On 25 October 2021, AGU sent a letter to Congressional leadership in the House and the Senate endorsing the the Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support (FLOODS) Act and applauds their commitment to improving communication about the risks of extreme weather events so that communities can become more resilient in the face of climate and other hazards.  

 

On behalf of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and our community of 130,000 worldwide in the Earth and space sciences, I am writing to thank you for introducing H.R.1438, the Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support (FLOODS) Act and to offer AGU’s official endorsement for this important bill. AGU shares your dedication to improving communication about the risks of extreme weather events so that communities can become more resilient in the face of climate and other hazards. 

We applaud the FLOODS Act’s establishment of a National Integrated Information System at NOAA to coordinate and integrate flood research and ensure that decision makers have timely information.  Experts within our scientific community project that as the climate changes, hurricane winds and rain will intensify, and heavy rainstorms and “high tide” flood related to sea level rise will become more frequent, even as, as AGU’s Surging Waters report documented, flooding is already taking a huge toll on communities around our nation. Thus, strengthening federal agencies’ abilities to measure, predict, manage, and mitigate floods is crucial.

AGU also appreciates the FLOODS Act’s goal of broadening participation in the STEM workforce by establishing a Hydrologic Research Fellowship Program that gives preference to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.  It is among AGU’s top priorities to ensure that our STEM workforce is representative of the diversity of our nation—a goal that will not only benefit the individuals who work to advance the scientific enterprise but also the enterprise itself.

AGU appreciates your leadership on this critical issue.  AGU scientists already work to help communities prepare for and respond to extreme weather events, and we look forward to continuing to work with you on this bill and the overall issue in the future. 

 

You can read the full text of the letter here. here.