Flooding is the most prominent natural disaster in Pennsylvania, with trends that include increasing size and frequency of flash floods as well as increasing uncertainty and associated challenges in prediction and flood warning. These conditions put at risk millions of people living in small and moderate-sized communities across the Commonwealth.
The purpose of this workshop is to engage partners—such as community officials, emergency managers, planners, and others involved in flood warning—around issues related to community-based flood warning to improve understanding of available technical resources for implementing Community Based Flood Warning Systems, as well as identify knowledge gaps, research needs, and associated priorities.
Topics/questions to be explored include:
- Community needs and responsibilities for advanced flood warning systems
- Flood/Flash Flood risk identification and understanding at the community level
- Developing partnerships to ensure success
- Available tools and resources for implementation
- Operation and maintenance considerations before deployment
- Gaps and opportunities for enhancing community flood protection
This workshop is designed to highlight existing opportunities, recognize gaps, and identify next steps and potential funding to enhance community flood protection. The workshop itself will be free; attendees will need to cover their own lodging. For additional information, contact Andy Warner (atw11@psu.edu) or Ben Pratt (bpratt@srbc.gov).
Suggested Participants:
- Representatives of local communities, counties, and councils of government
- Emergency management/first responders
- State agencies and regional organizations
- Federal agencies: USGS, NOAA, USACE, FEMA, NWS
- Academia and civil society
- Consultants and other private industry
Participation is free and lunch provided, but registration is required.
Preliminary Sponsors (additional sponsors welcome)