Benfield Hazard Research Center [Jan 14 06 London UK]--  www.benfieldhrc.org/ The Benfield Hazard Research Centre provides a conduit for the transfer of cutting-edge natural hazard and risk research, practice, and innovation from the academic environment to the business world and government and international agencies. Through the rapid application of new research and practice, the Centre facilitates the improvement of natural hazard and risk assessment and the reduction of exposure to natural catastrophes. The intellectual products of the Benfield Hazard Research Centre fall into two categories: Strategic, curiosity-driven research into natural hazards and the processes that drive them. Applied studies targeted at reducing the impact of natural hazards on society, including: Hazard & risk assessment; Hazard monitoring and forecasting; Hazard mitigation, management and avoidance; Development of effective early warning systems; Education and training; Preparedness.

Center for Hazards and Risk Research at Columbia University [Jan 14 06 New York USA]-- www.ldeo.columbia.edu/chrr/ Columbia University's physical and social scientists are undertaking a new research program in disasters and risk management motivated by a clear and compelling need to reduce the catastrophic impacts on society from natural and human-induced hazards. The Center for Hazards and Risk Research (CHRR) draws on Columbia's acknowledged expertise in Earth and environmental sciences, engineering, social sciences, public policy, public health and business. It has a twofold focus: The advancement of predictive capability for hazard and risk; The integration of core science with techniques for hazard assessment and risk management. This program infuses the scientific and technological perspective on disasters with a deep appreciation of the social, political, and economic realities of the developing, as well as the developed, world. It requires a renewed focus on translating the key scientific concepts of probability and uncertainty into a language and set of rules useful to decision-makers.

Center for Hazards Research at California State University [Jan 15 06 Chico CA]-- www.csuchico.edu/geop/chr/  The Center for Hazards Research coördinates hazards-related research and educational activities by faculty and students at California State University, Chico, and research associates at other institutions throughout California. CHR work to date has largely focused on earthquake, flood, drought, and wildfire hazards, mainly in the State of California. Most CHR activity has been in the application of critical social theory, media analysis, and spatial analytic methods to hazards in California. CHR faculty are also developing hazards and disaster curriculum for Chico State. The CHR anticipates moving more in the direction of educational outreach, through curriculum, symposia, and the World Wide Web.

Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center [Jan 14 06 College Station Texas]-- archone.tamu.edu/hrrc/scope/index.shtml   The Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center (HRRC) was established at Texas A&M University in 1988. HRRC researchers focus on hazard analysis, emergency preparedness and response, disaster recovery, and hazard mitigation. Researchers study the full range of natural disasters and technological hazards. Natural disasters include floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and droughts, while technological hazards may involve chemical plant accidents, transportation accidents, hazardous materials and lifeline failures. The Hazard Reduction & Recovery Center is one of only two United Nations (UN-OCHA) Collaborative Centers in the world. The center serves OCHA as a research and consultant agency with particular emphasis on national disaster plans and their implications for future development. The center engages in research on hazard and disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The staff of the HRRC is interdisciplinary in nature and includes the expertise of architects, planners, sociologists, policy analysts, and engineers.

Major Accident Hazards Bureau [Jan 14 06 Ispra Italy]-- mahbsrv.jrc.it/ The Major Accident Hazards Bureau (MAHB) is a special Unit within the Joint Research Centre's Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Hazard Assessment Unit, dedicated to scientific and technical support for the actions of the European Commission in the area of the control of Major Industrial Hazards. The overall mission of the Bureau is to assist other services of the Commission, and in particular Directorate General Environment in the successful implementation of European Union policy on the control of major hazards and the prevention and mitigation of major accidents. To fulfil this mission, MAHB carries out scientific and technical activities related to the day to day implementation of relevant Community legislation. Since 1982, when the Original Seveso Directive (Council Directive 82/501/EEC) was approved by the Council of Ministers after the famous accident at Seveso, there has been Community provision for the control of major industrial hazards.

NASA Earth Observatory : Natural Hazards [Jan 15 06 Washington DC]--  earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/  The purpose of NASA’s Earth Observatory is to provide a freely-accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth’s climate and environmental change. In particular, we hope our site is useful to public media and educators. Any and all materials published on the Earth Observatory are freely available for re-publication or re-use, except where copyright is indicated. We ask that NASA’s Earth Observatory be given credit for its original materials.

Risk Frontiers Natural Hazards Research Centre [Jan 14 06 Macquarie University North Ryde NSW]-- www.riskfrontiers.com/ Risk Frontiers (formerly the Natural Hazards Research Centre) is regarded as a world leader in quantitative natural hazards risk assessment and risk management. Risk Frontiers, based at Sydney's Macquarie University, is a not-for-profit research organization sponsored by the Australian insurance community. For ten years, it has provided insurers, who are under ever-increasing pressure to minimise risks and maximise returns, with sophisticated research-based solutions. Other applications include emergency management, land use planning and floodplain management. As well as Australia, these tools are currently being used in Europe, North America and Asia.

The James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research [Jan 15 06 San Marcos TX]-- www.geo.txstate.edu/lovell/index.htm  The pinnacle of scientific exploration in the 20th Century was NASA's Apollo program. On Apollo 8, Astronauts Lovell, Borman, and Anders showed all of humanity how truly fragile and precious the Earth's environment is. The "Blue Marble in Space" remains one of the most enduring visions of the Apollo program. During the Apollo 13 mission, Captain Lovell and his crew captured the focus of the entire world. They illustrated the courage and daring that have been associated with exploration of unknown environments since the Voyages of Discovery crisscrossed the world. The James and Marilyn Lovell Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research recognizes the legacy of Jim Lovell's outstanding leadership in global exploration and environmental science and Marilyn Lovell's unwavering support of her husband and his extraordinary vision. The Center for Environmental Geography and Hazards Research provides a focus for geographers with interests in Environmental Geography, and Natural and Technological Hazards. The Center provides a locus of scholarship and activity emphasizing the importance of understanding the Earth environment, the analysis and reduction of natural and technological hazards, and achieving sound policy formulation on these issues.

The Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center at the University of Colorado [Jan 15 06 Boulder CO]-- www.colorado.edu/hazards/  The mission of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder is to advance and communicate knowledge on hazards mitigation and disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Using an all-hazards and interdisciplinary framework, the Center fosters information sharing and integration of activities among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers from around the world; supports and conducts research; and provides educational opportunities for the next generation of hazards scholars and professionals.