Pire:Building Extreme Weather Resiliency through Improved Weather and Climate Prediction and Public Response Strategies(5/5)

Extreme weather resiliency demands improved weather and climate prediction and public response strategies to strengthen the protection of life and property. Globally, flooding impacts over 96 million people/year, most within developing countries, at a mean cost of over $13.7 billion (UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2014). In the United States (US), floods annually cause an average 89 fatalities and $8.2 billion in damages. In Taiwan, flooding has led to nearly 1,000 fatalities and over $12.8 billion NT in damages since 2000 (National Weather Service, 2014). These numbers are expected to grow due to climate change, population growth, and increased vulnerability and exposure to extreme weather events (IPCC, AR5). Yet, the accurate prediction of intense, localized convection remains a critical scientific challenge. Proper mitigation could reduce adverse extreme weather impacts, particularly flood-related losses, with more precise short-range and long-term forecasts, more effective warning tools, and more effective decision support for decision makers and emergency responders. The US–Taiwan PIRE seeks to address the challenges associated with extreme weather resiliency with a particular focus on reducing the impacts of flooding through the enhancement of weather and climate prediction models and better understanding of decision-making risk and response during extreme weather events. This international partnership brings together internationally recognized and complementary expertise and capacity to investigate these societal challenges.This specific objectives of the consortium will be to 1) improve the ability of climate models to quantify extreme weather events on a regional scale, 2) enhance mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP) through innovative observation, and improved physics, 3) improve and investigate probabilistic methods and risk perception that impact decision-making during extreme weather in an international context, and 4) educate a generation of students and scientists who work effectively on international teams.