future flooding by N.C. Governor Cooper (11.13.17)
• Repair or renovate? Puerto Rico faces stark power grid options by Scientific American (11.13.17) Continue reading

CRC PI Dr. Ismael Pagan-Trinidad took photos from the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. More photos are at http://ow.ly/wdRr30gjzq6.

The Links is a monthly roundup of articles from the Center, good reading and job links that have been posted on our website and social media in the last month.

To read about Center experts discussing hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, visit our Hurricane Season 2017 Information page. To read additional Hurricane Matthew recovery news, visit our Hurricane Matthew page.

Website news/blog posts/publications:

• Summer research team focuses on disaster impacts on minority communities (Oct. 5, 2017)
• Q&A: Camellia Okpodu, Norfolk State University (Oct. 13, 2017)
• The Links: September 2017 (Oct. 6, 2017)
• October newsletter

CRC in the News:

• Rick Luettich and the science of storm surge by Brad Rich // Coastal Review Online (10.25.17)
• Saving Princeville by The University of North Carolina (10.19.17)
• One year on, Hurricane Matthew is still drowning communities with dilemmas by Tyler Newman // The Seahawk (10.18.17)
• Residents look at possibilities for Seven Springs by Steve Herring // The News-Argus (10.15.17)
• Recovery in North Carolina one year later by Jim Schwab // jimschwab.com (10.14.17)
• Princeville works to save homes and history one year after Hurricane Matthew by Leoneda Inge // WUNC (10.6.17)
• Carolina responds to Hurricane Matthew by UNC News (10.5.17) 
• Eastern N.C. continues to recover from Hurricane Matthew one year later by Charlie Shelton and Frank Stasio // WUNC (10.4.17) Continue reading