15 U.S.C. § 313c — Authorized activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Through the United States Weather Research Program, NOAA must: (1) improve its ability to accurately forecast inland flooding — including inland flooding influenced by coastal and ocean storms — through research and modeling; (2) develop, test, and deploy a new flood warning index that gives the public and emergency management officials fuller, clearer, and more accurate information about the risks and dangers of expected floods; (3) train emergency management officials, National Weather Service staff, meteorologists, and others, as appropriate, on better inland-flood forecasting techniques, risk management, and how to use the new flood warning index; (4) do outreach and education for local meteorologists and the public about the dangers and risks of inland flooding, and about using and understanding the flood warning index; and (5) assess, through research and analysis of past trends, (A) the long-term trends in how often and how badly inland flooding happens, and (B) how shifts in climate, development, and erosion patterns might leave certain regions more vulnerable to worsening flood damage in the future.