1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Coasts and Cities from Severe Weather Act . 2. Coastal flooding and storm surge forecast improvement program (a) In general The Under Secretary, in collaboration with the Integrated Ocean Observing System, the National Integrated Flood Information System, the United States weather industry, and academic partners, shall establish a coastal flooding and storm surge forecast improvement program (in this section refer to as the program ). (b) Goal The goal of the program shall be to reduce through the development and extension of accurate, effective, and actionable forecasts and warnings the loss of life and economic losses from coastal flooding and storm surge events. (c) Priority In implementing the program, the Under Secretary shall prioritize activities that carry out the following: (1) Improve understanding and capacity for real-time prediction of the ocean’s role in coastal flooding and storm surge events. (2) Improve the capacity to mitigate or prevent the impacts of coastal flooding and storm surge events. (3) Utilize distributed sensors to easily incorporate data into models. (d) Innovative observations The Under Secretary shall ensure the program periodically examines, tests, and evaluates the value of incorporating innovative observations, such as acoustic or infrasonic measurements, observations from crewed or uncrewed vehicles, and observations from coastal, ocean, and inland water observation networks, or other emerging technologies, with respect to the improvement of coastal flooding and storm surge forecasts, predictions, and warnings. (e) Program plan Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, in coordination with the Director of the National Weather Service, shall develop a plan that details the specific research, development, data acquisition, and technology transfer activities, as well as corresponding resources and timelines, necessary to achieve the