News Archive

Hypothetical hurricanes: Modeling coastal hazards in Rhode Island

Dr. Isaac Ginis

This year’s hurricane season has been one of the most active on record, with devastating impacts on coastal communities, including eastern Texas, both coasts of Florida and all of Puerto Rico. While hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria slammed the Gulf and the Caribbean, communities further north are preparing for their own high-impact storm: a hypothetical … Read more

Center credited in report from National Academies

Policy simulations include visualization of commercial port properties impacted by potential sea-level rise. Illustration by Dr. Peter Stempel and Dr. Austin Becker.

  The ability to observe and predict severe weather events and other disasters has improved markedly over recent decades, yet this progress does not always translate into similar advances in the systems used in such circumstances to protect lives, according to a new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The … Read more

Princeville residents guide plan for future of town

Loria Martin was lucky this last time. Her home in Southern Terrace, a Princeville, N.C. neighborhood, was spared the flooding that impacted so much of eastern North Carolina when Hurricane Matthew hit the state in early October 2016. She has been supporting family members but is thankful damage to her home was limited to a … Read more

CRC graduate participates in Hurricane Irma recovery

Matrix McDaniel, far right, is a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District Power Team currently working in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to aid recovery from Hurricane Irma.

A graduate of a Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) education program is part of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) team aiding in Hurricane Irma recovery. Matrix McDaniel, a spring 2016 graduate of Jackson State University who earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, is part of a 14-person USACE Memphis … Read more

Design teams develop options for Princeville

 

Residents urged to get involved

When Hurricane Matthew flooded Princeville last fall, it marked the second time in less than 20 years that a flood nearly wiped out the town. Local, state and federal leaders vowed to work with the community to help them recover and figure out solutions to help preserve one of the country’s most historically significant towns.

This week, local and state leaders will host a five-day community design workshop to bring together teams of land use planners, engineers, architects and landscape architects to collaborate with local, state and federal  officials to develop three scenarios for a new 52-acre tract of land that the state intends to buy. The parcel will include houses, businesses, infrastructure, public facilities and community open space in ways that ensure that the new space connects physically, socially, environmentally and economically to historic portions of town.          

“Princeville has a deep, rich history and incredibly resilient people,” said Dempsey Benton, Governor’s Recovery Office director who is leading the hurricane recovery efforts. “The town has a rare opportunity to develop a new portion of land that will be better able to withstand flooding while still preserving this historic community.”

The design workshop begins Friday, Aug. 25. Various local and state officials will make technical presentations to the designers to outline the planning and visioning process and also describe the culture and history of Princeville, review local codes and standards, flooding history, floodplain management and hazard mitigation programs. Additionally, they will discuss levee issues and proposed solutions, and review best practices and lessons learned from other community design projects across the country. Friday afternoon, local officials will lead the design teams on a tour of the community.

During the day Saturday through Monday, the design teams will create three conceptual plans for Princeville’s future. Each evening from 6 to 8 p.m., the three teams will present their ideas at an open house to gather feedback from local residents and town leaders, then adjust the designs based on input they receive. Residents are encouraged to come multiple nights to see the evolving designs as they change based on public input.

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Initiative addresses community needs post-Matthew

Dr. Gavin Smith, who heads the Hurricane Matthew Disaster Recovery and Resilience Initiative, walks along Main Street in downtown Fair Bluff, N.C., one of six communities that is the focus of the project. Photo by Darien Williams.

Matthew work continues in 6 impacted communities  Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) researchers, state officials and students from the University of North Carolina system have begun field work to address the unique needs of communities in eastern North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Matthew. They are working as part of the Hurricane Matthew Disaster Recovery … Read more

Education program to teach project management skills in emergency response settings

A FEMA Community Relations team, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and State Emergency Response Team (SERT) members meet as they go door to door providing outreach for potential Tropical Storm Fay-affected residents in 2008. Photo by George Armstrong/FEMA.

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 these disasters involves emergency management activities paid for by federal, state and local agencies and … Read more

CRC researchers search for appropriate incentives for coastal home protection

Dr. Davidson's model will be developed using phone survey data from 350 respondents in eastern North Carolina.

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 to be better prepared for wind damages under Florida’s current wind mitigation credit program. Retrofitting … Read more

Former CRC education program student selected for prestigious Knauss Fellowship

Devon McGhee. Courtesy of North Carolina Sea Grant.

A former student who was part of a Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) education program has been awarded a prestigious fellowship from the National Sea Grant College Program. Devon McGhee, a recent master’s degree graduate in environmental management at Duke University, was named one of five North Carolina finalists for the 2018 John A. … Read more

Rhode Island researchers partner with emergency managers for statewide preparedness exercise

Pam Rubinoff, right, and Dr. Austin Becker, second from right, instruct participants in a June training on preparation for “Hurricane Rhody.” Photo via the University of Rhode Island.

University of Rhode Island (URI) researchers involved in a Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) project demonstrated their project’s simulations in a joint training exercise last month with the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC), held from June 19-22 in Warwick, R.I., used the … Read more

Louisiana State project formalizes teaching of disaster management

LSU students visit the Baton Rouge Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as part of Dr. Barry Keim’s project. Photo submitted.

