Media Watch
How Do Natural Hazards Cascade to Cause Disasters?
Nature -
UCI Associate Professor Amir AghaKouchak, PhD Scholars Laurie Huning and Omid Mazdiyasni and others write, “Risk assessments should be expanded to consider cascading hazards. Otherwise, we cannot plan for the scale and nature of upcoming disasters. Researchers must find answers to these questions: how will climate change alter the risk of disastrous domino effects? … Here we outline how such a risk framework should be developed.”
This Building Material Can Protect Homes During Natural Disasters, and the US is Missing Out
CNBC -
"One of the major push for that technology actually was the adoption of that system by our former President Carter," said Ayman Mossallam, a civil and engineering professor at the University of California, Irvine.
Extreme Flooding from Florence Likely, Due to Convergence of Threats
Salon -
“We have ignored it in the past, we cannot ignore it in the future,” says Amir AghaKouchak, a civil engineer at the University of California, Irvine …. AghaKouchak is studying how sea level rise might affect such flooding; a 2017 study he co-authored found that when compound flooding and sea level rise were factored in, the chances of floods that exceed what local infrastructure was built to accommodate went up considerably.
Water, Water, Everywhere
Science Friday -
As Hurricane Florence nears land, one engineer notes the rising risk of a flooding double whammy as sea levels rise and the climate changes. Guest: Amir AghaKouchak, associate professor of civil engineering at the University of California, Irvine.
Extreme Flooding from Florence Likely, Due to Convergence of Threats
Scientific American -
“We have ignored it in the past, we cannot ignore it in the future,” says Amir AghaKouchak, a civil engineer at the University of California, Irvine …. AghaKouchak is studying how sea level rise might affect such flooding; a 2017 study he co-authored found that when compound flooding and sea level rise were factored in, the chances of floods that exceed what local infrastructure was built to accommodate went up considerably.
PerceptIn’s Self-driving Vehicles Go on Sale in November for $40,000
Venture Beats -
While autonomous cars aren’t as expensive as they used to be, they’re not exactly competitive with midrange family sedans. … Dr. Shaoshan Liu says it doesn’t have to be that way. The University of California Irvine graduate … is the founder and CEO of PerceptIn, a robotics startup headquartered in Santa Clara, California that’s been developing an in-house self-driving car platform since 2016. It today unveiled the DragonFly Pod, an autonomous vehicle priced at just $40,000 that’ll go on sale in November.
We Can Work It Out: Avoiding Disasters
Eos -
Amir AghaKouchak, [associate professor] University of California, Irvine; and Ben van der Pluijm, write, “The key question is, What does it take to prevent natural hazards from becoming human disasters? … This leads to another important question: How can the scientific community inform societies about critical thresholds and strengthen their resilience against natural hazards?”
'Apocalyptic threat': dire climate report raises fears for California's future
The Guardian -
The “apocalyptic threat” the governor described would present itself in myriad ways in a state prone to extreme weather events like drought and wildfires, said Amir AghaKouchak, an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine, and a researcher who contributed to the assessment.
Australia Battling the Big Dry
The New Zealand Herald -
Wild animals moving closer to human populations is a common side effect of drought, Amir AghaKouchak, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of California at Irvine, told the Washington Post. "It happens all the time - in Australia with kangaroos, and in some other countries, even cheetahs and jaguars get closer to farms when there's a lack of water," he said.
In Australia, Farmers Dealing with Drought Can Kill Kangaroos that Compete with Their Livestock
The Washington Post -
Wild animals moving closer to human populations is a common side effect of drought, Amir AghaKouchak, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of California at Irvine, told The Washington Post. “It happens all the time — in Australia with kangaroos, and in some other countries, even cheetahs and jaguars get closer to farms when there’s a lack of water,” he said.