Lessons from Valencia’s Deadly Floods and the Role of AI in Disaster Preparedness

Source: Iván Portugués and Luis del Romero LEAP Wallerstein Panel Series: AI + Extreme Weather Preparedness Based on panel presentations and discussions by Gustau Camps-Valls, Félix Francés, Luis Gómez-Chova, and Ana Ruescas. On October 29, 2024, Spain’s Valencia region was devastated by an extreme weather event: one year’s worth of rain fell in a period …

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Transforming Disaster Management: The Promise and Challenges of AI in Wildfire Damage Assessment

The aftermath of a major wildfire presents a grim landscape: communities devastated, homes reduced to ash, and recovery teams racing against time to assess the extent of the damage. In the U.S., a preliminary damage assessment supports a request for federal assistance through a Stafford Act Presidential Disaster Declaration. This often involves labor-intensive, on-the-ground fieldwork, …

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Nearly two decades after Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast, what policies have changed?

A look at some key legislation since Hurricane Katrina. By Zayna Syed Streets that looked like canals, the Superdome surrounded by water, scores of displaced people on highway overpasses—these are some of the historic images that emerged from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina. As we approach the hurricane’s 19th anniversary, it is worth looking at how …

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NCDP 20th Anniversary Reflections and Impacts

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax exposures, centers throughout the United States were set up to prepare for and make our nation more resilient. In 2003, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia University, was founded to provide an academically based, interdisciplinary center focused on the capacity to prevent, respond to, and …

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The Beginnings of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP)

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax exposures, centers throughout the United States were set up to prepare for and make our nation more resilient. In 2003, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia University, was founded to provide an academically based, interdisciplinary center focused on the capacity to prevent, respond to, and …

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Federal Disaster Funding at Play in Fiscal Year 2024 and Government Shutdown Negotiations

The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is running dangerously low as the busiest time of the disaster season arrives and lawmakers debate spending levels for the coming year. Members of Congress are negotiating a budget deal to fund the federal government for FY 2024, as well as a Continuing Resolution (CR) as a stopgap measure for …

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