Pacific Disaster Center responds to Hurricane Harvey in never-before-seen Texas flooding event

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Chani Goering, (808) 495-3865
Communications and Outreach Manager, Pacific Disaster Center
Kelli Abe Trifonovitch, (808) 228-8108
Director of Communications and Outreach, University of Hawai‘i System
Posted: Sep 1, 2017

Members of the Pacific Disaster Center's team at work.
Members of the Pacific Disaster Center's team at work.
A Pacific Disaster Center forecast for Tropical Depression Harvey on August 30, 2017.
A Pacific Disaster Center forecast for Tropical Depression Harvey on August 30, 2017.

As the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey, now a tropical depression, continue to worsen throughout Southeast Texas, the University of Hawaiʻi-managed Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) is doing its part to expedite analysis and dissemination of new field data using its powerful DisasterAWARE technology. Working closely with the Texas National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and several local authorities, the center is using its new Global Exposure Model to provide rapid snapshots of potential impacts on the ground. Disaster management agencies are utilizing these new tools to help with humanitarian assistance that spans thousands of square miles while Harvey continues to deluge millions in torrential floodwaters.

According to PDC Science Advisor Doug Bausch, a major challenge with understanding the effects of this storm is that most models only account for either accumulated or forecast rainfall. “With PDC’s Global Exposure Model, we are now able to combine observed rainfall and forecast rainfall with observed and forecast flooding to offer reliable information about the effects of this disaster and to help estimate impacts and needs.”

For more go to UH News:  https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2017/09/01/uh-center-responds-to-hurricane-harvey/

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