StormSense

The StormSense Project is an inundation forecasting research initiative funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). StormSense is funded through a Replicable Smart City Technologies grant awarded to the City of Newport News and Dr. Derek Loftis at VIMS. The objective of StormSense is to enhance the capability of communities to prepare and respond to the disastrous impacts of sea level rise and coastal flooding in ways that are replicable, scalable, measurable, and make a comparable difference worldwide.

StormSense advances the field of emergency preparedness for flooding resulting from storm surge, rain, and tides, via a network of ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT)-enabled water level sensors in collaboration with the hydrodynamic flood modeling and forecasting capabilities of the VVIMS) and its Tidewatch Network. Technological advances in computational efficiency, hydrodynamic modeling, improved digital elevation models enhanced with LiDAR, and cloud-based analytical platforms necessitated a denser network of sensors to better inform and validate VIMS’ predictive models.  As a result, StormSense has greatly expanded the total number of publicly accessible water level sensors throughout Hampton Roads.