Nalini Chhetri, assistant Director, was one of the two panelists at the whole day Preparedness Symposium organized by AZ Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, DEMA,  on 21 September 2016 at the Sheraton Crescent hotel in Phoenix.  The other panelist was Dr. Nancy Selover, State Climatologist.

Over 500 participants representing state county level agencies ranging from the military to food banks to water resources attended this annual event.  One of the three themes of People, Cyber-security and Natural Resources.  Drs. Chhetri and Selover were chosen as subject matter experts on extreme climate events and its impact on the state of Arizona.  They have been conducting DEMA funded research on emergency and risk preparedness climate information for hazard mitigation planning process.

The panelists opened up with a short video, followed with further research related findings.  In the afternoon they conducted a breakout sessions headlining the natural resources theme.