Starting in the summer of 2026, the USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center has the capability to generate post-fire debris flow runout hazard maps upon request for certain fires. Postfire debris flows pose a unique hazard to human life, property, and infrastructure when they travel from steep areas to urbanized alluvial fans or other developed areas. For nearly 15 years the USGS has been generating rapid (<1 week) postfire debris-flow hazard assessments to document the increase in the likelihood and size of debris flows but these hazard assessments do not indicate how far a debris-flow might travel. A new method to generate runout hazard maps is now able to indicate how far debris flows may travel. These maps may support the identification of potentially hazardous areas immediately following a fire and to provide approximate runout forecasts when interpreted alongside a weather forecast. Katy Barnhart described the USGS’s new method for generating postfire debris-flow runout hazard maps and shared case studies that show events that were triggered by a range of rainfall intensities and how the observed debris flow runouts compared to model predictions.

Detailed background information and research reference: Barnhart, K. R., Kean, J. W., Lindsay, D. N., & Bilderback, E. L. (2026). Multi-site evaluation of a postfire debris-flow runout forecast method. Earth's Future, 14, e2025EF007004. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EF007004

Presenters:

• Katy Barnhart, Research Civil Engineer, U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Hazards Science Center, Golden, CO 

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording, and Transcript

Date: April 28, 2026

Mike Bartles introduced foundational hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) engineering principles for new Silver Jackets team members and anyone interested in getting a refresher on this key flood risk management topic.  Topics that were covered during the webinar included: how floods happen, what is a hydrologic/hydraulic model, how/why are models used, what are the purposes of statistical hydrology, and USACE H&H resources that can assist within H&H efforts. The USACE Hydrologic Engineering Center website has many technical and training resources available for review and download. 

Presenters:

• Mike Bartles, P.E., Senior Hydraulic Engineer at the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC), US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording, and Transcript

Date: March 24, 2026

A university-led research team at Northern Arizona University has developed a new class of hardware and software technology for the purpose of stream and flood stage monitoring. The technology is developed to meet U.S. Geological Survey’s surface water science program specifications under the Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS) program. This presentation will provide a preview of the technology and a chance to discuss applications and requirements with the university research team. The technology is expected to be available soon for wider adoption in the government sector in the USA for surface water observation purposes.

Presenters:

• Dr. Ben Ruddell, Northern Arizona University, Civil Engineer
• Dr. Eck Doerry, Northern Arizona University, Computer Scientist

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording, and Transcript

Date: February 25, 2026

To improve flood warning communication and help emergency managers prepare for and respond to flooding, the National Weather Service has begun to add new experimental flood inundation mapping services to its suite of forecast products. These new services complement and support the issuance of flood watches and warnings by providing near-real-time, high-resolution, neighborhood-level visualizations showing where, when, and how much flood waters are forecast. FIM maps are available on the National Water Prediction Service website and via Geographic Information System applications. https://water.noaa.gov.

Presenters:

• Kate Abshire, Acting Team Lead, Water Resources Services Branch, National Weather Service

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording, and Transcript

Date: Sepember 23, 2025

Please join us to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of Silver Jackets! During this webinar, we highlighted the inaugural Silver Jackets teams – Ohio (formed in 2005) and Indiana (formed in 2006) – and heard from early & current Silver Jackets leaders about the state of interagency flood risk management collaboration before Silver Jackets came into existence and the value it added once stood up. Our panelists also discussed how the Ohio and Indiana teams have evolved over the past 20 years, what the teams’ greatest accomplishments are, and where Silver Jackets is headed in the future.

Presenters:

• David Hibner, SES, US Army Corps of Engineers Director of Contingency Operations/Chief, Office of Homeland Security – USACE Silver Jackets Champion
• Manuela Johnson, Resources Planner, Christopher B. Burke Engineering – Indiana Silver Jackets Team Founding Member
• Steve Ferryman, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, Mitigation Branch Chief – Ohio Silver Jackets Team Founding Member
• Ed Hecker, Retired, former USACE Director of Contingency Operations/Chief, Office of Homeland Security – original USACE Silver Jackets Champion
• Brandon Brummett, USACE Louisville District, Outreach Coordinator – Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois Silver Jackets Teams  
• Tom Hughes, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Director, Emergency Management Mitigation/Insurance and Resilient Communities Office – Pennsylvania Silver Jackets Team

