About

Miyuki Hino is an Associate Professor located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her professional contact information includes an office phone number that is not listed and an email address at mhino@email.unc.edu. The available information indicates her affiliation with the Department of Urban Planning at the University of North Carolina. Her personal and department websites are accessible for further details. The page does not provide specific information about her research focus, background, or key contributions.

Research topics

• Geography
• Ecology
• Oceanography
• Natural resource economics
• Business
• Meteorology
• Geology
• Cartography
• Finance
• Environmental science
• Economics
• Physical geography

Selected publications

• Impacts of Hurricane-Related Flooding on Time to Initial Cancer-Directed Treatment in North Carolina

  Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention · 2026-04-09

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Hurricanes can disrupt healthcare delivery and patients' access to timely cancer care. Such disruptions may contribute to adverse cancer outcomes, yet few studies have examined hurricane-related delays in treatment initiation. METHODS: We conducted a quasi-experimental, observational study using a CITS to evaluate the association between hurricane exposure and time to initial treatment among patients diagnosed with breast, colorectal, or lung cancer in North Carolina following Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018). The analysis included 59,406 patients between November 2015 and August 2019 in the NC Central Cancer Registry. Hurricane-exposed areas was defined using (1) presidential disaster declarations (county level) and (2) flood extent data (FLDEX) at county and ZIP-code levels. Monthly median time to initial cancer-directed treatment within 12 months of diagnosis was modeled using ARIMA to estimate immediate (level) and sustained (trend) effects. RESULTS: No significant immediate or sustained changes in median time to treatment were observed using FEMA-based exposure definitions. However, using ZIP- code level FLDEX data, colorectal cancer patients in high-flood exposure areas (0.1% and 0.5% flooded) experienced significant immediate median delays of 10.39 (2.8, 18.0) and 10.97 days (95% CI: 2.1, 19.9), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: While no significant effects on time to treatment were observed using traditional measures of hurricane hazards, more granular flood extent data revealed treatment delays among colorectal patients living in areas with greater flooding extent. IMPACT: These findings provide support for further investigation of the use of ZIP code-level flood extent data to evaluate hurricane impacts on continuity of cancer care.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Reconstructing repetitive flood exposure across 78 events from 1996-2020 in North Carolina, USA

  2025-02-12

  preprintOpen access

  Measuring flooding through time is crucial for understanding exposure and vulnerability — key components to estimating flood risks and impacts. Yet, historical records of flood inundation are sparse. In this study, we leverage high-resolution geospatial data and address-level records of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims and policies to reconstruct flood extents in eastern North Carolina (NC) for damaging events that occurred between 1996 and 2020 using random forest machine learning algorithms. We identify and model 78 events, achieving an average Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.76 and outperforming flood extent estimates from process-based and remote sensing models when evaluated against NFIP records for six events. We find that approximately 90,000 (2.3%) buildings in our study area flooded at least once, of which over 20,000 (0.53%) flooded more than once. We identify more than twice as many flooded buildings as those that filed flood insurance claims between 1996 and 2020. Furthermore, the data indicate that 43% of previously flooded buildings within the study area are located outside the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). Our results illustrate that flood exposure, especially repetitive exposure, is much more widespread than previously recognized. By generating a comprehensive record of past flood extents using address-level observations of damage, we create a first-of-its-kind geospatial database that can be used to identify locations of repetitive flooding. This represents a crucial first step in examining the dynamic relationships between flood exposure, vulnerability, and risk.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Promoting equity in retreat through voluntary property buyout programs

  UNC Libraries · 2025-05-23

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Data From the Drain: A Sensor Framework That Captures Multiple Drivers of Chronic Coastal Floods

  UNC Libraries · 2025-04-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Tide gauge water levels are commonly used as a proxy for flood incidence on land. These proxies are useful for projecting how sea‐level rise (SLR) will increase the frequency of coastal flooding. However, tide gauges do not account for land‐based sources of coastal flooding and therefore flood thresholds and the proxies derived from them likely underestimate the current and future frequency of coastal flooding. Here we present a new sensor framework for measuring the incidence of coastal floods that captures both subterranean and land‐based contributions to flooding. The low‐cost, open‐source sensor framework consists of a storm drain water level sensor, roadway camera, and wireless gateway that transmit data in real‐time. During 5 months of deployment in the Town of Beaufort, North Carolina, 24 flood events were recorded. Twenty‐five percent of those events were driven by land‐based sources—rainfall, combined with moderate high tides and reduced capacity in storm drains. Consequently, we find that flood frequency is higher than that suggested by proxies that rely exclusively on tide gauge water levels for determining flood incidence. This finding likely extends to other locations where stormwater networks are at a reduced drainage capacity due to SLR. Our results highlight the benefits of instrumenting stormwater networks directly to capture multiple drivers of coastal flooding. More accurate estimates of the frequency and drivers of floods in low‐lying coastal communities can enable the development of more effective long‐term adaptation strategies. Key Points We present a new low‐cost, open‐source sensor framework that measures coastal flooding from multiple sources For a 5 month deployment, 25% of floods were driven by land‐based sources, contributions not present in tide gauge water levels Measures of flood frequency that rely only on tide gauges are likely underestimates where stormwater networks are routinely impaired

