Pinpoint Hurricane Prediction

In a part of the world where hurricanes and severe weather events
are an ever present threat that appear to be getting worse, it
would seem anyone who could come up with a way to  predict
not only how your general area would be affected by a storm but
how much wind and water were expected at your specific street
address... Well, you’d expect that person to be a world-famous
gazillionaire and probably a figment of the collective
imagination of a storm-weary public. But actually, there is a
tool that can do precisely that. And it was developed right down
the road at the Stennis Space center by a south Louisiana
engineer.


That engineer is Elizabeth Valenti, president and CEO of QRisq
Analytics, the tech company that came up with this predictive
technology.


Qrisq uses  geospatial analytics engines on big data to
provide precise storm surge and wind risk analysis before and
after a major storm. This is really important before a storm for
all sorts of obvious reasons – like it can help you decide
whether you should stay or evacuate, for instance, and whether
it’s absolutely necessary to board up those windows. It’s also
important on the back end because it can help resolve insurance
claims, by determining whether a property was damaged by wind,
which is covered by homeowners policies, or by flooding, which is
covered by flood insurance.


Elizabeth developed the technology in the early 2000s, when she
was working at Stennis. In 2015, she spun QRisk Analytics off
into its own company. Until recently, the tool was only available
to government clients, like municipalities, who have used it to
help inform their policy decisions about how to prepare their
populations.


Beginning with hurricane season 2022, Elizabeth has rolled out a
web version of the QRisq app that will enable individual
homeowners to determine the risk to their specific properties. Is
this going to be an absolute game-changer for all of us living on
the Gulf Coast who every time a storm heads our way have to
decide whether to stay or run? Unfortunately it's taking a
hurricane for subscribers to QRisq to find out. But as sure as
the sun will rise tomorrow, that day is coming.


Elizabeth grew up in St. Bernard Parish, an area that has been
battered more than a few times by massive storms. She received
her electrical engineering degree from LSU. 


Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the
Boulevard. You can find photos from this show at
itsbatonrouge.la.


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