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Democratizing the Risk Communication Process 

Tropical cyclones (also referred to as typhoons and hurricanes) can be catastrophic. For example, one of the major threats posed by these to populations is through storm surges produced by powerful winds pushing water onto the shore. Depending on the force of the winds, local topography, and other conditions, these storm surges can extend a kilometer or more inland. In fact, nearly half of the lives lost due to tropical cyclones each year are due to storm surge.  

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Fortunately, weather agencies all around the world are developing increasingly sophisticated techniques for predicting the path and strength of tropical cyclones as well as the ensuing storm surges.

In most cases, however, weather agencies pay less attention to communicating the risks of the storm surge and other hazards than the technical modeling. In this website, one can find useful guides to the risk communication of storm surge. The guiding idea is that risk communication is something all members of a community should participate in, and that messages must be understood and shared by all. In a word, we must democratize the risk communication process. 

In addition, we would like to link with others and form a learning community where we can share insights, tools, and research concerning storm surge risk communication. This will be done through this online portal. Those interested can email the project director, Raul Lejano, at lejano@nyu.edu.

More information on our research team and project can be found here.