CSU Monterey Bay’s efforts to prepare for natural disasters have won recognition from the National Weather Service.

The university has recently been named a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador and a Storm Ready university.

The ambassador designation means that the university will work with the National Weather Service to educate the community about natural hazards and emergency preparedness. The goal is to minimize the impact of natural disasters.

The initiative was started to recognize organizations – universities, businesses, government agencies, non-profits – committed to helping the nation be better prepared for, respond to, and recover from weather-related disasters. CSUMB is the ninth campus in California – and second in the CSU system – to be designated storm-ready. Nationwide, 147 colleges and universities have earned the designation. StormReady is a nationwide community preparedness program that uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle all types of severe weather — from tornadoes to tsunamis.

“We’re well prepared with the facilities, plans, programs and skills to be resilient to severe storms and their spin-offs,” said CSUMB's emergency manager Dick Bower (at left in photo). Why is this important? We live in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. Each year, Americans cope with an average of 10,000 thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, 1,000 tornadoes, and several deadly hurricanes. Approximately 90 percent of all presidentially declared disasters are weather related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and billions of dollars in damage. Learn about emergency management at CSUMB.