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Recording, and Transcript

Date: August 13, 2025

In 2011 a large flood occurred on the Mendenhall River with no obvious rainfall or snowmelt driver. Investigations after the event identified a new Glacial Dammed Lake (GDL) that had released and caused a jökulhlaup or Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).  Another large GLOF occurred in 2014 with the highest record river stage up to that point.  In response to this new unpredictable flooding hazard on the Mendenhall River the Alaska Silver Jackets team initiated and completed a flood inundation mapping project in 2015 to help inform planning and response; also supported by the USACE Floodplain Management Services Program (FPMS).  These maps extended well above what was previously mapped and expected from rainfall, snowmelt and glacier flooding.  Outburst floods continue to persist with sporadic partial draining of the GDL over the next eight years.  In 2023, the basin nearly drained completely during an August outburst flood. This resulted in a flood of Record that exceeded previous events by nearly three feet on the river gage.  The 2015 Silver Jackets inundation mapping project provided actionable information for the 2023 event and were critical again in 2024 when another even larger flood of record occurred.  A science team continues to study this unique flooding hazard and is working with the local community to update and extend the mapping to higher flood levels with the possibility of larger events in the future.

Presenters:

• Aaron Jacobs, Senior Service Hydrologist, NWS Juneau Forecast Office
• Crane Johnson, Senior Hydrologist, NWS Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center
• Phillip Martinez, Alaska Silver Jackets Coordinator, USACE Alaska District

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording, and Transcript

Date: July 30, 2025

Between the 23rd-27th of September 2024, antecedent rain followed by Hurricane Helene produced widespread flooding and landsliding across southern Appalachia, resulting in one of the most damaging weather events in the region’s history. The back-to-back storms produced observed rainfall accumulations of up to 33 inches and hurricane-force winds gusting over 120 miles per hour in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia. The resulting regional flooding, landslides, and tree blowdown caused over 100 fatalities, damaged or destroyed critical infrastructure and thousands of structures, and severed connectivity across the region. Together with state, federal, and local partners, the U.S. Geological Survey activated their landslide emergency response team to coordinate rapid remote, aerial, and field mapping of thousands of landslides and their impacts. They also produced preliminary hazard models and assessments, daily situational reports, and educational and outreach materials. These efforts provided timely information to aid emergency response, and the initial observations highlight the destructive role of landslides and debris flows in this historic event. This presentation will describe the initial observations, including how landslides mobilized woody debris and delivered massive sediment loads to channels, streams, and reservoirs, contributing to the flood risk in the region.

Presenters:

• Benjamin B. Mirus, Supervisory Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording, and Transcript

Date: June 25, 2025

Silver Jackets, West Virginia and Pennsylvania partners, and the USACE Huntington & Pittsburgh Districts coordinated to host an interactive workshop that takes traditional planning methods and turns them into a fast-paced, role-playing simulation of structured public participation focused on disaster preparation, response & recovery. Patricia Usher, Hannah Parlock, Catherine Tully, and Hunter Merritt took people through the extreme event game created by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the variety of audiences that participated, and lessons learned. 

Presenters:

• Catherine Tully, Environmental Programs Manager, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
• Patricia Usher, Community Planner, USACE Pittsburgh District
• Hannah Parlock, Interdisciplinary Planner, USACE Huntington District
• Hunter Merritt, Social Scientist, USACE Institute for Water Resources

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording, Transcript, and Other Materials

Date: May 27, 2025

Tomi Bergstrom gave an overview of Project WET (Water Education Today), an organization that provides interdisciplinary, hands-on water education resources to educators, for children aged Kindergarten to 12^th grade. Hannah Parlock then explained the initiative to incorporate flood-focused lessons into the curriculum through a partnership with Silver Jackets and WV DEP. 

Presenters:

• Tomi Bergstrom, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
• Hannah Parlock, USACE Huntington District

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: April 23, 2025

Athena Clark will give an overview of the USGS Real-Time Flood Impact Map - a web-based tool used to provide public facing real-time flooding information to the public using more relatable icon based graphics displaying specific impacts to key public features near USGS streamgages.  Previously, flooding was reported as raw stage and discharge values as reported by the steamgage.  Often the public did not understand the relationship of these values to flooding impacts on local infrastructure, putting the safety of the public at risk.  David Evetts, Chris Laveau, and Russel Lodge  will provide an overview of a collaboration between the ID & WA Silver Jackets, USGS, and USACE to establish the USGS Real-Time Flood Impact Map in Idaho and Washington. 

