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Aerial photo of south breach of Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Floodwall during Hurricane Katrina.

Geotechnical Engineering for Extreme Events

Geo-Extreme 2021 aims to create a multi-disciplinary forum to discuss how the geo-engineering community can work with other professionals, e.g., climate scientists, engineers, emergency managers, resilience and sustainability investigators, insurance experts, and policy makers, to properly cope with extreme events (such as hurricanes, floods, extreme precipitations, droughts, wildfires, debris flows, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides) under a changing climate.

Extreme Events & Geo-Hazards

Weather and climate disasters have resulted in over $1.8 trillion losses and 13,249 deaths in the United States since 1980. Historical records show that the number of billion-dollar disasters is on the rise. Despite uncertainty in the projections, most climate models suggest an increase in both frequency and intensity of extreme events under climate change.

Mitigating the consequences of future extreme events will require geo-professionals to take timely actions including, but not limited to: evaluation of existing earthen structures, design and construction of protective structures in areas where an increased probability of damage is expected, refinement of existing geo-system designs, and development of new climate-adaptive measures and risk assessment tools.

The Geo-Institute of ASCE

Created by ASCE in October 1996, the Geo-Institute (G-I) combines the talents and perspectives of its members to promote the geotechnical profession and enhance career development through specialty conferences, journals and practice-oriented publications, educational programs, networking and coalition building, technical committees and task forces and leadership on emerging issues. The over 13,000 members and 60+ organizational members of G-I include scientists, engineers, technologists and organizations interested in improving the environment, mitigating natural hazards, and constructing economically engineered facilities.

Join G-I

Director's Cut

Check out Tim Stark’s interview on Director’s Cut, the weekly show featuring G-I members hosted by G-I Director Brad Keelor.

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