RISE awards $1.2M to go towards flood resilience projects in southwest Virginia
The funding will be split up between the five winners of RISE's Riverine Community Resilience Challenge, where innovators were asked to develop new insurance products and early-warning systems to protect communities in the region susceptible to flooding.
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In addition to the funding, RISE stated they will provide winners with technical, government and businesses mentoring, investor matchmaking and customized accelerator programs.
According to officials with RISE, the winners of the project had just started the launch of their products in Giles, Buchanan and Botetourt counties when last week's winter storm hit.
Snowfall totals reported across Hampton Roads, northeastern NC
'Last weekend's storm is yet another reminder of how increasingly vulnerable these inland communities are to catastrophic flooding events,' said RISE Executive Director Paul Robinson, Ph.D. 'Though we're just getting started, we believe these projects can make a real difference in Southwest Virginia and beyond, and represent an important step toward a more flood-resilient future.'
The winning projects, which are now undergoing pilot testing, can be found below:
Floodbase/Raincoat — The program utalizes Floodbase's deep learning framework and Raincoat's parametric insurance solution in order to immediately trigger riverine flood payouts.
FloodMapp/The Warn Room/Green Stream — Flood warning system which integrates flood mapping technology, hydrologic gauging from Green Stream and emergency advice from The Warn Room.
InnSure/HR&A Advisors/Stantec — A Total Cost of Risk Simulator in order to model and mitigate flood risks, enhance preparedness and resilience.
Merak Labs/PRAM — Utilizes flood monitoring and early warning systems in order to provide actionable information to manage flood risks.
Ric Platform Services — Flood insurance which emphasizes affordability, rapid response and community resilience.
'The latest storms only reinforce our belief that we can make a real and lasting difference in these communities by empowering today's brightest entrepreneurial minds, and providing the support they need to test their ideas in a real-world environment and create solutions that work,' said RISE Chief Strategy and Communications Officer Betsy Hnath.
For more information on the projects, click here.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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