University of Hawaii is getting more than $1.3 million to fund a program to prepare communities in the Pacific Rim for coastal storms.

The U.S. senators representing Hawaii announced Wednesday the grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is to prepare residents for weather conditions from coastal storms including storm surges, flooding and rising sea levels.

The Pacific Islands Coastal Storms Program is to be run by the university and work with residents and government agencies of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

The project is designed to improve weather observations and forecasting predictions, along with communication to remote coastal communities.