NC State to Lead Regional Weather Preparedness Initiative
North Carolina State University has been chosen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to spearhead a new initiative aimed at aiding communities across the South Atlantic in preparing for severe weather and disasters.
NOAA has provided NC State with $1.2 million to initiate the South Atlantic Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program, which will span one year. This program builds upon five years of previous efforts through the Carolinas RISA and extends its collaboration to include North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The interdisciplinary team, led by NC State, will collaborate with state and local governments, communities, and other stakeholders to convert weather and climate science into actionable strategies for preparedness, recovery, and resilience.
Addressing Regional Hazards
“Communities across the South Atlantic are already making difficult decisions about how to prepare for flooding, extreme heat, hurricanes, drought, wildfire, and other hazards,” stated Dr. Jennifer Runkle, principal investigator for the South Atlantic RISA and a senior research scientist at NC State’s North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies (NCICS). The initiative aims to ensure that these communities have access to the best available science, along with the necessary partnerships and tools to effectively implement that information.
The South Atlantic region faces a growing array of interconnected hazards that can disrupt key services such as transportation, healthcare, and housing. The RISA team will investigate issues such as flooding, extreme temperatures, drought, wildfires, and tropical cyclones, focusing on both compound and cascading events. Their work will include developing innovative methods for translating hazard information into practical tools for decision-makers.
Research will tackle various resilience challenges, including the impact of extreme weather on housing affordability and pathways to homeownership. The team will also collaborate with communities and public service providers to enhance infrastructure and resilience against heat. Additionally, Hurricane Helene will serve as a case study to analyze the long-term effects of disasters on health, infrastructure, economic conditions, and household well-being.
Interconnected Infrastructure Challenges
“Extreme weather doesn’t affect infrastructure in isolation,” remarked Dr. Katherine Anarde, an assistant professor in NC State’s College of Engineering. She emphasized that critical infrastructure like roads and water systems are deeply intertwined with the communities they serve. The South Atlantic RISA aims to work with partners to better understand these connections and devise practical strategies to help communities prepare for future extreme weather and recover more effectively from disasters.
A key aspect of the program is its focus on co-producing science with stakeholders. Researchers will engage with local governments, emergency managers, public health officials, businesses, and community organizations through listening sessions, workshops, and training to ensure the tools and information developed meet real-world needs.
“The value of RISA is in the relationships that connect science to action,” Dr. Jared Bowden, director of the North Carolina State Climate Office, noted. He added that the initiative goes beyond simply providing climate information; it actively involves partners in understanding their decision-making processes and collaboratively developing useful tools and solutions.
Building a Multidisciplinary Team
NC State will lead a diverse team of researchers from various disciplines across the three-state area. Participants from NC State include experts from NCICS, the State Climate Office, and the College of Engineering, who will work alongside collaborators from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Furman University, Georgia State University, the University of Georgia, and the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science. This team possesses expertise in areas such as climate science, engineering, public health, economics, social science, disaster recovery, and community engagement.
The researchers will collaborate with a broad network of state and local governments, NOAA offices, emergency management agencies, public health organizations, Tribal partners, businesses, and community organizations. Key partners include the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, North Carolina Department of Transportation, South Carolina Office of Resilience, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta Regional Commission, NOAA’s National Weather Service, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, among others.
The South Atlantic RISA aims to empower communities to move from merely understanding risks to taking proactive measures, thereby enhancing both the information available and the regional capacity required to prepare for future extreme weather and recover from disasters.
Source: NC State University
