Puerto Rico Natural Hazards Webpage Visits

Underserved communities, especially those in coastal areas in Puerto Rico, face significant threats from natural hazards such as hurricanes and rising sea levels. Limited funding hinders the investment in costly mitigation measures, increasing exposure to natural disasters. Providing coastal resources and data products through effective communication mechanisms is fundamental to improving the well-being of these underserved coastal communities. The overall objectives of the pilot effort to engage and connect with underrepresented coastal communities in Puerto Rico were the following: (1) compile a comprehensive database of the projects and resources relevant to natural hazards in Puerto Rico; (2) foster connections with Puerto Rican interested parties to better understand their priorities regarding coastal hazards and provide them with pertinent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) resources; and (3) identify knowledge gaps to guide future USGS projects in Puerto Rico. As a result of this effort, a bilingual website was developed where users can learn about USGS research on landslides, hurricanes, earthquakes, water resources, coastal hazards, tsunamis, and ecosystem hazards and environmental contaminants. For further information about this data, refer to the associated journal article (Torres-García and others, 2024).