disaster preparedness
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You Asked: Is There a Community Prepared To Withstand a Wildfire?
A Palisades resident lost her home. Now she wants to know what model she and her neighbors should follow as they rebuild to be more climate resilient.
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Can Coney Island’s Dunes Protect Against Another Sandy?
The Coney Island Creek dune planting project started in 2021, with the goal of increasing coastal resilience and giving community members hands-on experience protecting their environment.
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Leveraging Next-Generation Tsunami Early Warning Systems to Save Lives
Tsunami early warning systems save lives not just when they are fast or accurate, but when they are trusted, understood and acted upon.
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Columbia Climate School Students Take On Coastal Flooding at a U.N. Conference
At the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction Summit, a team of postgrad and current students worked through the night on a multimedia presentation of hazard predictions and proposed solutions.
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What a Year of Climate Research Taught Me About Resilience
High school senior Michelle Rozenfeld reflects on what she learned interning with the National Center for Disaster Preparedness.
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Highlights: ‘From Chaos to Code: How AI Can Tame the Climate Crisis’
Part of the inaugural Columbia AI Summit, this session addressed how AI is emerging as a powerful tool in climate science, disaster preparedness, and building resilience across interconnected systems.
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Twelve Years After Sandy, Have We Gotten Better at Preparing for Disaster?
Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, the director of Columbia’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness, reflects on applying lessons from Hurricane Sandy to more recent disasters.
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Glacier Flooding in Alaskan Capital Sets New Record
For the second year in a row, historic glacier floods have damaged hundreds of homes, cars and businesses in Juneau, Alaska.
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Designing Impactful Climate Literacy Education for Emergency Management—and Beyond
Emergency managers are already facing the consequences of climate change in the workplace. How can education programs better prepare them for crises?

COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More
