Hazards and Disaster Research Centers in the Americas

This page includes a listing of university-based hazards and disaster research centers, organized alphabetically and by UN subregion in the Americas.

Caribbean

Center/Institute	University	State/Province	Country	Year Established
Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Research (CCARR) Centre	University of the Bahamas	New Providence	Bahamas	2019
Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH)	University of the West Indies	St. James	Barbados	1967
Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES)	University of the West Indies	St. Michael	Barbados	1985
Disaster Risk Reduction Centre	University of the West Indies	Kingston	Jamaica	2006
Earthquake Unit - The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica	University of the West Indies	Kingston	Jamaica	1985
Disaster Research Working Group	Ross University		Saint Kitts and Nevis	2019
Seismic Research Centre	University of the West Indies	Tunapuna–Piarco	Trinidad & Tobago	1953

Central America

Center/Institute	University	State/Province	Country	Year Established
Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica	Universidad Nacional Costa Rica	Heredia	Costa Rica	1986
Institute of Geography	National Autonomous University of Mexico	Mexico	Mexico	1943
Institute of Geophysics - El Instituto de Geofísica de la UNAM	National Autonomous University of Mexico	Mexico	Mexico	1945
National Seismological Service - Servicio Sismologico Nacional	National Autonomous University of Mexico	Mexico	Mexico	1910