Presenters:

• Athena Clark, Science Advisor and Tribal Liaison, Southeast Region, USGS
• David Evetts, Assistant Director of Hydrologic Data, USGS, ID Water Science Center
• Chris Laveau, Assistant Director of Hydrologic Data, USGS, WA Water Science Center
• Russel Lodge PE, Idaho Silver Jackets Coordinator, USACE

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: March 20, 2025

Derek, Chelsea, and Jennifer will provide an overview of the partnership between the City of Fremont, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and Nebraska Silver Jackets. With more than $19 million in damages from record flooding and levee overtopping in 2019, the City of Fremont, Nebraska became an island, cut off from surrounding communities. Prior to and immediately following the event, a multi-project partnership with the USACE was developed to support the mitigation and planning efforts to build the flood resiliency of Fremont. Fremont and other local partners combined to complete a Section 205 Study with USACE and two projects with Nebraska Silver Jackets. This presentation will highlight the integrated nature of the flood risk management approach taken by Fremont by reviewing multiple past and ongoing projects. Each project has improved the City's flood risk management capabilities throughout the flood risk lifecycle of Response, Recovery, Mitigation, and Planning..

Presenters:

• Derek Schriner, P.E., Hydraulic Engineer & Nebraska Silver Jackets Coordinator, USACE - Omaha District
• Chelsea Harris, Nebraska State Hazard Mitigation Officer, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
• Jennifer Dam, Director of Planning, City of Fremont, NE

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: February 19, 2025

Recovery and post-fire flood response after catastrophic wildfires requires careful coordination across the entire landscape, between private landowners, local, state and Tribal governments, as well as and between federal agencies. To strengthen coordination across federal agencies during post-fire response and recovery, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and the Environmental Protection Agency signed a memorandum of understanding to streamline post-fire management.

The agreement captures how participating federal partners plan to align post-fire condition assessments, increase emergency response capacity, and improve long-term recovery efforts across the landscape. This shared effort will be coordinated through the newly established Interagency Post-fire Integration Council (IPIC). Please join us for a one-hour webinar to meet incoming IPIC leadership, discuss priorities from the start, and look to ways to engage.

Presenters:

• Jenna Knobloch, Senior Wildfire Resilience Fellow, USDA Office of the Under Secretary, Natural Resources and Environment 

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: January 10, 2025

Eric Tichansky and Cameron Ackerman provided an overview of the latest hydraulic modeling advancements in HEC-RAS including stormwater pipe networks and 2D floodway evaluation tools. HEC-RAS version 6.6 released in September 2024 includes the ability to create stormwater pipe networks and integrate them with 1D and 2D surface elements. The addition of stormwater pipe networks will expand the applicability of HEC-RAS in urban areas, allowing users to analyze the adequacy of stormwater systems and better characterize pluvial flood risk. Also included in HEC-RAS 6.6 are a suite of 2D floodway evaluation tools allowing users to add encroachments to floodways in 2D, discretize the analysis into separate zones, and easily compare encroachment scenarios to base results.

Presenters:

• Eric Tichansky, P.E., CFM, Senior Hydraulic Engineer at the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC), USACE
• Cameron Ackerman, P.E., BC.WRE, Senior Hydraulic Engineer, Senior Hydraulic Engineer at the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC), USACE

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Mark Newhall (Iowa Office of Levee Safety), Jason Smith (USACE, Rock Island District) and Mike Bachand (USACE, National Levee Safety Program) discussed a 3-day National Levee Safety event that was hosted by the Iowa Silver Jackets Team in February of this year in conjunction with the team’s Silver Jackets quarterly meeting. The event was an opportunity to discuss moving the nation towards a consistent set of practices for levees; brief the group on available National Levee Safety Program tools and datasets available for Iowa levee systems; discuss the newly-formed Iowa Office of Levee Safety’s goals and objectives; and to celebrate Iowa’s groundbreaking success in passing state legislation establishing a dedicated office and program for levee safety – one of the first states to do so. The event also included a tour of the Cedar Rapids Flood Risk Management System and attendance at a local Levee Safety Town Hall.

Presenters:

• Mark Newhall, Disaster Grants and Administration Bureau Chief, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Iowa Office of Levee Safety
• Jason Smith, Program Manager and Iowa Silver Jackets Coordinator, Rock Island District US Army Corps of Engineers
• Mike Bachand, National Levee Safety Program Technical Manager, US Army Corps of Engineers

Supporting Presenters:

• Jim Marwedel, Hazard Mitigation Program Manager, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management
• Jeff Jackson, Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Recovery Operations and Office of Levee Safety
• Ivy Williams, Flood Risk Floodplain Engineer, Omaha District US Army Corps of Engineers

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: November 7, 2024

Jessica Eleff (FEMA) will be discussing FEMA’s Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) Final Rule and providing an overview of FEMA’s 44 CFR Part 9 rule change, FFRMS policy, and implementation. The purpose of FFRMS is to address future and current flood risk and to ensure projects funded with taxpayer dollars last as long as intended. It accomplishes this by expanding management from the Base Flood Elevation to a higher vertical flood elevation and corresponding horizontal floodplain. Doug Marcy (NOAA) will give a demo of the new Federal Flood Standard Support Tool (FFSST), developed to support decision making and meet the floodplain review expectations of FFRMS.

