Ali Sarhadi and his research team at Georgia Tech’s Climate Risk and Extreme Dynamics Lab are focused on a growing threat: hurricanes fueled by a warming climate. These storms are no longer behaving like those of the past — and his research is helping explain why. “People often think hurricanes are about wind, but water is by far the deadliest part,” says Sarhadi, assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. “What’s alarming now is how quickly storms intensify and how much flooding they unleash.”

While the future frequency of hurricanes remains uncertain, scientists agree on key trends: A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, fueling heavier rainfall. Rising sea levels are amplifying storm surge. Warmer ocean temperatures fuel rapid storm growth. When these factors combine, researchers call this phenomenon hurricane-induced compound flooding.

Sarhadi studies this phenomenon. “In a warming climate, this type of flooding is becoming more frequent and more severe,” he explains. “With U.S. hurricane damages exceeding $28 billion annually, most loss of life and destruction comes from water, not wind,” says Sarhadi, who joined Georgia Tech in 2024 after postdoctoral work in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. 

Learning From Hurricane Sandy

Building on insights from his postdoctoral work, Sarhadi has developed advanced physics-based and machine learning frameworks to model hurricane hazards such as storm surge and compound flooding and assess their potential economic impacts on coastal infrastructure. His models predict both hazard magnitude and how risk may evolve.

He applied this framework to analyze Hurricane Sandy, which struck New York City in 2012, causing $70 billion in damage. “Our analysis shows that flooding events like Sandy may occur once every 150 years in the current climate,” Sarhadi explains. “But with warming oceans and shifting storm dynamics, that timeline could shrink to once every 60 years by midcentury and once every 30 years by century’s end.”

Leveraging Georgia Tech’s Multidisciplinary Strengths 

Sarhadi says that joining Georgia Tech has opened the door to new interdisciplinary collaborations aimed at advancing hurricane forecasting and strengthening the resilience of coastal regions. From seawalls to AI-enhanced power grids and smarter warning systems, he sees real potential to reduce the vulnerability of communities facing increasingly severe storm impacts. 

“I’m excited to be here. It’s a vibrant and supportive community,” Sarhadi says. “The students are incredibly bright and deeply passionate about science.”

His research draws on the intersection of engineering, physics-based modeling, and AI, reflecting Georgia Tech’s broad strengths in climate resilience and computational science.

In 2024, Sarhadi received a seed grant to advance his research from the Georgia Tech College of Sciences (COS) Climate Frontiers Symposium, co-funded by COS, the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, and the Strategic Energy Institute. “Georgia Tech is strong in every direction,” he adds. “It’s a highly collaborative environment where everyone is committed to advancing meaningful solutions.”

An Avid Soccer Player and Foodie

Outside the lab, Sarhadi enjoys traveling and hiking. A longtime soccer enthusiast who once played semi-professionally, he still joins local pickup games. He also enjoys exploring Atlanta’s diverse food scene. “I really like Persian and Mexican cuisine — there are so many great restaurants here,” he says.

— writen by Anne Wainscott-Sargent