Recent Announcements and Awards
The Integrated Risk on Disaster Research International Programme Office has designated the HVRI
as an International Centre of Excellence on Vulnerability and Resilience Metrics. The IRDR Centres of Excellence collectively embody an integrated approach to disaster risk reduction.
Kevin Ash and Ronnie Schumann have both been awarded DDRI Grants from the National Science Foundation! Check out Kevin's work on Mobile Home Residents and Tornadoes and Ronnie's work on Place Recovery on the Mississippi Coast
Mission
To conduct basic research on hazard vulnerability and resilience; train the
next generation of hazard scientists and practitioners; and through its outreach
efforts, assist in the improvement of emergency preparedness, planning, response,
and recovery at local, state, national, and international scales.
DISASTER OF THE MONTH - May 2013
The 1889 Johnstown Flood
On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam at Lake Conemaugh, Pennsylvania failed. An estimated 20 million gallons of water flowed down the Little Conemaugh river, with a flow rate equaling that of the Mississippi River. The resulting wall of water – 60 feet high in some places – flooded four towns: South Fork, Mineral Point, East Conemaugh, and the largest, Johnstown. Over 2200 people were killed in the deluge, which is the highest number of fatalities for a flood event ever recorded in the US.
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