Background material:

• Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS)
• Federal Flood Standard Support Tool (FFSST)

Presenters:

• Jessica Eleff, FFRMS Senior Specialist, Office of Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation, Resilience Office, FEMA
• Doug Marcy, Senior Coastal Hazards Specialist, NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: October 22, 2024

In September of 2023, the Oregon Silver Jackets team and Benton County hosted a day-long workshop to review various flood inundation mapping products and to work through a series of scenarios to test the uses of the different maps. In addition to regulatory FEMA maps, communities may have access to dam safety inundation maps, new National Weather Service flood inundation maps, USACE flood inundation maps, and state and local maps, among others. Coupled with technical reports and metadata, the delivery of these products can be confusing for floodplain administrators and emergency managers alike. The Oregon Silver Jackets team, recognizing that communities are being provided an increasing number of flood mapping products through individual and unrelated initiatives, decided to prioritize the flood inundation mapping workshop and exercise. Floodplain Managers, Emergency Managers, and Engineering Staff from across the County attended, along with state and federal mapping and Silver Jackets partners. The presenters talked about this experience and share some of the lessons learned derived from the discussions. 

Presenters:

• Deanna Wright, CFM, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Coordinator, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, Planning Services Division
• Toby Lewis, CFM, Floodplain Administrator and Senior Planner, Benton County
• Paul Sclafani, P.E., Floodplain Management Services Program Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: August 20, 2024

In place of a nationally-hosted Silver Jackets monthly webinar in June, California Silver Jackets is extended an invitation to their Flood Risk Technical Workshop, featuring flood products, tools, & models from NASA, University of Alabama – Huntington, and the CA Department of Water Resources.  This was approved for 1 CEC for Certified Floodplain Managers. Many thanks to the California Silver Jackets!

The purpose of this workshop was threefold:

1. Familiarize Silver Jackets partners with new tools to assist with flood risk management
2. Promote connections within Silver Jackets partner agencies
3. Identify opportunities for data to be leveraged in DWR’s Flood Emergency Response Information Exchange (FERIX)

Presenters:

• Samson Haile-Selassie, California Department of Water Resources 
• Jenny Hewson, NASA LANCE Program 
• Maggie Glasscoe, University of Alabama Huntington
• Dan Slayback, NASA

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Recording

Date: June 18, 2024

The webinar discussed the National Levee Safety Guidelines, which are currently available for review.  The Guidelines, the first of its kind, are a resource of best practices that help achieve nationwide consistency in improving the reliability of levees and resiliency of communities behind levees throughout the United States.  With thousands of communities across the country depending on levees to reduce impacts from flooding, this is a significant milestone.  Levees are designed, constructed, and managed by various entities. There has been a long-standing need to have a common reference to connect all the important practices related to levees. The guidelines provide a common framework to improve public awareness and serve as a basis for continuous dialogue and improvement of practices well into the future.

Presenters:

• Tammy Conforti, PE, Special Assistant for Levee Safety, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: May 30, 2024

NOAA’s NIDIS is an integrated information system that coordinates drought monitoring, forecasting, planning, and information at federal, tribal, state, and local levels across the country. NIDIS has been developing regional Drought Early Warning Systems (DEWS) across the U.S., where networks of researchers, academics, resource managers, policymakers, and other stakeholders share information and actions that help communities cope with drought. Developing and implementing regional DEWS allows for responsiveness to particular geographic and hydrologic circumstances, as well as value-added information needs specific to stakeholders in the respective areas. They are also developing and will soon roll out a new Drought Risk and and Resilience Planning program and toolbox. See drought.gov  and drought.gov/about/drought-early-warning for more information.

USBR’s WaterSMART Program is an umbrella program composed of multiple Federal financial assistance opportunities aimed at increasing water supply reliability through investments and attention to local water conflicts.

Through PAS, USACE provides planning level assistance to eligible non-federal partners in managing their water resources. There a two types of planning assistance offered through the PAS program: Comprehensive Plans and Technical Assistance. Nonfederal interests eligible to partner with the Corps include any State, group of States, local government, regional coalition of governmental entities, Federally-recognized Tribes and U.S. Territories.

