Dear DR Subscribers:
Welcome to the 700th issue of DR—Disaster Research News You Can Use!
The Natural Hazards Center has produced this publication since late 1989, and I have had the honor of overseeing the past 200 issues. Throughout that time, disaster research and emergency management have changed greatly, and DR has changed with it. Even so, this publication has always had a singular purpose—to provide the broader hazards and disaster community with clear, concise, and trustworthy information that uplifts their work.
DR has seen many iterations—from its inception as a small listserv curated by a Disaster Research Center student, to a Natural Hazards Center newsletter packed with announcements, to a synthesis of disaster news and information.
Most recently, it has been a showcase for the many Center products that help social scientists and practitioners communicate their work in their own words. This is a vitally important endeavor. In a world increasingly distrustful of science and all manner of information, it is critical that researchers and practitioners have a space to speak in their own voice. Knowledge cannot be created or consumed in a vacuum.
This is where DR began—at the precipice of our connectedness, in line with the ideas of bridging the gaps between research and practice, and getting what we know into the hands of those who need it most—and that is how it will continue.
I hope you continue to find DR useful and relevant to your work, because you, dear audience, are more than 7,000 strong. You are researchers, students, policy makers, volunteers, and nonprofit organizers. You are emergency managers, geologists, journalists, and public health professionals. You touch every aspect of hazards worldwide, from the physical drivers to the root causes of disaster built into the fabric of our societies. And this is your DR, here to serve your needs.
Before closing, I must acknowledge that while we celebrate this milestone in DR’s publication, we also mourn the loss of former Natural Hazards Center Director Dennis Mileti. In his work on communicating risk, Dennis strongly upheld the importance of trusted messengers to assuage the confusion of information overload.
With that in mind, please know that DR, and all our Center products, will continue to be a messenger that you can trust to provide clear, actionable information grounded in evidence-based research and the lived experiences of all of you who work so hard to reduce the suffering and harm caused by disasters.
All the best,
Jolie Breeden
Lead Editor and Science Communicator
Natural Hazards Center
We welcome your comments, ideas, and suggestions. Please contact Jolie Breeden at Jolie.Breeden@colorado.edu to share your thoughts.
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