On New York University Week: Seeing is believing, especially when it comes to natural disasters.
Yuki Miura, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, uses 3D visualizations to see what can happen to your own street.
Faculty Bio:
Dr. Miura is an assistant professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Center for Urban Science and Progress at NYU. She is also a faculty advisory board member at the Volatility and Risk Institute at NYU Stern School of Business. She is a member of New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC5). Previously, she worked at Morgan Stanley in climate risk management and quantitative strategy.
Her research is at the intersection of engineering, climate science, finance, and social sciences. She develops data-driven strategies to mitigate natural hazards and build resilient cities. By coupling advanced modeling with in-depth understanding of socioeconomic factors, she provides actionable solutions for both public and private institutions. She has collaborated with the National Center of Atmospheric Research and the governments of New York State/City. Her work has been recognized through publications in leading journals and featured in The New Yorker and The New York Times.
Transcript:
When Superstorm Sandy devastated New York City in 2012, it became clear that traditional flood risk maps weren’t helping people understand what they were facing. Statistics and shaded zones on a map couldn’t convey what flooding would mean for your own street, your own home.
That’s why we created GeoFlood Studio, an interactive 3D visualization platform that lets you see exactly how water would rise in your neighborhood. You can watch storm surge flow down your actual block and see which subway entrances would flood first.
What makes this tool different is the level of detail. You can adjust a human silhouette to your own height and see how deep the water would reach on your body. And our velocity overlays show how fast the water is moving, because two feet of still water is very different from two feet of fast-moving water.
Users can explore different scenarios—Superstorm Sandy-level coastal flooding, Hurricane Ida-style rainfall, or both simultaneously—and add projected sea level rise through 2100. You can toggle the East Side Coastal Resiliency seawall on and off to see how protective infrastructure would help.
By letting people see themselves in flood scenarios, we’re translating abstract climate risk into something tangible and personal. GeoFlood Studio is one example of how we do this. At the Climate, Energy, and Risk Analytics Lab, where I lead, we go beyond visualization. We develop the underlying hazard models, quantify cascading infrastructure impacts, and design optimization frameworks that help cities decide how to protect and invest. Because understanding risk is only the beginning. Acting on it is also important.
Read More:
[NYU Tandon School of Engineering] - NYU Tandon researchers launch interactive 3D flood map to help New Yorkers visualize climate risks
