Disaster Discussions Podcast

Science
Business
Government

resilience
wildfire
extreme weather
underwriting
science
sustainability
finance
mitigation
NOAA
hurricane
catastrophe
risk
insurance
climate change
tornado
real estate
building
flood
meteorology
disaster

Disasters like hurricanes, hailstorms, tornadoes, and wildfires can be devastating and frightening. They displace families, drive financial loss, and destroy communities. Join us as we sit down with science, insurance, and building industry professionals who will help us explore the intersection of these hazards with the built environment and steps being taken to prevent future devastation.

Credits

Sarah Dillingham
Armand Broady
Laurin Wilson
Christina Gropp

Episode 0: Introducing IBHS's Disaster Discussions

IBHS is proud to launch its first podcast highlighting our mission of reducing the damage footprint left behind in the wake of disasters and using our research to support stronger, safer homes & businesses. Listen now & subscribe on your favorite podcast platform!

S1E1: IBHS & NOAA - Partnering Pathways to Resilience

Welcome to Disaster Discussions, a podcast from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. This podcast will feature science, insurance and building industry experts who will help us explore the intersection of weather-related hazards with the built environment as well as steps being taken to prevent future devastation.

Our first guest is Dr. Sarah Kapnick, Chief Scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We’ll discuss Dr. Kapnick’s years of experience at the intersection of climate science and economics and outline climate change’s role in the extreme weather events we’ve seen in the last few years. We’ll also delve into how NOAA is helping businesses and communities become more resilient.

S1E2: Back to the Future of Hail

Dr. Ian Giammanco of IBHS and Dr. Julian Brimelow of the Northern Hail Project and Western University have been instrumental in fostering the resurgence of operational field research documenting the characteristics of hail to better inform lab testing. This episode explores how this new data is already helping to improve standardized tests, mitigation efforts, and loss reduction.

S1E6: Severe Local Storms Series: EF-Scale, It's Time for an Upgrade

Dr. Brown-Giammanco chairs the EF Scale Subcommittee and has spent her career working towards improving this rating system. Hear how she hopes to do this and how its standardization could help better our understanding of the true nature of tornado risk in this country.

S1E4: Severe Local Storms Series: I Spy with My Little Radar...Hail

When it comes to the economic impact of severe storms, hail might seem like the little brother to tornadoes and damaging winds, but did you know it’s the greatest loss driver in total cost to insurers? The more we learn about the characteristics of hail, the more we can prevent future losses. IBHS’s Ian Giammanco was joined by Dr. Matthew Kumjian who uses weather radar to detect hail in severe storms. They’ll discuss how this is helping to work towards determining the sizes of hail that may be present and how that relates to damage potential.

S1E5: Severe Local Storm Series: Setting the Standard for Wind

How much damage can severe winds inflict? The Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale used for rating tornadoes is one of the most familiar methods we use to answer this question. The only problem, it’s incomplete. Jim Ladue of NIST joined IBHS’s Sarah Dillingham to discuss the committee he chairs under the American Society of Civil Engineers that is working to improve and standardize the EF scale. They outline how various subcommittees are working towards this goal and what the future holds for its applications.

S1E3: Severe Local Storms Series: Are You Talking to Me?

Do you know what to do when severe weather is approaching? What information do you need to receive to take protective actions? Dr. Krocak is a Research Scientist focused on answering these questions. IBHS’s Science Producer and Meteorologist, Christina Gropp, joined Dr. Krocak to discuss how people respond to information shared in advance of severe weather events and how it is used to make decisions.

S1E7: It Only Takes One: Recapping Hurricane Ian & the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season

We wrap up the 2022 hurricane season with Dr. Rick Knabb, Hurricane Expert at The Weather Channel. We revisit how Hurricane Ian flipped the previously quiet season on its head and investigate the challenges that storm brought. Plus, we discuss how emergency managers relay critical information to the public in advance of major weather events, as well as ways to empower individuals to act before the storm to ensure life safety.

S2E1: Don't Let Winter Put You on Ice - Prepare Your Homes & Businesses

In the January episode of the Disaster Discussions Podcast, we explore the winter season and its effects on the built environment. Anna Midgley and Brian Schwab of Western National Insurance join us to discuss the significant damage winter weather can bring. Plus, we share details on what insurance professionals are learning relative to winter weather and offer guidance on what home and business owners should know and do to keep themselves and their properties safe.

S2E2: Are We Setting Ourselves Up for Disaster?

For generations, disasters have often been described as unpredictable, unexpected, and unavoidable. But are these terms accurate? How should these events be characterized? And what's really causing them? In the February episode of the Disaster Discussions Podcast, author, researcher, scientist, and professor Dr. Ilan Kelman of University College London joins us to dispel, describe, and discuss.