Beyond the FIRM: Large-scale flood modeling for state infrastructure climate resilience
Thursday, May 14, 2026 | 14:00 ET | 11:00 PT
As the largest comprehensive public university system in the US, the State University of New York (SUNY) manages a large portfolio of 64 campuses and 2,388 buildings, representing 40% of the state’s owned infrastructure. SUNY is actively investing in decarbonization with a goal of net zero by 2050, aligned with the New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and Executive Order 22. At the same time, SUNY will also have to protect its critical assets from the ongoing impacts of climate change. To meet this challenge, SUNY has launched a landmark Climate Risk & Resilience Assessment so that climate projections will inform operational and capital planning. Phase 1 focuses on asset exposure to impacts from all climate hazards.
Participants will go behind the scenes of a data-driven transformation, moving beyond static, historical FEMA maps to embrace high-resolution, climate-conditioned flood modeling. This session explores the technical collaboration between SUNY, Arcadis and Fathom, detailing how the Climate Risk Nexus platform ingests pluvial, fluvial and coastal data to translate raw hazard metrics into actionable Asset Risk Scores.
We will examine the methodology used to move from “mapped” floodplains to “modeled” exposure, accounting for specific facility thresholds, critical infrastructure locations (such as basement-level MEP systems) and replacement values. By evaluating the intersection of future-state flood and other hazards with real-world building vulnerability, this project provides a solid planning foundation for large-scale hazard mitigation. Attendees will learn how these insights allow CFMs and facility managers to prioritize capital plan roadmaps, ensuring that every dollar spent on stormwater redesign, coastal hardening and capital renewal is backed by industry-leading flood intelligence.
Learning outcomes
By attending this session, participants will gain insight into:
- Evaluating future flood exposure: Identify the limitations of static FEMA (FIRM) maps and explain the advantages of complementing the existing FEMA view with climate-conditioned, 2D hydraulic modelling for long-range planning.
- Quantifying asset-specific exposure: Apply a standardized methodology to translate raw hazard data and depth-damage functions into prioritized Asset Exposure Scores.
- Mitigating non-SFHA hazards: Develop strategies to address pluvial (flash flood) risks for institutional assets that fall outside of traditional Special Flood Hazard Areas.
- Prioritizing capital investments: Utilize “defensible” flood intelligence to justify high-standard resilience funding to state auditors, insurers, and grant reviewers.
- Integrating multi-peril risks: Analyze how flood hazards intersect with “threat multipliers” like extreme heat and power failure to impact operational continuity.
- Managing collaborative frameworks: Implement best practices for integrating private-sector flood data into public-sector engineering workflows.
Tailored to meet the professional development needs of ASFPM members, this webinar focuses on the application of advanced hydraulic modeling, hazard mitigation and the management of flood risk at a state-agency scale. This course is pre-approved for Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for Certified Floodplain Managers (CFMs). Watch the previous sessions on-demand:
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More about the speakers
Carter Strickland, Chief Sustainability Officer of The State University of New York
Carter is the Chief Sustainability Officer at SUNY. His career has focused on strategic planning, infrastructure development and cultural change.
He held previous positions as Mid-Atlantic Regional Vice President for the Trust for Public Land, Vice President and Director of Water Strategic Planning at HDR, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, business advisor for Closed Loop Partner’s organics recycling business, policy advisor to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, clinical professor and litigator at the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic and environmental prosecutor with the New York Attorney General.
Carter teaches a graduate seminar on sustainable cities at Columbia University, is co-chair of the infrastructure working group of the New York Panel on Climate Change (5th Assessment), is a member of the NYC Sustainability Advisory Board, and is on the Clean Power Institute Advisory Board.
Stefan Klos, Senior Climate Risk Specialist at Arcadis
Stefan is a Senior Climate Risk Specialist at Arcadis who focuses on quantifying the impacts of climate change across complex infrastructure and asset portfolios. He specializes in multi‑hazard climate risk modeling, leveraging high‑resolution historical and scenario‑based data to assess impacts on asset performance, operational continuity and public safety to support adaptation and resilience planning.
At Arcadis, his work contributes to the development and application of the Climate Risk Nexus platform for climate risk assessment. Previously, he contributed to research at the Climate Impact Lab quantifying various socioeconomic impacts of climate change. Stefan holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Peter Slater, Engineering Markets Specialist at Fathom
Peter is part of Fathom’s engineering team. His role involves working closely with engineering and architecture consultancies around the globe to improve their understanding of how flooding interacts with the natural and built environment.
Peter’s particular focus is in the digital space, defining how Fathom’s data can best be integrated into different platforms and digital twins. This is where his experience lies; Peter has worked at a number of large engineering consultancies across the UK marrying his education as a civil and structural engineer with his interest in digital and technology.
In an era of climate uncertainty, Peter helps organizations to understand flood risk and accelerate critical decisions needed to build resilience and protect communities.
About Fathom
Founded in 2013, Fathom gives risk management professionals the most scientifically robust intelligence for understanding the climate’s effects on water risk. By publishing cutting-edge peer-reviewed academic research and applying it to real-world challenges, Fathom enables stronger decision-making for (re)insurance, civil engineering, corporate risk, financial services, disaster response and government.
As a dedicated team of scientists, Fathom harnesses its passion for innovation and the environment to develop rigorous catastrophe models and comprehensive mapping and geospatial data that make a real-world difference to customers and communities worldwide.
