7th Annual NC Hurricane Conference Set for May 25

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Donna Kain, ECU, 252-737-2705 or 252-717-9330 (cell), kaind@ecu.edu

Posted Monday, May 23, 2016

As a co-sponsor of this event, North Carolina Sea Grant is sharing this news release from the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management and East Carolina University’s Center for Natural Hazards Research.

The 7th Annual North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM)/East Carolina University (ECU) Hurricane Conference will take place on May 25, 2016. This year’s keynote speaker, Eric Litchfield, market manager for Walmart Stores, Inc., will discuss the role of community partners in emergencies. View the agenda.

David Glenn, lead hurricane program meteorologist from the Newport/Morehead City Forecast Office, will present the 2016 National Weather Service tropical forecast. Mike Sprayberry, director of NCEM, will host the event.

The conference focuses on severe weather, flood management, and related communication and response. The conference presenters come from local, state, and national agencies; the media and academia including:

• Brandon Bolinski, FEMA Region IV, presenting a Hurricane Liaison Team update.
• Nate Johnson of WRAL, Candice Boling of WNCT, and Donna Kain of ECU, discussing the news media’s roles in weather-related events and emergency management.
• Bob Boyd, NCEM Natural hazards branch supervisor, updating participants on the North Carolina Hurricane Evacuation Study.
• Gary Thompson, chief of NCEM Geodetic Survey/Risk Management, reporting on the use of UAV by government agencies.
• Michelle Covi, Old Dominion University and Virginia Sea Grant; Shawn Talmadge, Homeland Security and Resilience staff director for the Commonwealth of Virginia; and Erin Sutton, deputy emergency management coordinator for Virginia Beach, highlighting resilience projects in coastal Virginia.
• John Dorman, NCEM Risk Management chief, presenting information on local use of FIMAN 2.0, the North Carolina Flood Plain Mapping system.

The event is hosted by the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management and East Carolina University’s Center for Natural Hazards Research. Co-sponsors include North Carolina Sea Grant, the ECU Department of English, and the ECU Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information, please contact Donna Kain at kaind@ecu.edu, 252-717-9330; or Jennifer Harrell at 252-328-5718.

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