The Center for Natural Hazards Research is an academic research center located in

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...

. The center is housed at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

and includes interdisciplinary collaborations between economics, geography and planning, engineering, climate science, sociology, and public administration. It serves as a conduit for natural hazards research, practice, and community-engaged scholarship focused on the people and places impacted by natural hazards. The center focuses on hurricane, tornado, flooding and erosion hazards as they affect eastern North Carolina and the United States. Areas of active research include the financial impacts of hurricanes and

floods A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

, the effectiveness of warning systems, how policy-makers should handle evacuations, and how households can protect themselves from natural hazards. The mission of the center is to promote research and analysis that ultimately reduces the harm caused by forces of nature to life, communities and the environment. The center is currently directed by Dr. Meghan Millea and has 52 research associates from 15 collaborating institutions.

History

In response to the widespread devastation suffered in the wake of

Hurricane Dennis Hurricane Dennis was an early-forming major hurricane in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico during the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. Dennis was the fourth named storm, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season. F ...

and Hurricane Floyd, ECU's College of Arts and Sciences began the groundwork for the center in 2001. The center is part of the North Carolina Institute of Disaster Studies at the University of North Carolina. The center received more than $200,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation in 2006 to study the effects of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

on the gulf region and investigate reconstruction efforts in New Orleans. In academic year 2007–2008, the center received more than $650,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA,

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

and the University of North Carolina. The center hosted its first ever "hurricon" conference in February 2020. The conference was funded by the National Science Foundation and aims to better prepare communities for hurricanes.

References

External links

Center for Natural Hazards ResearchEast Carolina University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Center For Natural Hazards Research East Carolina University divisions

History

See also

References

External links