Cohort Level: Cohort - II

Career Goal: My goal is to work in areas related to atmospheric hazards and water prediction. I believe my background in civil and environmental engineering will provide me the tools required to contribute in these fields while acquiring new knowledge.

Expected Graduation Date: May 20, 2019

Degree: M.S Environmental Engineering and Water Resources

Research Title: Flood Risk Assessment Using In-Situ and Remote Sensing Products: Development of Flash Flood Forecasting System for Puerto Rico

Research Synopsis: Weather-related disasters have seen an increase in their frequency since 1980. For Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States in the Caribbean, the past decades have been plagued with constant floods, whose impact range from limited to catastrophic. This can be attributed to the topographic features and weather patterns of a tropical climate, where constant high temperatures lead to high intensity convective rainfall. Even though any rainfall event can lead to a flood, they are more likely to occur during the hurricane/rain season. Currently, the method used by the National Weather Service for flash flood analysis in Puerto Rico is the Flash Flood Guidance. For the island, the Flash Flood Guidance divides the territory in multiple regions and provides a single value for each one of them. For Puerto Rico, whose topography and weather patterns experience drastic changes in short distances, this guidance value may not be an accurate representation for all the area contained within each of the subdivisions.