NOAA Awards $3.7 Million To Florida International University For Hurricane Response Research

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded $3,710,540 to Florida International University to conduct research into the public’s response to hurricane warning information. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The research supported by this NOAA grant will analyze previous public response data to estimate costs for issuing future warnings for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties in Florida. Researchers will use hurricanes Andrew, Georges and Floyd as a basis to estimate future warning information costs, response times and the associated benefits to southern Florida’s communities.

“This NOAA grant supports research that will enhance the knowledge and abilities of emergency managers that will ultimately help protect the lives and property of south Florida residents,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The research conducted by the Florida Hurricane Alliance Research Program gives us insight into the public’s response to emergency information, while actively supporting NOAA and the Bush Administration’s commitment to understanding our environment.”

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth's natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 years.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.