Presenters:

• Gretel Follingstad, PhD, Drought Risk and Resilience Planning Program Manager & Intermountain West Drought Early Warning Coordinator, NOAA/National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)-CU Boulder
• Caleb Horsburgh, Water Conservation Program Assistant & Jennifer Johnson, Water Management Program Manager – U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
• Jennifer Henggeler, Kansas City District & Lacey Thomason, Institute for Water Resources – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: May 20, 2024

The National Weather Service (NWS) recently deployed a new cloud-based data visualization and data services website, known as the National Water Prediction Service (NWPS).  This new generation of real-time data services and visualizations represents a dramatic expansion of the actionable public information available for awareness and use during routine and extreme weather conditions. NWPS replaces the long-standing Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) platform as the one-stop portal into NWS water prediction information. This presentation will described the new services and presented a live demonstration.

Presenter:

• Charles Ross, Hydrologist, NWS Water Resources Services Branch, Silver Spring, MD

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: May 7, 2024

Urban flooding, flash flooding, and nuisance flooding are problems that increasingly threaten property and safety. Detecting, measuring, predicting, and warning about these small-scale floods requires a different approach compared with what we have used in the past for medium-to-large scale rivers. There is a need for affordable monitoring systems that can rapidly detect, record, and communicate flood data that is highly localized. Systems should also leverage the large number of existing “smart city” sensors already available in the urban environment and fuse it with other sensor systems. Northern Arizona University researchers, in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have spent the past 5 years engineering and field-testing such a system. In this session you will get to see the product of this work – FloodAware – and hear from the developers about plans to roll out the system.

Presenter:

• Ben Ruddell, Professor, Northern Arizona University

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: April 29, 2024

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has introduced an exciting new funding opportunity called Swift Current. Swift Current is offered under Flood Mitigation Assistance and provides funding to mitigate buildings insured through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) after a major flood-related disaster declaration, in order to reduce risk against future flood damage. A total of $300 million in funding is available under the Fiscal Year 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity, which was made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), better known as Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Funds will be made available to states, territories, and federally recognized tribal governments that receive a major disaster declaration following a flood-related disaster event and meet all other eligibility criteria.

Presenter:

• Shandi Teltschik, P.E., CFM, FMA Swift Current Lead, Flood Mitigation Assistance Section, FEMA

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: March 20, 2024

The webinar discussed plans for NOAA Atlas updates across the nation, in particular, for the development of NOAA Atlas 15. In 2022 NOAA received first-ever direct Federal funding under the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to (1) update the NOAA Atlas 14 precipitation frequency standard, and (2) develop precipitation frequency estimates for the entire U.S. and its territories.  NOAA Atlas 15 will incorporate nonstationary approaches and be derived from climate model outputs to project precipitation frequency estimates into the future.

Presenter:

• Fernando Salas, PhD, Director of the Geo-Intelligence Division, National Water Center, NOAA/National Weather Service

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: February 27, 2024

The webinar explained FHWA’s the new Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Formula and the Discretionary Grant Programs that were established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The goal of these funds are to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards, sea level, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural.

Presenter:

• Lamin Williams, Deputy Division Administrator for the MD Division of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: January 23, 2024

This webinar introduced a new effort getting underway that will collect feedback on best practices from leads of the interagency state teams and other partners. Joe Chandler, FEMA Region VII and Brian Rast, USACE Kansas City District, gave an overview of the project and described the process that will be utilized in a future virtual working session, with participants like you, that will take place in late November or early December (date/time to be announced). The goal of the project is to collect best practices about technical processes, team dynamics, and logistical or coordination tools that have helped teams and that can help all of us improve our work in risk management.  

Presenters:

• Joe Chandler, FEMA Region VII
• Brian Rast, USACE Kansas City District

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: November 13, 2023

This presentation provided an overview of the USDA Forest Service’s Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program and methods, which plays a key role in understanding how the landscape and flood risk changes after fire. It also introduced the USDA Forest Service’s new national Post-Disaster Recovery Program.  

Presenters:

• Cara Sponaugle (formerly Farr), National Post-Fire Program Leader, Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Program, USDA Forest Service, Washington Office
• Elaine Kohrman, Assistant Director, USDA Forest Service’s New National Post-Disaster Recovery Program:  National Post-Disaster Recovery, USDA Forest Service, Washington Office

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript
• ON FIRE: The Report of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission

Date: October 18, 2023

This presentation featured three state partners explaining the value of this national workshop. This three-day workshop offered state representatives in flood risk management the opportunity to meet other state and federal flood risk management partners and exchange knowledge, skills, and tools that have helped improve resilience to floods. Attendees heard about the how these three presenters have benefited from attendance at past workshops. The USACE workshop planning team also provided updates on plans for the 2024 Workshop. Attendees had time to ask questions as well. 