Northern America

Center/Institute	University	State/Province	Country	Year Established
Centre for Community Disaster Research	Mount Royal University	Alberta	Canada	2014
Centre for Natural Hazards Research (CNHR)	Simon Fraser University	British Columbia	Canada	2005
ResiliencebyDesign (RbD) Research Lab	Royal Roads University	British Columbia	Canada	2013
Collaboration on Emergency Management, Policy, and Preparedness Research (CEMPPR Lab)	York University	Ontario	Canada	2019
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction	Western University	Ontario	Canada	1997
Institute for Multi-Hazard Systemic Risk Studies (INTERFACE)	McMaster University	Ontario	Canada	2016
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation	University of Waterloo	Ontario	Canada	2015
Multi-Hazard Risk and Resilience Centre	Western University	Ontario	Canada	2023
The Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid-response Simulation (ADERSIM)	York University	Ontario	Canada	2016
Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment Research Institute (WindEEE)	Western University	Ontario	Canada	2011
York Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Response, and Governance (Y-EMERGE)	York University	Ontario	Canada	2022
Center for Advanced Public Safety	The University of Alabama	Alabama	United States	2003
Center for Disaster and Community Resilience (CDCR)	Jacksonville State University	Alabama	United States	2010
Scyphers Lab	University of South Alabama	Alabama	United States	2022
Alaska Earthquake Center	University of Alaska Fairbanks	Alaska	United States	1988
Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks	University of Alaska Fairbanks	Alaska	United States	1946
Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security	Arizona State University	Arizona	United States	2018
Mountain West Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (MWPERCL)	University of Arizona	Arizona	United States	2005
Office of Arid Lands Studies and Arid Lands Information Center	University of Arizona	Arizona	United States	1959
B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences	University of California, Los Angeles	California	United States	2007
Berkeley Forests	University of California, Berkeley	California	United States	1974
Center for Catastrophic Risk Management	University of California, Berkeley	California	United States	2005
Center for Geotechnical Modeling (CGM)	University of California, Davis	California	United States	1983
Center for Public Health and Disasters	University of California, Los Angeles	California	United States	1997
Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE)	University of Southern California	California	United States	2003
Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism	California State University, San Bernardino	California	United States	1999
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI)	Non-Profit	California	United States	1948
Geomechanics and Mitigation of Geohazards (GMG)	California Institute of Technology	California	United States
John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center	Stanford University	California	United States	1974
Large High Performance Outdoor Shake Table (LHPOST)	University of California, San Diego	California	United States	2014
Natural Hazards Risk and Resiliency Research Center (NHR3)	University of California, Los Angeles	California	United States	2018
Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center and National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering (NISEE), University of California, Berkeley	University of California, Berkeley	California	United States	1996
Safe Communities Institute	University of Southern California	California	United States	2016
Seismological Laboratory	California Institute of Technology	California	United States	1921
SimCenter - Computational Modeling and Simulation Center	University of California, Berkeley	California	United States	2017
Stanford Urban Resilience Initiative (SURI)	Stanford University	California	United States	2014
Statewide California Earthquake Center	University of Southern California	California	United States	1991
Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC)	U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs	California	United States	2010
Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Institute	California Polytechnic State University	California	United States	2023
Center for Creative Climate Communication & Behavior Change (C3BC)	University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado	United States	2020
Center for Integrated Disaster Preparedness	University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus	Colorado	United States
Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning	Colorado State University	Colorado	United States	2015
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)	CIRES	Colorado	United States	1968
Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere	Colorado State University	Colorado	United States	1980
Disaster Management Institute	Community College of Aurora	Colorado	United States
Earth Lab	CIRES	Colorado	United States	2015
Earth Science and Observation Center (ESOC)	CIRES	Colorado	United States	1985
Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience	University of Colorado Colorado Springs	Colorado	United States	2002
National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)	CIRES	Colorado	United States	1976
Natural Hazards Center	University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado	United States	1976
Disaster Research Center	University of Delaware	Delaware	United States	1963
Georgetown Climate Center	Georgetown University	District of Columbia	United States	2009
Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions (CUES)	Florida Atlantic University	Florida	United States	2016
Extreme Events Institute	Florida International University	Florida	United States	2012
Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience (FIBER)	University of Florida	Florida	United States	2019
International Hurricane Research Center	Florida International University	Florida	United States	1997
NHERI Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Experimental Facility	University of Florida	Florida	United States	2015
NHERI Wall of Wind (WOW) Experimental Facility (EF), Florida International University	Florida International University	Florida	United States	2005
National Center for Integrated Coastal Research	University of Central Florida	Florida	United States	2018
Puerto Rico Research Hub	University of Central Florida	Florida	United States	2018
Resilient Infrastructure & Disaster Response Center (RIDER Center)	Florida A&M University & Florida State University (FAMU-FSU)	Florida	United States	2015
Sea Level Solutions Center	Florida International University	Florida	United States	2019
