General Security and Resilience

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. confirmed another billion-dollar disaster in October, bringing the total to a record 25 disasters in the first 10 months. This is the largest number of disasters for any year since NOAA has kept track of these types of events. It is also a sign of extreme weather that has grown increasingly frequent, severe, and unpredictable, with the threat of more such events for the remainder of 2023 and into the future.

NASA has written an article discussing new analysis from its sea level change science team which finds that “if a strong El Niño develops this winter, cities along the western coasts of the Americas could see an increase in the frequency of high-tide flooding.”

The following posts are useful for general awareness of current physical security threats, natural disaster resilience, preparedness resources, mitigation guidance, and other security-related news or updates. These resources have been curated by the WaterISAC analyst team as items of broad relevance and benefit that do not need supplemental analysis at this time.

Natural Hazards/Climate Change

North Carolina State University has posted a blog discussing a new model created by researchers that simulates how urban growth changes in response to future increased flooding risks. It emphasizes the multifaceted nature of flood risk in an era of climate change, as traditional models don’t track human responses to flood risk such as elevating buildings or moving development away from high-risk areas.