Presenters:

• Bunny Bishop, Chief, Water Planning and Drought Resiliency, Nevada Division of Water Resources 
• Tom Hughes, Director, Emergency Management Mitigation, Insurance & Resilient Communities Office, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency
• Nick Bonard, Branch Chief, Floodplains, Wetlands, and Groundwater, District of Columbia, Department of Energy & Environment

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: September 20, 2023

This presentation reflected on Eastern Kentucky Flooding in 2022 and the collaborative efforts of the federal partners in the challenging response and recovery work. 

Presenters:

• Brandon Brummett, Matt Shanks, USACE
• Alex VanPelt, Kentucky Division of Water
• Geni Jo Brawner, Kentucky Division of Emergency Management

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: August 24, 2023

The Monday, July 10^th Silver Jackets webinar featured partners from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service Program’s (NRCS) watershed operation programs.

The NRCS Watershed Program provides technical and financial assistance to implement conservation practices and works of improvement for soil, water, and land resources within watersheds. The program has three main components: Emergency Watershed Protection; Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations; and Watershed Rehabilitation. 

Presenters:

• Alton Miller, NRCS Nashville, TN 
• Sonya Keith, NRCS, Kentucky Farm Production and Conservation Business Center (FPAC)
• Bronson Smart, NRCS Utah FPAC

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: July 10, 2023

This presentation provided an overview of the National Flood Insurance Program Risk Rating 2.0 and its ties to the USACE Levee Safety Program.  Time was also spent at the end of the webinar to discuss the 2024 Silver Jackets workshop and collect input on potential topics.

Presenters:

• Gil Giron, FEMA Region VI, National Flood Insurance Program
•  Bruce Jordan, USACE Albuquerque District, Levee Safety

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: June 22, 2023

The presentation highlighted the challenges and opportunities of bi-national, bi-directional communication during a disaster response event and the special consideration that is needed to foster a collaborative environment.

Presenters:

• Nick Zubel, San Diego County Office of Emergency Management
• Helen Lopez, International Affairs & Tribal Coordination
• Megan Whalen, USACE Los Angeles District
• Sarah Moore, USACE Albuquerque District
• Patricia Fontanet Rodriguez, USACE Sacramento District

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: May 25, 2023

This presentation provided examples of outreach that are innovative and thinking outside the box. Presenters discussed ways their unique outreach styles reached their target audiences.

Presenters:

• "This Is How We Do It" - Presentation on Nashville National Weather Service social media creativity.
  • Mark A. Rose, Meteorologist with the Nashville National Weather Service Office
• "Post-Fire Risk Communication using Existing Community Channels"
  • Marian Schwarz, Flood Risk Program Manager for USACE Albuquerque District
• "Interagency Collaboration for Community Flood Resilience"
  • Alev Bilginsoy, USACE San Francisco District, Interdisciplinary Planner, Deputy Silver Jackets Coordinator, and Outreach Coordinator
  • Emily Marcil, USACE San Francisco District, Junior Planner
  • Lindsay Floyd, USACE Sacramento District, Water Resource Planner

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: April 26, 2023

This presentation provided an overview of the Safeguarding Tomorrow RLF program, the FY23 NOFO, and the capitalization grant application materials.

Presenters:

• Yvelisse Orona, FEMA Program and Management Analyst
• Paloma Alaniz, FEMA Program Analyst
• Maria Mercedes Carruthers Ferrero, FEMA Program Analyst
• Michelle Buckley, FEMA Program Analyst

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation

Date: March 14, 2023

This webinar gave an overview of USACE programs that can assist in addressing flood risk management problems. We took a deeper dive into Flood Plain Management Services (FPMS) Interagency Proposals which many state Silver Jackets teams work together on. The call for FPMS Interagency Proposals are due March 31, 2023. Finally, interagency project examples were shared to show multiple agencies coming together to work towards one solution.

Presenters:

• Lacey Thomason, USACE National Silver Jackets Deputy PgM
• Kaely Megaro, USACE FPMS Deputy PgM, FRM Business Line Support
• Jennifer Dunn, USACE NFRMP Deputy PgM, FPMS Interagency PgM
• Sheila Warren, USACE New England District Silver Jackets Coordinator
• Ashley Fuentes, USACE Nashville District Silver Jackets Coordinator

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: January 19, 2023

As weather and climate trends continue to have lasting impacts across the world, there is an increasing interest in weather observations. State-wide weather networks, or Mesonets (mesoscale + network), provide high quality, research-grade weather data which can be used in many ways. In this presentation, the presenters detailed what a Mesonet is, where they are, and how the data can be used to improve operations and expand capabilities. The presenters also discussed best practices and recommendations for new and existing networks.