  PublisherDOI

• Divergent priorities in flood adaptation

  Environmental Research Climate · 2025-07-07

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Actions to reduce flood risk often appear to run counter to other societal goals, and resolving these conflicts is important as flood adaptations increasingly transform settlements and societies. Here, we evaluate the tensions between flood risk reduction and other priorities in the context of voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties in the United States—a controversial flood response to restore land to open space, but with trade-offs. We apply a nation-wide systematic review (133 literature references, 1983–2023) to assess goals stated for buyouts and combine it with a comprehensive media analysis (281 media articles, 1993–2023) to compare those goals to the experiences and results perceived by buyout implementers, residents, and other practitioner groups. Across the systematic-review literature, flood risk reduction dominates goals expressed for buyouts (62.6% of documented goals), and local government predominates in this goal setting (61.7% of documented goals). However, involved and affected actors—especially residents—perceive outcomes beyond flood risk reduction, most notably in the experiences of buyout implementation itself (35.5% of documented resident perceptions) and in results impacting social and economic priorities (49.5%). Despite the difficulties of buyouts, the systematic-review literature largely reflects positive perceived outcomes (79.4% of outcome sentiments, weighing each buyout location equally), but nonprofit organizations and residents perceive largely negative outcomes. Media coverage related to buyouts is more negative than positive but with improved sentiments through time. Our findings point to the importance of designing, implementing, and evaluating flood adaptations not just as flood control measures given their consequences for other societal objectives. The uneven documentation on buyouts also implies opportunities to learn from contexts where buyouts have been integrated into everyday life with little fanfare, through mechanisms either novel or perhaps routine, yielding insights into making ambitious climate adaptations a common, more ordinary, and increasingly imperative occurrence.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Land-based sensors reveal high frequency of coastal flooding

  UNC Libraries · 2025-06-12

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Complexities and costs of floodplain buyout implementation

  UNC Libraries · 2025-05-06

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• A Review of Funding Mechanisms for US Floodplain Buyouts

  UNC Libraries · 2025-07-10

  articleOpen access

  Increases in extreme weather events have caused extensive flooding across the United States. In response, federal, state, and local governments have broadened their flood mitigation strategies to include acquisition and demolition of flood-damaged homes (“buyouts”). Little work has documented or analyzed the range of strategies for funding buyouts. Federal programs provide the bulk of funding, but these programs are often slow. Also, state and local governments struggle to meet cost-match requirements. We present and analyze a nationwide census of buyout funding programs (n = 34), which draw on five primary funding mechanisms. We find that state and local governments are using a range of traditional and innovative financial mechanisms, including municipal/green bonds, revolving loan funds, local option sales taxes, and stormwater utility fees, as viable tools for funding buyouts. These tools may promote more autonomy from federal government mitigation programs, and ultimately, faster buyout processes.

  PublisherDOI

• Reconstructing Repetitive Flood Exposure Across 78 Events From 1996 to 2020 in North Carolina, USA

  Earth s Future · 2025-07-01 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Measuring flooding through time is crucial for understanding exposure and vulnerability — key components to estimating flood risks and impacts. Yet, historical records of flood inundation are sparse. In this study, we reconstruct flood extents for 78 damaging events in eastern North Carolina between 1996 and 2020 using high‐resolution geospatial data and address‐level National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) records. We train random forest models on NFIP‐based labeled flood presence and absence data and a suite of geospatial predictors. Then, we predict the probability of flood damage at every 30 m grid cell within our model domain. Our models achieve an average Area Under the Curve of 0.76 and outperform flood extent estimates from process‐based and remote sensing models when evaluated against NFIP data for six events. We find that approximately 90,000 (2.3%) buildings in our study area flooded at least once, of which over 20,000 (0.53%) flooded more than once. Our estimate is more than double the number of buildings that filed NFIP claims between 1996 and 2020. Furthermore, 43% of flooded buildings are located outside the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Special Flood Hazard Area. Our results illustrate that flood exposure, especially repetitive exposure, is much more widespread than previously recognized. By generating a comprehensive record of past flood extents using address‐level observations of damage, we create a first‐of‐its‐kind geospatial database that can be used to identify locations of repetitive flooding. This represents a crucial first step in examining the dynamic relationships between flood exposure, vulnerability, and risk.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Coastal squeeze reduces nitrogen removal services provided by wetlands: insights from an interdisciplinary framework

  Environmental Research Letters · 2025-09-29

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Natural landscapes provide valuable ecosystem services that increase community resilience to environmental change. We present a novel interdisciplinary framework to quantify and spatially evaluate the value and fate of coastal wetlands in the context of sea level rise (SLR) and future land use (FLU) plans. We apply our framework in New Bern, NC, USA, where we project changes in nitrogen removal ecosystem services provided by wetlands and undeveloped open spaces during heavy rainfall events under current sea levels and with 0.15–1.5 m (0.5–5 ft) of SLR. These landscapes currently provide $90 000 USD worth of nitrogen removal ecosystem services annually. Areas currently designated for conservation are especially valuable, contributing 53% of annual services despite making up only 13% of New Bern’s total land area (107 km 2 ). We show that these Conservation designations are expected to lose over 60% of their wetlands with 0.90 m (3 ft) of SLR, reducing New Bern’s expected annual benefit by 56%. Wetland migration to higher elevations is inhibited largely by existing urban development, though we locate potential wetland migration corridors that extend into Developed and Urban Transition FLU designations. Application of our framework can help to maintain ecosystem services and reduce the pressures of coastal squeeze across changing coastal landscapes.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CAS-Climate: The effects of chronic flooding on coastal migration

  NSF · $400k · 2022–2026

• Collaborative Research: Floodplain Management in the United States: Where, Why, and How Policies Have Shaped Flood Exposure Outcomes

  NSF · $149k · 2021–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Katharine J. Mach

  University of Miami

  21 shared

• A.R. Siders

  13 shared

• Katherine Anarde

  North Carolina State University

  12 shared

• Christopher B. Field

  Palo Alto Institute

  11 shared

• Adam Gold

  Environmental Defense Fund

  9 shared

• Marshall Burke

  Stanford University

  9 shared

• Caroline M. Kraan

  8 shared

• Natalie Nelson

  North Carolina State University

  7 shared