The Powell Family Structures and Materials Laboratory	University of Florida	Florida	United States	1995
Urban Agility and Resilience Lab	University of Florida	Florida	United States	2018
Urban Resilience Initiative	University of Central Florida	Florida	United States	2017
Wind and Hurricane Impact Research Laboratory (WHIRL)	Florida Institute of Technology	Florida	United States	1996
Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR)	Emory University	Georgia	United States	2007
Severe Storms Research Center	Georgia Tech Research Institute	Georgia	United States	2004
Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes (CSAV)	University of Hawaii at Hilo	Hawaii	United States	1989
National Disaster Preparedness Training Center	University of Hawaii	Hawaii	United States	2007
Pacific Disaster Center	University of Hawaii	Hawaii	United States	1996
Hazard and Climate Resilience Institute (HCRI)	Boise State University	Idaho	United States	2017
Idaho Institute of Emergency Managment	Idaho State University-Meridian	Idaho	United States	2003
Institute of Rural Health	Idaho State University-Pocatello	Idaho	United States	1995
Humanitarian Disaster Institute	Wheaton College	Illinois	United States	2011
MAE Center: Creating a Multi-hazard Approach to Engineering	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Illinois	United States	2001
Crisis Technologies Innovation Lab	Indiana University, Bloomington	Indiana	United States
NHERI Network Coordination Office	Purdue University	Indiana	United States	2016
NatHaz Modeling Laboratory	University of Notre Dame	Indiana	United States	2006
The Polis Center	Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis	Indiana	United States	1989
Iowa Flood Center	University of Iowa	Iowa	United States	2009
Center for Compassionate & Sustainable Communities	University of Kansas	Kansas	United States	2019
Center for Hazards Research and Policy Development	University of Louisville	Kentucky	United States	1984
ByWater Institute	Tulane University	Louisiana	United States	2019
Center for Hazards Assessment, Response & Technology (UNO-CHART)	University of New Orleans	Louisiana	United States	2001
Center for Studies of Displaced Populations	Tulane University	Louisiana	United States	2016
Center on Environment, Land, and Law (CELL)	Loyola University	Louisiana	United States
Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy	Tulane University	Louisiana	United States	2009
LaHouse Resource Center	Louisiana State University	Louisiana	United States	2012
Lowlander Center	Non-Profit	Louisiana	United States	2013
Stephenson Disaster Management Institute	Louisiana State University	Louisiana	United States	2007
Applied Physics Laboratory	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	United States	1942
Center for Disaster Resilience	University of Maryland	Maryland	United States	2012
Center for Health Security	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	United States	1998
Center for Humanitarian Health	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	United States	2015
Center for Public Health Preparedness	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	United States	2002
Global Health Mission Area	Johns Hopkins University	Maryland	United States	1942
National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health	Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences	Maryland	United States	2008
START- Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism	University of Maryland	Maryland	United States	2005
Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab	University of Maryland	Maryland	United States	2019
Center for Disaster Medicine	Massachusetts General Hospital	Massachusetts	United States	2014
Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS)	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts	United States	1987
Emergency Preparedness Research Evaluation & Practice (EPREP) Program	Harvard University	Massachusetts	United States	2002
George Perkins Marsh Institute	Clark University	Massachusetts	United States	1986
Global Resilience Institute	Northeastern University	Massachusetts	United States	2018
Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment	Michigan State University	Michigan	United States	2009
Clinical Disaster Research Center	University of Mississippi	Mississippi	United States	2012
Center for Hazard Mitigation and Community Resilience	Missouri University of Science and Technology	Missouri	United States	2021
Disaster and Community Crisis Center	University of Missouri	Missouri	United States	2012
Wind Hazard Mitigation (WHAM) Laboratory	Missouri University of Science and Technology	Missouri	United States	2014
Center for Preparedness and Emergency Response Solutions	University of Nebraska Medical Center	Nebraska	United States	2003
Global Center for Health Security	University of Nebraska Medical Center	Nebraska	United States	1997
National Drought Mitigation Center	University of Nebraska—Lincoln	Nebraska	United States	1995
University of Nebraska Public Policy Center	University of Nebraska—Lincoln	Nebraska	United States	1998
Coastal Response Research Center and Center for Spills and Environmental Hazards	University of New Hampshire	New Hampshire	United States	2004
Center for Disaster Medicine	University of New Mexico	New Mexico	United States	1989
Intermountain West Transformation Network	University of New Mexico	New Mexico	United States	2024
Center for Disaster Medicine	New York Medical College	New York	United States	2005
Center for Geohazards Studies	State University of New York at Buffalo	New York	United States	2006
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)	Columbia University	New York	United States	1989
Center for Public Health Preparedness	State University of New York at Albany	New York	United States	2000
Emergency and Risk Communication Message Testing Laboratory	State University of New York at Albany	New York	United States
Initiative for Critical Disaster Studies	New York University	New York	United States	2021
MCEER: Earthquake Engineering to Extreme Events	State University of New York at Buffalo	New York	United States	1986
National Center for Disaster Preparedness	Columbia University	New York	United States	2003
WindHub	State University of New York at Buffalo	New York	United States	2014
Center for Resilient Communities and Environment	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	United States	2019
Coastal Resilience Center	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	United States	2006
Convergence of Climate-Health-Vulnerabilities	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	United States	2007
Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions	Duke University	North Carolina	United States	2005
Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines	Western Carolina University	North Carolina	United States	2005
