Webinar: Implementing Vulnerability into Historic Hurricane Normalizations

The Southeast & Caribbean Disaster Resilience Partnership (SCDRP) and SECOORA are joining forces to kick off 2025 with a co-hosted webinar on January 23rd at 10 am. SCDRP hosts monthly webinars, called Partnership Meetings, where they make important announcements, share opportunities, and feature key members of the resiliency community. SECOORA hosts the Coastal Observing In Your Community webinar series where we feature SECOORA-funded projects and products.

We are excited to announce our first speaker of the year is Kaylee Mooney, a graduate student at Florida Gulf Coast University. Kaylee won the 2023 SECOORA Data Challenge with her project Implementing Vulnerability into Historic Hurricane Normalizations. The SECOORA Data Challenge is a yearly competition that asks applicants to combine multiple Southeast datasets found on the SECOORA Data Portal to address a coastal issue.

Read more to learn about Kaylee and her winning project!

Project Abstract

To compare historic event losses, they must be “normalized” so that the direct economic losses at the time can be understood in the context of today’s contemporary societal conditions. However, the current normalization methods do not account for vulnerability. Vulnerability in the risk industry takes into account intrinsic characteristics of a system that create the potential for harm but are independent of the risk of any hazard or extreme event (Sarewitz et al., 2003). Vulnerability, in the context of this project, involves determining how the variability of the amount, size, price, and building code of housing structures impacts hurricane losses. Current normalization equations assume all housing structures existing in 2022 are built the same as they were in the year of the storm that is being normalized. This is an issue because buildings today are not as vulnerable as they were in the past. This study highlights the need for the addition of vulnerability into these equations by considering the changes and improvements in building code that the U.S. has seen through time. The vulnerability adjustment will be beneficial to the normalization of hurricane losses because it will provide a much more realistic picture of future hurricane losses.

About the Speaker

Kaylee Mooney is a second-year master’s student at Florida Gulf Coast University majoring in Environmental Science. Her thesis research involves historic hurricane normalization and implementing vulnerability into the normalization methodology. Through this work, she aims to create a more comprehensive framework for understanding the impacts of hurricanes, one that not only looks at historical data but also considers the social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities of the communities affected.

“My goal with this research is to help raise public awareness about their exposure to extreme weather events and to provide communities with a clearer understanding of the risks they face. I’m also dedicated to ensuring that all relevant environmental data is open access and transparent, so that decision-makers, researchers, and the public can access the information needed to better the methodology and understand their personal risk to natural disasters.” — Kaylee Mooney, FGCU

Beyond her thesis, she is passionate about bridging the gap between scientific research and community action. She hopes her work will contribute to building more resilient communities that are better equipped to handle the growing exposure and higher vulnerability.