Ashley Coles

NH Natural Hazards

The 2009 Young Scientist Outstanding Poster Paper (YSOPP) Award is awarded to Ashley Coles for the poster/PICO entitled:

Driving into danger: Perception and communication of flash flood risk from a cultural perspective (Coles, A.R.; Hirschboeck, K.K.; Fryberg, S.A.)

Click here to download the poster/PICO file.

Ashley Coles is a doctoral student in Geography at the University of Arizona. She received her Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University and her Master of Arts in Geography at the University of Arizona. Her poster summarizes the key findings from her master’s thesis regarding perception of flash flood hazards and people’s decisions to drive through flooded roadways. Contrary to the assumptions of many hazard managers, most individuals are aware of the dangers of driving through flooded roadways and usually take the risk after carefully considering their situation. Ashley’s current research further examines issues of expertise and the production of hazard knowledge within participatory forms of hazard management.