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 at Louisiana State University (LSU), aims to formalize teaching students about management of disaster events … Read more

CRC researcher presents work to Congressional office

Dr. Austin Becker

Dr. Austin Becker, a co-PI on a Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) project at the University of Rhode Island on a project led by Dr. James Opaluch, presented information on his DHS-funded work to the office of Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-RI) on June 12, 2017, in Washington, D.C.

CRC researcher to participate in Pardee RAND faculty leaders program

Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Meherun Laiju of Tougaloo College has received a prestigious fellowship to participate in an event focusing on natural disasters this summer. Dr. Laiju was among a dozen researchers awarded a fellowship to participate in the Pardee RAND Faculty Leaders Program, a week-long workshop that takes … Read more

ADCIRC Week focuses on comprehensive coastal modeling, 21st-century risk analysis

Attendees of the ADCIRC Boot Camp learn the basics of the modeling system during ADCIRC Week. Photo by Jason Fleming.

Meeting for its 21st year, organizers of the ADCIRC Users Group Meeting tried something new – recognizing individuals who have made significant contributions to the ADCIRC community. Nate Dill of Ransom Consulting was named ADCIRC Community Man of the Year 2017, and Dr. Jennifer Proft of the Institute for Computational Engineering Sciences at the University … Read more

Southwell joins CNHR as Project Manager

Jessica Southwell

Jessica Southwell has joined the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Natural Hazards Resilience as Project Manager for the Hurricane Matthew Disaster Recovery and Resilience Initiative (Initiative). In this position, she will coordinate the work of the Initiative in six communities in eastern North Carolina that were impacted by Hurricane Matthew, including documenting the Initiative’s progress, reporting … Read more

Interdisciplinary program teaches students, community about disaster sciences

Dr. Meherun Laiju (front row, third from left) with Tougaloo College faculty and students in the Disaster and Coastal Studies minor.

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,” which will expand the role of Geographic Information System (GIS) and other skills and undergraduate … Read more

Modeling tool brings commercial services into resiliency planning

Commercial facilities are mapped in the artificial CLARC community.

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 concept of post-disaster resiliency? Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) Principal Investigator Dr. William “Al” … Read more

Coastal Resilience Center project to utilize cloud computing award to simulate storm impacts

The hypothetical Hurricane Rhody, shown in red.

Researchers on a Coastal Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) project at the University of Rhode Island will have the resources of a major cloud-computing technology to improve the safety of coastal communities. Dr. Isaac Ginis recently received a Microsoft Azure Research Award, a one-year grant that allows his project team to utilize cloud computing technology … Read more

Project aims to change reaction to risk information

Dr. James Prochaska

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 storm-susceptible communities can have a major effect on resilience to natural hazards. Initiating changes in … Read more

Researchers focus on actions that increase preparedness, resilience

Policy simulations include visualization of commercial port properties impacted by potential sea-level rise. Illustration by Dr. Peter Stempel and Dr. Austin Becker.

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 fruitful results. When individuals get specific information about how a storm could impact their property … Read more

CRC Partners: Doug Bellomo, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Doug Bellomo

Doug Bellomo is a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Institute for Water Resources in Fort Belvoir, Va. (and a member of the CRC Advisory Board). He helps lead the Corps National Flood Risk Management program and works within the USACE Levee Safety Program and on coastal activities. In these capacities, he seeks to develop and implement policies and business practices to better integrate USACE activities across the flood risk management life cycle and to promote shared responsibility for flood risk. He spoke to the Coastal Resilience Center about how his work and the Center’s work complement one another.

 

CRC: Can you tell us a little about your current position at the Army Corps Institute for Water Resources and about how your career led to this point?

Bellomo: I’m currently senior technical advisor for flood risk management. The Institute plays an interesting role within the Corps, not necessarily as an operational organization but one that looks out to the future and helps try and identify challenges and opportunities. Those include integrating water missions in the Corps including recreation, dam operation, flood risk reduction, infrastructure, hydropower operation, and navigation, among others.

Doug Bellomo
Doug Bellomo

I’m helping in a variety of areas, including levee safety and dam safety – we’re the owner and operator of 715 dams. Another area is policy development: There was an executive order that was released in January 2015, and I’m helping USACE headquarters in developing draft procedures for implementing it.

I work with a broader team on the National Flood Risk Management Program, which includes Silver Jackets – a program within the Corps where we use our convening power to pull together state and other federal agencies to form teams to tackle flood risk-related challenges. The states really make and carry the agenda and we help facilitate and provide some technical support where we can.

I have a bachelor’s of science degree in civil engineering and a master’s of science degree in civil engineering, and my thesis was on the impact of seawalls on beaches in 1992-93. After I got out of graduate school I got a job in the private sector. I worked there for about four years and then joined FEMA, where I stayed for about 18 years. As Director of the Risk Analysis Division, I had the pleasure of working with great professionals and oversaw the development of maps for the National Flood Insurance Program. I chaired the National Dam Safety Review Board and Interagency Committee on Dam Safety, and oversaw implementation of the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Planning function, Hazus and other activities.

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Work across multiple states focuses on health of levee systems

One of the in situ measuring stations is shown at the Sherman Island levee in California. Photo submitted.

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 to use satellite imagery and GPS sensors to more quickly and cost-effectively assess the health … Read more