The Center for the Study of Natural Hazards & Disasters at UNC-Chapel Hill (UNC Hazards Center) is a PLAN!T NOW partner and leading source of research on the impacts of disasters. For more information on the Center, visit http://hazardscenter.unc.edu.
Background
Established in 2008 as a research center headquartered at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the UNC Hazards Center
- Advances the understanding of hazards resilience through rigorous interdisciplinary research
- Creating translational models that move knowledge into practice
- Developing education, extension and training methods reflecting the diversity and needs of target audiences
With a major grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the UNC Hazards Center also administers the Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence (DIEM), a coalition of principal investigators located at 19 institutions throughout the United States. DIEM partners are pursuing innovative projects in disciplines as diverse as engineering, planning, coastal modeling, psychology and economics, as well as projects in other fields that have direct bearing on the policy and practice of hazards management.
The UNC Hazards Center got off to a busy start in 2011, hosting speakers and workshops, initiating new projects and launching a summer internship program, all while continuing to pursue an intense research agenda with our many colleagues and partners. More
Miami, FL – PLAN!T NOW (P!N) has teamed with Scholarship America to provide scholarship aid for four community college students in the coastal United States as part of its 2010 PIN Hurricane Relief Scholarship Program (HRS P!N). Through this program, P!N will award four academic scholarships of $2,500 each to community college students studying natural hazard sciences, such as weather research, engineering, chemistry and other fields that help predict or mitigate the impacts of natural disasters on human life.
In 2008, as a means of improving hurricane preparedness in high-risk regions in the United States, P!N created the Hurricane Relief Scholarship Award for college students severely impacted by hurricanes or tropical storms. The award is given to students at four-year colleges and universities who, despite suffering significant setbacks, demonstrate academic and/or service excellence, an inner drive to succeed and a willingness to use their life experiences as teachable moments to encourage hurricane preparedness for others. P!N HRS Dreamkeepers is an exciting part of the program’s growth, now reaching the community college network. More
In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC), released its predictions for the current hurricane season. Like other prominent climate science sources, the CPC predicts that coastal American populations could be at greater risk of a storm’s landfall than in the past few seasons. Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the six-month season, NOAA is predicting the following ranges:
- 12 to 18 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which:
- Six to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including:
- Three to six major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher)
(Each of these ranges has a 70 percent likelihood. This indicates that activity will exceed the seasonal average of 11 named storms More
