Beware of Contractor Fraud: Go Local, Do Your Research
Beware of Contractor Fraud: Go Local, Do Your Research SANTA FE, New Mexico – FEMA and the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (NMDHSEM) caution Chaves County residents impacted by the Oct. 19-20 Storm and Flooding to be aware of post-disaster fraud and scams. Attempts to scam residents can be made over the phone, by mail or email, through the internet or in person. It is important to remain alert, as con artists are creative and resourceful. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it should be questioned. FEMA does not license or certify contractors. FEMA
New NOAA research predicts an increase in active Atlantic hurricane seasons
Tropical cyclones are among the most deadly and costly natural disasters that affect the United States and many other countries each year. This has led the scientific community to prioritize improving tropical cyclone prediction and the understanding of how tropical cyclone activity has changed and will change in the future. In a new study published in Science Advances, NOAA and partner researchers project an increase in the variability of Atlantic tropical cyclone activity, leading to more active and inactive hurricane seasons and less near-normal seasons. The study investigates how the frequency and accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) in the North Atlantic
Separating the land from the sea: image segmentation in support of coastal hazards research and community early warning systems
Total water level (TWL) at the shoreline is the key metric for assessing coastal flooding and erosion. Predictions of TWL are necessary for long-term coastal planning and early warning systems including the USGS/NOAA Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecast (TWL&CC). However, TWL is both difficult to predict and difficult to measure. Various TWL measurement techniques including cross-shore arrays of pressure sensors and wire gauges have been used in the past, but these techniques are costly, time consuming and unlikely to be scaled up to a national scale such as would be required for a comprehensive validation of the USGS
Biden-Harris Administration invests $34 million for NOAA fire weather research through Investing in America agenda
Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced the award of more than $34 million to reduce the risk to Americans’ lives and property from wildfires. This funding will be provided over five years to six research universities in NOAA’s Cooperative Institute system to support wildfire preparedness and response as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The overarching goal is to improve the understanding and modeling of wildfire behavior and integrate that into weather forecasting and wildfire warnings. Knowledge and tools generated from this funding will help NOAA build and deploy new observing
USGS Seeks Earthquake Hazards Research Proposals
USGS is currently soliciting project proposals for Fiscal Year 2025 grants on earthquake hazards science. The grants are a long-standing effort that contributes to the advancement of earthquake research. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently soliciting project proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 grants on earthquake hazards science and is authorized to award up to $7 million. Interested researchers can apply online at GRANTS.GOV under funding Opportunity Number G25AS00240. Note that all proposals submitted to the FY25 open application period are now limited to 15 pages, maximum. Please review the application instructions found in the GRANTS.GOV solicitation for more information. The grants offered
FORT Economist James Meldrum and the Wildfire Research Team win the 2024 CO-LABS Governor’s Awards for High Impact Research: Pathfinding Partnerships Award
The Pathfinding Partnerships Award from CO-LABS recognizes impactful, collaborative research projects organized by four or more research entities, including federal labs, in Colorado. This year, the Wildfire Research (WiRē) team received this award for their support of evidence-based community wildfire education to help communities live with wildfire. As wildfire frequency and severity increases worldwide and urban populations expand further into wildlands, communities will face increasing risk of interaction with wildfire. Scientific research has established effective practices for reducing wildfire risk to homes and communities, like improving fire department access to land parcels, removing flammable materials or vegetation near buildings, and