Faculty Experts Advisory: Hurricane Harvey

Texas National Guard soldiers assist residents affected by flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston on August 27, 2017. (National Guard photo by Lt. Zachary West)

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 1, 2017) -- Hurricane Harvey inundated southeastern Texas and Louisiana with torrential rains, resulting in historic flooding.

In the wake of the hurricane, the University at Albany has several experts available to discuss the weather situation along the Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana, the role social media played in the rescue efforts and the critical need to be prepared for the next severe weather event.

For weather and climate-related expertise:

• Chris Thorncroft, Ph.D., the chair of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, studies tropical weather and climate.
• Kristen Corbosiero, Ph.D., an associate professor in Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, studies hurricane formation, structure and intensity change of tropical cyclones.
• Brian Tang, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences. His expertise is tropical cyclones, moisture and tropical disturbances and the global variability of tropical disturbances.

Hurricane Harvey dropped historic levels of rain over Texas and Louisiana. (U.S. Dept. of the Interior).

For expertise on the role social media has played in aiding rescue efforts, the coordination of storm recovery efforts and emergency preparedness tips for the next big storm:

• Samantha Phillips is the director of UAlbany's National Center for Security & Preparedness and has played an integral role in several disaster responses including Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
• Eric Stern, Ph.D., of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, spoke with NPR Radio affiliate WAMC about social media's role in disaster response and specifically related to Hurricane Harvey.
• Amber Silver, Ph.D. of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, also focuses on social media's role in disaster response.

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