Advanced Radar Research Center	University of Oklahoma	Oklahoma	United States	2005
Oklahoma Center for Prehospital & Disaster Medicine	University of Oklahoma	Oklahoma	United States	2013
Cascadia Lifelines Program	Oregon State University	Oregon	United States	1996
Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory (HWRL)	Oregon State University	Oregon	United States	1972
Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE)	University of Oregon	Oregon	United States	2023
Oregon Hazards Lab	University of Oregon	Oregon	United States	2018
Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience	University of Oregon	Oregon	United States	1973
Center for Disaster Research and Education	Millersville University	Pennsylvania	United States	2005
NHERI Lehigh Real-Time Multi-Directional Experimental Facility	Lehigh University	Pennsylvania	United States	2015
Puerto Rico Seismic Network	University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez	Puerto Rico	United States	1987
Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies	Brown University	Rhode Island	United States	2019
Hazards Vulnerability & Resilience Institute	University of South Carolina	South Carolina	United States	1995
Lowcountry Hazards Center	College of Charleston	South Carolina	United States	2009
Lt. Col. James B. Near Jr., USAF, ’77, Center for Climate Studies	The Citadel	South Carolina	United States	2020
Disaster Mental Health Institute	University of South Dakota	South Dakota	United States	2001
Center for Applied Earth Sciences and Engineering Research (CAESER) - Division of Adaptation and Resilience	University of Memphis	Tennessee	United States	2024
Center for Earthquake Research and Information	University of Memphis	Tennessee	United States	1977
Center for Collective Impact in Earthquake Science (C-CIES)	University of Texas at El Paso	Texas	United States	2023
Center for Community Resilience Research Innovation and Advocacy (CCRRIA)	University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	Texas	United States	2023
Center for Resiliency	Lamar University	Texas	United States	2021
Center for the Study of Disasters & Emergency Management (CDEM)	Sam Houston State University	Texas	United States	2014
Center on Disability and Development	Texas A&M University	Texas	United States	1978
Hazards Reduction and Recovery Center	Texas A&M University	Texas	United States	1988
Institute for Sustainable Communities	Texas A&M University	Texas	United States	2015
Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas	Texas A&M University at Galveston	Texas	United States	2020
NHERI at the University of Texas	University of Texas at Austin	Texas	United States	2016
National Wind Institute	Texas Tech University	Texas	United States	1970
Risk and Equity in Disasters (RED) Lab	Texas Tech University	Texas	United States	2021
Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine (SCEHM)	University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston	Texas	United States	2014
Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center	Rice University	Texas	United States	2007
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service - Emergency Services Training Institute (ESTI)	Texas A&M University	Texas	United States	1940
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service - National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center (TEEX - NERRTC)	Texas A&M University	Texas	United States	1998
USA Center for Rural Public Health Preparedness, Texas A&M University	Texas A&M University	Texas	United States	2002
UrbanResilience.AI Lab	Texas A&M University	Texas	United States	2016
Wind Hazard and Infrastructure Performance Center (WHIPC)	Texas Tech University	Texas	United States	2019
Center for Natural and Technological Hazards	University of Utah	Utah	United States	1990
WIRED Global Center	University of Utah	Utah	United States	2023
Center for Coastal Studies	Virginia Tech	Virginia	United States	2017
Center for Geospatial Information Technology (CGIT)	Virginia Tech	Virginia	United States	1991
Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems	University of Virginia	Virginia	United States	2005
Institute for Coastal Adaptation & Resilience (ICAR)	Old Dominion University	Virginia	United States	2020
Virginia Coastal Resilience Collaborative (VCRC)	College of William & Mary	Virginia	United States	2023
Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE)	University of Washington	Washington	United States	2015
Center on Collaborative Systems for Security, Safety & Regional Resilience (CoSSaR)	University of Washington	Washington	United States	2014
Climate Impacts Group	University of Washington	Washington	United States	1995
ColLABorative on Extreme Event Resilience (CEER)	University of Washington	Washington	United States	2018
Disaster Data Science Lab	University of Washington	Washington	United States	2017
Institute for Hazard Mitigation Planning and Research	University of Washington	Washington	United States	2015
NHERI Natural Hazards Reconnaissance Facility (“RAPID Facility”)	University of Washington	Washington	United States	2016
Northwest Center for Public Health Practice	University of Washington	Washington	United States	1990
Resilience Institute	Western Washington University	Washington	United States	2007
THINK Lab	University of Washington	Washington	United States	2013
University of Washington Interdisciplinary Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics, and Environment (EDGE)	University of Washington	Washington	United States	1995
Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS)	University of Wisconsin–Madison	Wisconsin	United States	1979
Disaster Management Center	University of Wisconsin	Wisconsin	United States	2007

South America

Center/Institute	University	State/Province	Country	Year Established
Centro de Investigación para la Gestión Integrada del Riesgo de Desastres (CIGIDEN)	Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile	Santiago	Chile	2011
CITRID - Programa de Reducción de Riesgos y Desastres	University of Chile		Chile	2014
Instituto de Estudios Ambientales (IDEA)	Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Manizales	Caldas	Colombia	1989
Centro Internacional del Pacífico para la Reducción del Riesgo de Desastres (CIP-RRD)	The Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral	Guayas	Ecuador	2017
Centro Peruano Japonés de Investigaciones Sísmicas y Mitigación de Desastres (CISMID)	National University of Engineering		Peru	1986

If you have questions about this project, please contact Lori Peek at lori.peek@colorado.edu. If you would like your academic research center listed on this page, or if you’d like to update or add information to a center currently on the map, please contact Emma Hines at emmanuelle.hines@colorado.edu.