Disaster defense: Balancing costs and benefits

Friday, November 2, 2012 - 15:01 in Mathematics & Economics

Do costly seawalls provide a false sense of security in efforts to control nature? Would it be better to focus on far less expensive warning systems and improved evacuation procedures? A father-son team have developed new strategies to defend society against natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy and the effects of climate change. The approach, which considers costs and benefits while identifying the best solution, is based on a mathematical technique called optimization.

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