UNC-Chapel Hill hurricane experts available

As Hurricane Helene continues to impact the southeast, Carolina experts are available to discuss: 

• Storm surge and flooding

• Water quality

• Financial losses/risks associated with tropical storms

• Beach erosion and other storm-related issues
  

To speak with any of the experts listed below, please email [email protected].

Rick Luettichis the lead investigator of the Department of Homeland Security's Coastal Resilience Center. He is a leading global expert on storm surge and is on the front lines when it comes to predicting a storm's potential impact, as co-developer of ADCIRC, a system of computer programs used to predict storm surge and flooding. Federal agencies, organizations and emergency operations centers in several coastal states use Luettich's model to assess risk, for design protection and to make decisions during storm events. He can discuss coastal risk, protection and forecasting storms.

Greg Characklisis the director of the Center on Financial Risk in Environmental Systems and a professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment. He can discuss the financial losses and risks associated with extreme weather events and new tools and strategies for managing these risks.

Antonio Rodriguez centers his research on the geologic processes that shape coastlines, including understanding the forces that change our shores after a hurricane and how that change manifests in the face of a changing climate. His lab uses small drones and sediment cores to better understand the impacts of hurricanes on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Miyuki Hinois an assistant professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and an adjunct assistant professor in the Environment, Ecology, and Energy Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. Hino can discuss development of new housing and infrastructure in floodplains, post-disaster relief programs and the social and economic impacts of flooding.

Kathryn Van Tol is an instructor for emergency management at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government. Van Tol is an expert on the laws and authorities related to emergency management, including state of emergency declarations, and is often on the front lines with North Carolina public officials during hurricanes. She works closely with the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management year-round to help local governments prepare for natural disasters. Van Tol can discuss what local governments are authorized to do during disasters, how they should prepare for scenarios like evacuations and debris removal, and federal regulations like FEMA contract requirements.

Climatologist and geography professor Chip Konradhas expertise in a variety of topics including climatology and meteorology, including heavy precipitation, tornadoes, hurricanes, cold air outbreaks, heat waves and winter weather. He currently serves as the director of NOAA's Southeast Regional Climate Center, which provides operational climate service programs and expertise in climate science for the southeastern United States.

Hans Paerlis a water quality expert at the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences, focused on causes, controls and ecological and human health effects of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in aquatic ecosystems. He has extensively published on the impacts of climatic changes taking place, including more extreme storms (i.e. tropical cyclones) and droughts on water quality and HABs, low oxygen (hypoxia), fish kills, and toxicity of blooms (digestive, liver and neurological impacts on human health).

Rachel Noble focuses her research on public health issues surrounding water quality, including stormwater, drinking water and extreme conditions like those following a tropical storm or hurricane event. Her current work highlights the use of rapid tests to protect public health from waterborne diseases. She can discuss how to protect human health by better understanding pathogens and the risk they pose to the public, particularly after storm events.