Tricia Wachtendorf
Tricia Wachtendorf is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Delaware and the associate director of the Disaster Research Center, the world's oldest research center devoted to the social science aspects of disasters. Her research over the past decade has focused on such topics as transnational disaster coordination, community-based approaches to disaster mitigation and partnership building, and multi-organizational responses to natural and terrorist-induced disasters.
Current projects include: the waterborne evacuation of Lower Manhattan on 9/11; material convergence and supply chain systems following disaster; community evacuation and sheltering; improvisation training for disaster response; and the impact of disasters on people with functional and developmental impairments. She has conducted quick response and reconnaissance field work following major disasters, including the 1997 Red River flood, the 2001 World Trade Center disaster, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in 2005; the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Most recently, she was part of an Earthquake Engineering Research Institute social science reconnaissance team that examined the impacts, response, and early recovery strategies of Japan’s 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Wachtendorf has experience working directly with practitioners and community-based organizations on the implementation of loss reduction and harm reduction strategies. She teaches courses at the University of Delaware on the social science aspects of disaster, sociology, social vulnerability, and qualitative research methods.
Workshop Abstracts
Disaster and Disability: Preliminary Findings Following the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Implications for the United States
The Impact of Security Concerns on the Distribution of Relief Following the 2010 Haiti Earthquake
PERFORM: Practice Exercises Reinforcing Flexible and Open Response Management
Related Resources from Tricia Wachtendorf
EERI Tohoku Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Clearinghouse
