Dear Hazards Community:

The Natural Hazards Center sends messages of greetings and encouragement to all those who have been affected by the historic flooding in Colorado. We also thank the emergency management community, first responders, and community residents for their rapid and compassionate response to this flood disaster.

I would like to thank everyone for their kindness and concern as the Natural Hazards Center staff has been recovering from the recent flooding in Boulder and the surrounding areas. We have been very fortunate. Our staff is safe and our building is unharmed. While some of us are dealing with personal losses, none have been overwhelming and we want to let you know that Center operations are beginning to return to (the new) normal.

While we may now be disaster survivors, we are first and foremost disaster researchers and professionals. With that in mind, I want to share with you what you can expect from us in the upcoming months as we begin to dig into the wealth of flood research waiting to be done. Although we can only speak very broadly at the moment, I’m sure you’ll be interested in this information:

Natural Hazards Center Research: Students and faculty from both within and outside the Center are beginning to develop research projects. There is also considerable interest across the university community in developing new research and identifying lessons learned for Boulder and beyond.

Research Facilitation: Our host institution, the Institute of Behavioral Science, is offering space to researchers coming from other universities to conduct research. Some individuals have already reached out to us to let us know they’ll be conducting research on this event. We’re currently tracking many activities and compiling a list of those seeking to collaborate. If we can be of assistance, please send us an information request.

Natural Hazards Center Library: Our Natural Hazards Library has been collecting resources on the flooding since day one. From social media postings to press releases to documentation of rainfall and news stories, our archive is growing quickly. You can look for this information to be available on our website in the coming weeks, but until then, please contact Librarian Wanda Headley with any information needs.

Quick Response Grant Program: Our Quick Response Grant Program stands ready to assist researchers in collecting perishable data by providing small grants to defray the cost of travel. We’ve just issued a special call for research proposals related to the floods (see below) and we’re looking forward to seeing promising proposals roll in.

Social Media and Information Requests: As might be expected, we’ve been responding to requests for interviews and information and we expect that to continue for some time. We’ve also been keeping the information flowing via our Twitter feed and our brand new Facebook page. While our efforts have been constrained by the events, you can look to these sources—and contact us by email—for Colorado flood information.

Obviously these are early days, and the difficult recovery process is just beginning. We hope you’ll be patient with us as we begin to gain footing. But please know that we’re here to assist the hazard community in any way we can as we all begin to move forward in learning the many things there are to learn from this disaster.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Tierney Director Natural Hazards Center