Detailed Schedule

With drone sales and usage increasing at an explosive pace, federal, state and local governments are scrambling to address privacy, security and safety concerns. Drones armed with remote sensing technology can be beneficial for activities such as search and rescue, damage assessment or evaluating hard-to-access areas, but the use of this technology by commercial businesses comes with restrictions and strict guidelines. This session examines safety and security issues and reviews the current state of affairs surrounding the legal use of drone technology, as well as considerations for consumption of the subsequent data.

Damage assessments are often a point of contention between insurance companies and consumers. During this session, you will hear from an engineer’s perspective the tell-tale signs that a structure has been irreparably damaged and review many real life examples.

This presentation will examine some of history’s most costly tornadoes from a catastrophe modeling perspective and study how a repeat of these events, in today’s society, might financially damage the insurance market. We will also take a look at the physical characteristics of previous tornadoes, examine changes in thunderstorm exposure, and explore how catastrophe models can help players across the insurance spectrum better understand and better prepare for the next big event.

Austin, Texas is in the heart of �Flash Flood Alley� where a reported 75 percent of flash flood deaths occur on roadways. Because of the alarming numbers, city officials have taken a proactive approach to save lives and alert the community when dangerous flooding happens. On the other hand, other parts of the country are often drought prone and that�s why unexpected rainfall can occasionally catch city officials, residents and emergency managers� off-guard. May 31st, 2013 when a potentially deadly tornado moved toward Oklahoma City frightened residents sought shelter in drainage ditches only to be swept away in sudden flash floods leading to many deaths. During this session we�ll hear from officials with Austin and Oklahoma City on how to prepare for and respond to flash flooding. You�ll see real-life examples of when the unexpected flood has hit and learn what can be done in every community to prepare for the unthinkable.

The on-going strong warm phase of the El Ni�o Southern Oscillation (ENSO), typical referred to as El Ni�o, has the potential to not only devastate the West Coast this winter with heavy precipitation and mudslides, but also have far reaching impacts across the globe. One of these impacts, the connection between El Ni�o and hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin, has been widely discussed. However, much less is known about the connection to tornado activity in the United States. Could it have played a role in the below-normal tornado activity during 2015 severe weather season. This session will address the current science regarding El Ni�o's impacts on tornado activity and potential future applications in catastrophe models.

This presentation provides an overview of hazardous weather episodes impacting life and property within the United States during 2015. Selected events will be presented in quasi-chronological order and described with photos, maps, and loops of satellite and radar data. While many of the events selected for this talk captured the attention of the media and public, some of these events may have been forgotten as more substantial weather events occurred throughout the year. This review will highlight some of the "big stories", as well as smaller short-term events. The presentation will include descriptions of significant and deadly weather events of the past year including winter storms, tornadoes and floods. Along with the meteorological set-up for each event, a preliminary impact summary will also be provided. 

Given the national scope and varied responsibilities of the Storm Prediction Center, high impact weather events, ranging from severe thunderstorm and tornado outbreaks to wildfires and winter storms, are analyzed and forecast regularly. These responsibilities provide the SPC forecaster with a unique opportunity to interpret data related to extreme weather across the nation. The availability of high-resolution archived datasets further provide for this type of informative presentation. 

In this session we will analyze how 2015 legislative changes in Oklahoma have clarified the duties and obligations of public adjusters from both a regulatory and public adjuster perspective. We’ll also dive into whether these changes could be taken to other states for enactment.

An effective enterprise risk management program includes recognition of both time element exposures and proper reported insurable values. Getting both right before the loss means no surprises when the unexpected occurs. Business owners need to be ready to prioritize actions and focus on the challenges in operating their business after a disruption. This session will focus on the time element coverage issues and how solid underwriting works hand in hand with a responsive claim process.

In this presentation we pull from many sources, including our own research, to paint a complex picture of how people are currently sheltering from tornadoes in central Oklahoma. While some people are seeking refuge outside their dwelling, many public shelters have closed. Although some new shelters have opened, shelter-seeking in non-designated shelters has increased. People are seeking shelter at schools, hospitals, malls and other businesses that may not provide any more protection than the buildings they came from. We hope to shed some light into some of forces at work in this new era where more and more people are attempting to heed the advice of severe weather forecasts and warnings.

The use of social media before, during and after disasters has quickly proven to be one of the fastest and best ways of getting emergency information out to the public. As a result, having an effective social media strategy to support our crisis communications, emergency response, and business continuity plans is now a must for any credible company, organization and community. As disaster planners, we have a responsibility to adopt and adapt to help us better respond to and prepare for disasters. The presenter will share with participants the evolution of social media during disasters, then will review the various steps and components required in developing an effective emergency social media strategy and/or plan. This session goes beyond just telling people they need to plan for social media - the presenter will review all the components required to build an effective social media plan. In addition, recent lessons learned, best practices and tips will be shared with attendees on how to harness the power of social media before, during and after disasters.

This presentation will provide a summary of the goals and plans for the VORTEX-Southeast (VSE) program. VSE is a research program authorized by Congress and led by NSF, NOAA and NASA that will focus on the unique physical, operational and social challenges presented by tornadoes in the Southeast United States. The presentation will include a discussion of planned projects for the spring of 2016 and a summary of the long term plans and goals for this program.

Most people don�t associate tornadoes with winter, but on December 27, 2015, 9 tornadoes hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Eleven people died and dozens more were injured. The tornado outbreak was the deadliest in north Texas in 90 years. KXAS Meteorologist Rick Mitchell watched the storm develop live and will be here to discuss the outbreak, the challenges associated with the storm and protecting a metropolitan area.

Being a meteorologist and predicting potentially deadly tornadoes isn’t a job for the faint of heart and some would argue it’s even harder for those that happen to be female. Get the forecast wrong and you’re liable to be labeled just a weather girl, but over the past several decades women are increasingly taking on the role of meteorologists. During this session we will discuss the strides women have made in the fields of science and meteorology as well as discuss issues that face everyone in the field such as forecasting, keeping people safe and how social media is changing everything.