Disaster Research in the Social Sciences: Future Challenges and Opportunities

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The U.S. is vulnerable to a wide variety of natural, technological andhuman-induced hazards. While local decision-makers have the finalresponsibility for coping with the threat of disaster, federal agencies havedeveloped science-based activities, such as the National Earthquake HazardsReduction Program (NEHRP), that are intended to help further effectivedisaster reduction efforts in at-risk communities throughout the nation. TheNational Science Foundation (NSF) has been a major supporter of socialscience disaster research, including such research carried out as part of theNEHRP effort. The objective of this study is to provide NSF with a detailedappraisal of the short and long-term challenges facing the social sciencedisaster research community and new and emerging opportunities for advancingknowledge in the field and its application for the benefit of society. Thestudy is intended to provide a basis for planning future social science andmultidisciplinary research related to natural, technological and willfuldisasters in response to challenges and opportunities presented by a changingnation and world. A committee of distinguished experts in the field will beestablished to carry out the study.