Predicting and managing coastal flooding and its impacts on natural and built infrastructure is important to reduce life, economic and ecological losses

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a $900,000 Cooperative Agreement to the Stevens Institute of Technology under the Congressionally Identified Awards and Projects (CFDA 11.469) program. The project, titled "Predicting and Managing Coastal Flooding and Its Impacts on Natural and Built Infrastructure," aims to enhance Stevens Institute's Dynamic Underwater Coastal Kinematic Surveying System (DUCKS) and Operational Stevens Flood Advisory System (SFAS) to create a high-resolution, multi-platform, rapidly deployable Coastal Extreme Event Observing System. This system, called the Stevens Extreme Event Coastal Preparedness and Response System (SEECPRS), will enable the collection of critical data before, during, and after extreme coastal flooding events to improve forecast accuracy and damage assessments. The project will leverage Stevens' expertise in assessing and monitoring flood hazards to support efforts to reduce life, economic, and ecological losses from coastal flooding. The award period runs from March 1, 2025, through August 31, 2028.

The proposed project will leverage stevens institute of technologys expertise in assessing and monitoring flood hazards and enhance its dynamic underwater coastal kinematic surveying system (DUCKS) and operational stevens flood advisory system (SFAS) to create a high-resolution, multi-platform, rapidly deployable, coastal extreme event observing system. The stevens extreme event coastal preparedness and response system (SEECPRS) would enable the collection of critical, perishable data before, during, and after extreme coastal flooding events. As a storm approaches, SEECPRS light detection and ranging (LIDAR) assets will be deployed in critical areas to collect elevation data to improve the accuracy of forecast flood depths and extents. During a storm, these same assets will be used to help assess and improve future model predictions. After a storm, SEECPRS will be used to rapidly assess the damage to natural and built infrastructure on both land and water, which can be critical for resuming normal activities and reducing economic losses.