The Midwest has been battered by the aftermath of last week's “bomb cyclone” snowstorms. The resulting combination of fast-melting snow and additional rains has led to significant flooding across several states.
Unfortunately, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and other affected states may not see the unprecedented flooding levels recede until May, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast.
In Nebraska alone, 74 cities have declared states...
Daniel Nichols’ garage is still standing. Granted, it smells strongly of salmon now. But it’s still standing.
The magnitude-7.0 earthquake that shook Anchorage, AK, Nov. 30, did significant damage, make no mistake. One highway ramp interchange was nearly totally destroyed, among plenty of property damage. That it wasn’t much worse, though, is a point of pride for Alaskan civil engineers.
“Considering how strong it was, how...
It's been 15 months since Hurricane Harvey pelted Southeastern Texas with historic levels of rain.
The resilience efforts continue, led by civil engineers like Carol Haddock.
Haddock, the director of public works in Houston, gives us an update on the progress made in her hometown since Harvey .
In this week's Changing the World segment, University of Central Florida student Zachary Loeb talks about how his love...
Doug Taylor, P.E., M.ASCE, Region 9 disaster preparedness chair, has been rallying ASCE members to help assess and tag structures in Paradise, CA, site of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California history. Taylor provided ASCE News with the following update on the group's work:
We just completed Day 5, and it's been a fascinating and wearying experience. Roughly 30 volunteers started on Thursday morning (11...
As California continues to contend with the deadliest wildfires in the state’s history, Doug Taylor is rallying ASCE members to help.
Taylor, P.E., M.ASCE, the ASCE Region 9 disaster preparedness chair, has worked year-round to get more ASCE members in the state trained as Safety Assessment Evaluators.
“We’ve tried to get more and more people certified so they can respond when disasters like this happen,” Taylor...
Upholding the public’s safety, health, and welfare is an everyday charge of civil engineers. So when a storm event strikes, it’s only natural that they are among those on the front lines to help with resilience and recovery efforts.
John Fleming, P.E., M.ASCE, an ASCE Region 4 governor in South Carolina, is among those civil engineering superheroes lending a hand this week in the aftermath...
With Hurricane Florence making landfall on the U.S. East Coast this weekend, images of 2017’s autumn come to mind, when storms similarly wreaked havoc in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere.
ASCE News contacted ASCE members in those areas still recovering from last year’s hurricanes and asked them to offer advice or any lessons learned for civil engineers now in the path of Florence.
As Houston-area...
A year ago, the world watched as Hurricane Harvey battered southeastern Texas with historic levels of rainfall. The ensuing flooding changed lives there forever.
It was just after midnight. Guillermo Díaz-Fañas, 14, awoke to a buzzing in his ears.
He sat up and looked around. Surely, this was some kind of dream. The walls appeared to bend; everything was shaking. His immediate thought was of protecting his 12-year-old brother.
“All I could think was, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to do?’” Díaz-Fañas remembered. “I sheltered him with my...
Sudi Shoja, P.E., F.ASCE, principal for Engineering Solutions Services, serves as the disaster preparedness chair for the ASCE Orange County Branch. Unfortunately, it's a role that has been called upon with great frequency this year. Shoja has helped lead an impressive effort of collaboration and generosity in Southern California as the region deals with relentless wildfires. She shares her story here.
"Fires in Northern California and...
