NSF Special Report on Disasters

Tornados, hurricanes, floods, fires, earthquakes, and the occasional volcano - these are just some of the natural disasters that humans have to contend with throughout the world. The National Science Foundation has created an interactive special report on natural disasters that describes efforts by scientists to understand the factors that cause natural disasters as well as efforts to prepare for and respond to the human toll that such disasters take. The site has numerous videos and computer simulations of developing weather patterns developed at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). Scientists at SUNY Buffalo have developed 3-D flow models from satellite data of volcanoes to estimate the risks to residents living near volcanos in Hawaii, the Northwest, and Yellowstone National Park. The site also considers cybersecurity, terrorist attacks, and contains an amazing video simulation of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. Reponding to distasters - natural or man-made - is a science itself. This page considers the immediate response to distasters such as 9/11, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina. The site highlights many of the disaster research programs supported by NSF.