“NOAA recently released a new website to help protect communities, people, and property from the devastation of coastal flooding. The NOAA storm surge website provides important information to help communities prepare for storm surge. Coastal flooding is often the greatest threat to life and property during storms. Floods damage roads and bridges, destroy homes and businesses, and cause injuries and death to those in harm’s way. Storm surge can flood large coastal areas, reaching cities and communities miles inland. Experts from across NOAA work to reduce the damage caused by these devastating events. NOAA meteorologists and oceanographers use coastal observations and computer models to predict when storm surge may occur and assess the damage it causes. Other experts assess vulnerability and help communicate critical information. This knowledge helps people not only prepare for, but also respond to, coastal flooding from a storm. The storm surge website is one of several that NOAA maintains to promote public safety in the face of severe weather such as coastal storms and hurricanes. Other resources include NOAA Storm QuickLook, which provides current water levels along the coast during severe storms including hurricanes, the National Hurricane Center, which forecasts hazardous tropical weather, and NOAA’s all-hazards website, NOAA Watch.”