DENTON (UNT), Texas — Hurricane Florence has made landfall in North Carolina. The Category 1 hurricane may linger over coastal North and South Carolina with heavy winds and flooding. Experts at the University of North Texas are prepared to discuss the dangers and potential fallout from Florence. We will add more experts as they become available; please contact the UNT news team.
Jennifer Cowley is UNT's vice president and provost for academic affairs. She has extensive knowledge of city management as it relates to urban development/redevelopment, disaster science and emergency management. Prior to entering the higher education field, Cowley worked in city government in College Station and Amarillo and also has experience working with the Environmental Protection Agency. Cowley has conducted extensive, grant-funded research in the areas of urban development, resilient communities and hurricane recovery, and she participated in the planning for rebuilding the Mississippi coastal area after Hurricane Katrina.
Mary Nelan is a member of the Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Science. Her primary area of research is convergence behavior, specifically focusing on volunteers and disaster donations.
Yu-Luen Ma is a professor of risk management and insurance. She will be able to discuss the difficulty individuals may have when filing insurance claims with private insurers, the efforts of private insurers to limit those claims related to storm damage and how the federal government and state governments can create market solutions to these problems.
Harry Williams is a professor in the Department of Geography. His research interests include coastal geomorphology, hurricane storm surge sedimentation, coastal marsh sedimentation, paleotempestology (study of ancient storms), and tropical cyclone/climate change interactions. He will be able to discuss the geographical impact that the hurricane will have on the land it hits.
To contact these experts reach out to:
- Leigh Anne Gullett: leigh.gullett@unt.edu or 940.565.2943
- Kris Muller: kris.muller@unt.edu or 940.565.3509
- Monique Bird: monique.bird@unt.edu or 940.369.7782
- Jim Rogers: jim.rogers@unt.edu or 940.565.3510
- Heather Noel: heather.noel@unt.edu or 940-369-8218