Ricardo Alvarez
Ricardo Alvarez is internationally recognized as an expert, educator, and researcher in the areas of vulnerability assessment, hazard mitigation, risk analysis, emergency management, and adaptation to climate change.
He has had more than 25 years experience in damage assessment and hazard mitigation work in the United States and abroad and has participated in more than 1,200 mitigation projects and studies that involved hospitals, schools, housing projects, marinas, port facilities, airports, roadways, bridges, and communication infrastructure.
Currently a research fellow at the Florida Center for Environmental Studies, he has been deputy director of the International Hurricane Research Center, served on the Miami-Dade County Local Mitigation Strategy Working Group, the Florida Hazard Mitigation Plan Advisory Team, the U.S. National Assessment of Climate Change, and the Florida Technical Work Group on Adaptation. Alvarez has taught Hazard Mitigation, Vulnerability Assessment and Risk Management at Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University. His academic background is in environmental design, architecture/city planning, and business administration.
Alvarez has contributed to the Emergency Management and Hazard Mitigation Certificate Program (1997); FIU continuing education program, methodology for Visual and Empirical Assessments of Vulnerability (1998); the Florida Hurricane Mitigation Alliance (2000); a consortium of Florida universities, the Residential Construction Mitigation Program (2000-2004); Developing a Culture of Mitigation through Education (2001); K-12 education program pilot; full scale testing (2001-2004); leading prototype for Wall of Wind testing facility at FIU; improving roof performance under hurricane through Florida Building Code (2003); Assessment of Hurricane Wilma Impact (2005); Cancun; Adaptation to Climate Change through Building Design Criteria (2007).
Workshop Abstracts
Characterization of Impact: a Tool for Hazard Mitigation and Risk Assessment
Related Resources From Ricardo Alvarez
Climate Change Adaptation through Building Design Criteria
(PDF download)
More by Ricardo Alvarez from the Natural Hazards Library Staff
The Storms of '98: Hurricanes Georges and Mitch, Impacts, Institutional Response, and Disaster Politics in Three Countries
This is one of the Natural Hazards Center’s most cited special publications.