Senate measure seeks to bolster nation’s hurricane research

U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, R-Fla., has introduced bipartisan legislation to implement a national hurricane research initiative designed to better research, predict and prepare for hurricanes.

Martinez crafted the proposal working from recommendations presented by the National Science Board’s draft report titled, Hurricane Warning: The Critical Need for a National Hurricane Research Initiative. According to that report, hurricanes cost taxpayers billions of dollars, but the government has not invested enough money in understanding them.

The bill’s original cosponsors include Senators Mary Landrieu, D-La., David Vitter, R-La., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

“Hurricanes, by far, cause more economic damage to a more widespread area than any other natural disaster. This bill takes sound, scientific recommendations and builds from them a foundation for better, more coordinated research,” said Martinez. “Given the enormous cost associated with hurricanes, we ought to better coordinate research and information about hurricane prediction, observation, the vulnerability of structures and how we might develop better evacuation plans.”

The National Hurricane Research Initiative (NHRI) takes the general recommendations of the National Science Board and seeks to harness the expertise of the nation’s science and engineering capabilities through a multi-agency effort focused on hurricane prediction, intensity, and mitigation on coastal populations, infrastructure, and the natural environment.

“Florida and other Gulf Coast states have a lot at stake and every hurricane season we have a lot of unknowns. Better, more intense, and more coordinated research can help us better prepare in the future,” said Martinez.

Research goals

The legislation puts the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation in charge of crafting specific strategies for implementing the NHRI.

The bill sets out goals for NHRI research including predicting hurricane intensification, storm surge, rainfall, and inland flooding, assessment of vulnerable infrastructure, interaction of hurricanes with engineered structures, improved disaster response and recovery, and evacuation planning.

The proposal also would establish a National Infrastructure Data Base to provide a baseline for developing standards.

The legislation was unveiled in conjunction with release of the report by the National Science Board, an advisory body to the President and Congress on national science policy. This report recommends a multi-agency effort to improve hurricane science and engineering research, along with about $300 million a year in additional funds.

“We urgently need a determined effort to maximize our understanding of hurricanes and ensure the effective application of science and engineering outcomes for the protection of life and property,” the report states.

Hurricane-related losses in the U.S. totaled $168 billion in the last two hurricane seasons, and 1,450 storm-related deaths were reported, according to the report.

Meanwhile, funding for the government’s “focal point” for storm analysis, the NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division, has never exceeded $5.1 million, and its staff has declined by 30 percent in the past decade, the report states.

Most hurricane-related funding is focused on short-term forecasting efforts, with less than 2 percent aimed at improving structural design and engineering for buildings, according to the science board.