Natural Hazards in Urban Habitats

Research in this area is currently funded by the Strategic Initiatives Program of Columbia University. Large metropolitan areas in the developing world are expanding at a rapid rate. Some of these megacities are subjected to natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes/typhoons. These hazards can have catastrophic consequences, especially in the relatively poorer parts of these cities where the civil infrastructure is sometimes developed without following rigorous engineering standards. In order to sustain the development of these metropolitan centers and minimize the catastrophic consequences of natural hazards in the future, work has to be done to develop cost-effective ways to strengthen the infrastructure and to raise the necessary funds to implement them in the near future. Otherwise, the number of human lives lost from a potential disaster could be extremely high. More..

Faculty from Civil Engineering working along these lines: Profs. R. Betti, G. Deodatis, H. Ling, C. Meyer, and A. Smyth.

Link to the Natural Hazards Initiatives Page New!