C2H2 RCN Collaborative Research: Appalachia Flood-Health Resilience Research Coordination Network

About This Grant

Rural mountain communities like Appalachia face increasing risks from extreme weather events like inland flooding, as tragically demonstrated by the catastrophic impacts of Tropical Storm Helene in 2024. These communities experience disproportionate health consequences from such disasters, including respiratory illnesses, waterborne diseases, and mental health disorders, yet receive limited research attention and resources compared to coastal and urban areas. This Research Coordination Network (RCN) serves the national interest by advancing scientific knowledge and public welfare through an interdisciplinary collaboration of geoscientists, public health professionals, social scientists, and community leaders to identify evidence-based strategies for enhancing flood resilience, targeted adaptation solutions, and reducing health disparities in rural communities. Through knowledge sharing and coordinated research, the network will have broader impacts that include actionable recommendations to protect community health, strengthen rural infrastructure, and build economic resilience. The findings will be designed for scalability, enabling broader application to other rural communities nationwide. This project promotes scientific progress by equipping communities with the tools to mitigate and adapt to extreme weather events. The research coordination network will operate through five interdisciplinary working groups addressing critical themes: (1) Geophysical and weather related disaster modeling for flood prediction, developing high-resolution flood forecasting models tailored to rural and mountainous regions; (2) Flood exposure and health outcomes, investigating short- and long-term health effects of inland flooding; (3) Social and economic dimensions of flood vulnerability, exploring how structural and sociodemographic factors shape resilience; (4) infrastructure resilience and adaptation strategies, assessing flooding impacts on essential systems in communities with limited resources; and (5) Community-led adaptation and policy implementation, collaborating with stakeholders to integrate indigenous knowledge systems into resilience planning. The research network will implement a structured five-year coordination plan featuring quarterly virtual meetings, annual World Café-style collaborative sessions, pilot funding opportunities for innovative research, and developing a Rural Resilience Network Exchange – a digital platform for data sharing, community engagement, and knowledge dissemination. This network will facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations across institutions through virtual workshops and student-led research initiatives embedded within working group activities. The project will tackle methodological challenges in flood hazard assessment by integrating cutting-edge atmospheric and environmental data with health and socioeconomic indicators, creating a more comprehensive framework for understanding and mitigating flood impacts in rural communities. Through these coordinated efforts, this research network will produce peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and community-engaged research products that advance scientific knowledge and inform practical resilience strategies for Appalachia and rural regions globally. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.