In the 10 years between 2003-2012, natural disasters caused estimated global losses of more than $150 billion and the loss of more than 100,000 lives per year, according to the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disaster. Recovery from … Read more

Only half of single-family homes in FEMA-defined Special Flood Hazard Areas are estimated to have flood insurance. Outside of those zones, the rate is estimated at 1 percent. Only 4 percent of homeowners are expected to voluntarily retrofit their homes … Read more

Louisiana has a storied history of hurricanes tropical storms, and heavy rainfall events that have had dire impacts in the coastal communities, where much of the state’s population and infrastructure reside. A Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) project, based … Read more

Researchers at Louisiana State University and thousands of residents in south Louisiana are still feeling the effects of historic rain event that hit the area in August 2016. The event brought more than two feet of rain in some areas … Read more

At Tougaloo College, an interdisciplinary minor is helping prepare students for careers in homeland security-related fields. Dr. Meherun Laiju is leading the Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) project, “Institutionalization, Expansion, and Enhancement of Interdisciplinary Minor: Disaster and Coastal Studies,” … Read more

In the wake of a disaster, access to roads, power, water supplies and other publicly managed utilities are important to the recovery process. But where do commercial services that provide access to food, medications, fuel and banking fit into community’s … Read more

Students interested in coastal natural disasters can soon pursue specialized concentrations within the doctoral engineering degree program at Jackson State University (JSU). Through the Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) project “PhD in Engineering (Coastal Engineering and Computational Engineering concentrations) … Read more

How can a method used to get smokers to quit be used to get people better prepared for hurricanes? As much as building better levees, tracking storms more accurately and training future emergency professionals, changing the behavior of residents in … Read more

Building better levees, tracking storms more accurately and training future emergency management professionals can have a major impact on community resilience to natural hazards. On the individual level, however, changing the behavior of residents in storm-susceptible communities could yield similarly … Read more

About 43 percent of the nation’s population lives in areas protected by levees, but rising sea levels and land subsidence increasingly threaten these structures. That’s why Dr. Victoria Bennett of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is working to empower levee officials … Read more