Presenters:

• Megan Schargorodski, Kentucky Mesonet Manager
• Andrew Joyner, PhD, Tennessee State Climatologist

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: December 6, 2022

The Federal Insurance Office discussed the national picture for homeowners’ insurance, with an emphasis on the consumer perspective as well as the use of insurance to address climate-related risks like flooding.

FEMA’s Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate: Understanding NFIP resources for the customer.

FEMA’s Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate is a resource for frustrated and confused policyholders and property owners navigating the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Advocate’s office receives inquiries on topics across all aspects of the NFIP, provides education and resources to policyholders and property owners, and analyzes data from these interactions to develop a deeper understanding of customer concerns. The Advocate’s office discussed their casework data analytics and resources Silver Jackets members can utilize to help advance resilience in their community.

Presenters:

• Stephanie Schmelz, Deputy Director, Federal Insurance Office, U.S. Department of the Treasury
• Rhonda Montgomery, Director, Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate within FIMA at FEMA

Link to Materials and Other Resources

• Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: October 25, 2022

In June 1972, Hurricane Agnes ravaged the mid-Atlantic region. At the time, it was the most destructive tropical cyclone in American history. Rainfall from Agnes caused catastrophic inland flooding, with an immense geographic scale. Agnes caused the loss of 128 lives and more than $3.1 billion in damages (in 1972 dollars).   

To commemorate this event, the Silver Jackets teams of Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, collaborated on an outreach campaign to encourage everyone to learn more about their flood risk and take actions to be prepared. Even decades later, the stories of Agnes still resonate and can help us be better prepared for the threats of the future. With extreme rainfall and flooding events are becoming more common, and lessons learned after storms like Agnes are even more valuable.  

The outreach campaign included an interactive and comprehensive website, outreach events and a social media campaign. The website contains visually compelling details and personal accounts about the direct impacts of Hurricane Agnes by state, information about how flood forecasting, warning and emergency response has evolved in the past 50 years, flood risk management efforts, and actions people can take to be prepared for hurricanes and flooding. 

Presenters:

• Stacey Underwood, US Army Corps of Engineers - US Army Corps of Engineers – Baltimore District 
• Rob Shedd, NWS, Mid-Atlantic River Forecast Center 
• Maggie Dunn, FEMA 3 Outreach Coordinator 

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording, and Transcript

Date: September 28, 2022

The Kansas Healthy Watersheds webinar looked at the tie between conservation efforts done as part of soil health management systems, Kansas Department of Health & Environment watershed restoration efforts using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funds, and watershed-wide land use incentives, which may be an underused nonstructural measure. The project performed a sensitivity analysis with assistance from USACE Hydrologic Engineering Center in the HEC-HMS software. The analysis also used new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for rainfall intensity increases. Participants could ask questions and share their ideas about how to prepare our next steps in effective watershed partnerships and how we can reduce flood risks with these combined approaches.

Presenters:

• Candy Thomas, Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Scott Sattherthwaite, Kansas Department of Health and Environment
• Brian Rast, US Army Corps of Engineers - Kansas City District

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: August 25, 2022

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and USDA Rural Development (USDA RD) have different missions, but each administers programs that can assist states, local governments and others with natural disaster recovery and improving resiliency. Join our panel of Federal partners as they highlight agency programs that may assist with funding actions to improve resiliency from flooding and other natural hazards.

Presenters:

• Sarah Marquart, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development
• Frances Sakaguchi, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration
• Joey Baietti, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Link to Materials and Other Resources:

• Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: July 21, 2022

The Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program is a new federal loan program, authorized by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), that allows USACE to provide long-term, low-cost loans to borrowers looking for credit assistance on water resources infrastructure projects. The program is authorized for credit assistance to non-federal dam safety projects. The webinar will provide information on program eligibility, benefits and expected timeline.

Presenter: Aaron Snyder, Interim Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program Director, USACE

Link to Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: June 14, 2022

The State Resilience Partnership is a network of nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions—convened by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the American Flood Coalition—and united by a commitment to support state leaders as they craft the next generation of adaptation strategies. To underscore this commitment, the State Resilience Partnership commissioned the Urban Institute to develop a landscape analysis of state flood planning efforts, identifying common themes, trends, and practices, while highlighting gaps and offering a series of common-sense recommendations states can follow to develop better long-term plans. This presentation will take an in-depth look at the findings from the new research, documented in the State Flood Resilience and Adaptation Planning report, while discussing implications for states across the country—and their federal partners.

