Newswise — According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2024 is forecasted to have an above average hurricane season for the Atlantic. 

Hurricane season, which starts June 1 is predicted to have 17 to 25 named storms, eight to 13 hurricanes and four to seven hurricanes with a category three or higher, according to the NOAA’s report.

Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary.. To schedule an interview with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected]

Public Health

​â¶Ä‹Carlos Santos-Burgoa, is a professor of global health and environmental and occupational health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public. His interest is in toxic chemicals risk analysis, management and control of their population and climate impacts, and public health approaches to crises in epidemics and disasters in developing economies. He was the lead researcher on the landmark report GW researchers released after Hurricane Maria.

Elizabeth Andrade, is an assistant professor of prevention and community health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She was part of a team of GW researchers who conducted the most comprehensive study of the impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico. She can talk about power outages associated with hurricanes and how they can be particularly deadly for older adults and people who are managing a chronic condition.

Susan Anenberg, is director of the GW Climate & Health Institute and associate professor of environmental and occupational health. Her research focuses on the health implications of air pollution and climate change. Recently her team published two studies finding links between health problems like asthma and exposure to polluted air.

Gaige Kerr, is a senior research scientist and professorial lecturer in the department of environmental and occupational health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. He researches ambient air pollution, and projects he has led span topics ranging from understanding the emission sources of pollution to assessing the health impacts experienced by populations, with a special emphasis on understanding associated ethnoracial and socioeconomic disparities. 

Climate Change

Lisa Benton-Short, professor of geography, is an expert on urban sustainability, environmental issues in cities, and cities and immigration. She has authored twelve books, including: Urban Sustainability in the US: Cities Take Action (2019, with Melissa Keeley) and Sustainability and Sustainable Development: an Introduction (2023). She can discuss how climate change and natural disasters impact cities and communities as well as speak to the underlying forces that exacerbate natural disasters. 

Housing, Insurance & Natural Disasters

Stephen O’Connor is a research professor of real estate at the GW School of Business and the chair of The Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at GW. O’Connor has 30 plus years of professional real estate experience with a background in planning and public policy. O’Connor can discuss how climate change is impacting the insurance industry, how communities are adapting to disaster-prone areas (i.e., some towns are trying to change their zoning to encourage development in less-prone areas), and how other places are implementing buy-back strategies. 

Disaster Management 

Joseph Barbera, an associate professor of engineering management and systems engineering, is a board-certified emergency physician with a 35-year history in developing emergency response systems and responding to local, national, and international emergencies and disasters. He has extensive experience participating in the management of response to earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Through the GW Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management, he studies disaster response and recovery, risk management, and business continuity.