The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a four-year cooperative agreement to Florida International University’s (FIU) Extreme Events Institute. The Mid-scale RI-1 (MsRI-1): National Full-Scale Testing Infrastructure for Community Hardening in Extreme Wind, Surge, and Wave Events (NICHE) facility is new construction designed to accommodate future enhancements. These upgrades aim for higher wind speeds, a larger cross-section (tentatively 14’ high x 20’ wide with a 200 MPH wind speed), and wind-driven rain simulation. The project developed the prototype research NICHE, which provides a unique, national-scale, multi-user facility featuring a water basin for experimentally testing the impacts of extreme winds combined with storm surge and wave actions on civil infrastructure.