Presenter: Mathew Sanders, Senior Manager, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Link to Presentation, Recording and Transcript

Date: May 23, 2022

This presentation introduces the USACE Regulatory Program and permits associated with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. USACE staff discuss the regulatory program, permit process options during emergencies, agency coordination, and suggestions for pre-event preparedness.

Presenter: Robert Gramke, Regulatory Branch Chief, USACE St. Louis District

Link to Presentation

Date: April 14, 2022

Across the country, communities large and small face the devastating impact of flooding, yet each community’s ability to recover and plan for the future is different. The process of identifying, funding, and implementing flood resilience projects can be daunting, particularly for municipalities that do not have a large staff or budget. In this presentation, we’ll dive into the Adaptation for All guide, which draws on examples from both the United States and the Netherlands, and highlights approaches broken down by cost, benefits, and implementation considerations, all to make it easier for communities of any size to evaluate how those approaches can work for them.

Presenters:

• Anne Baker, Senior Outreach Director, American Flood Coalition
• Rolando Hernández, Program Analyst, American Flood Coalition
• Edgar Westerhof, National Director for Flood Risk and Resiliency North America, Arcadis
• Trevor Johnson, Senior Resilience Planner, Arcadis

Link to Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: March 22, 2022

Researchers from the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory will introduce the recently updated Coastal Hazards System and related research for quantifying and applying coastal storm hazards, including compound flooding problems. The Coastal Hazards System is a national effort for quantifying coastal hazards for U.S. coastlines based on high fidelity modeling and a cutting edge statistical framework. Along with this framework, the CHS encompasses multiple components including a webtool for accessing coastal hazards information, a website with documentation and metadata, and a suite of tools for engineering applications.

Presenters:

• Ms. Madison Yawn, USACE Engineer Research & Development Center (ERDC), Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory
• Dr. Meredith L. Carr, USACE ERDC, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory
• Ms. Abigail L. Stehno, USACE ERDC, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory

Link to Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: February 28, 2022

Most of Silver Jackets teams have previously leveraged funds from the Floodplain Management Services Program to initiate hundreds of interagency efforts nationwide during the past decade. Not a grant program, the interagency work promotes participation by US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) staff in small nonstructural efforts undertaken with other partners to achieve flood risk management benefits that could not be achieved by any one party alone.  The Fiscal Year 2023 Call for Proposals invites submissions from the USACE Districts, prepared in collaboration with their partners, and provides an opportunity for USACE to offer its engineering and planning expertise to assist local communities and states with nonstructural approaches to manage and reduce flood risk. Join this webinar to learn more about this opportunity to work together to better manage flood risk.

• Jennifer Dunn, USACE Institute for Water Resources
• Jennifer Davis, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security and Emergency Management
• Terry Zien, USACE St. Paul District

Link to Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: February 8, 2022

Most of us have been running in a marathon of virtual meetings to complete our mission. Looking back on the past two years of pandemic-driven telework, it is amazing, almost a sci-fi fantasy, that we can virtually engage in Alaska in the morning, Florida in the afternoon, and still get a cup of coffee from our own kitchen in between meetings! Much like astronauts traveling into space, there are some advantages to this new environment that we never imagined were possible. However, this prolonged effort to meet our missions virtually is also taking a toll on our physical and emotional resilience, and it can compromise our ability to genuinely connect and sustain or build effective relationships and partnerships as human beings. Join this webinar (yes, it is virtual…how ironic) as members of the USACE Collaboration and Public Participation Center of Expertise provide tips on how to use virtual teambuilding tools effectively to achieve creative collaboration and minimize ‘Zoom’ burnout so that our experiences remain out of this world.

This presentation is provided by the same team that brought you “Get on the Bus, Gus: How to Rev up a Team and Drive it Home” in March 2019 and “Get on the Plane, Jane: How to Stay Connected When You’re up in the Air” in May 2020.

Helpful Resources for avoiding virtual meeting burnout, spicing up your meeting structure, and icebreakers/building relationship activities:

• Virtual Meeting Resources

Presenters:

• Andrea Carson, Silver Jackets Coordinator and Public Involvement Specialist, USACE Pittsburgh District
• Hunter Merritt, Social Scientist, USACE Institute for Water Resources

Link to Presentations, Recording and Transcript

Date: January 12, 2022