Vision: All communities have the knowledge, capacity, and partnerships to anticipate, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.
Mission: The Center for Disaster Resilient Communities brings together the University of Washington, government, and community partners to create and implement transformational hazard and disaster science, build workforce capacity, inform equitable disaster risk reduction policy and practice and contribute to more resilient communities.
Over the past decade, hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been affected by disasters driven by natural hazards. In the United States alone, weather- and climate-related disasters claimed more than 5,500 lives and cost more than $1 trillion in damages between 2017 and 2023. As the climate continues to change, the frequency and severity of such disasters are expected to increase both nationally and globally.
In response to this growing challenge, disaster response has emerged as a distinct and evolving discipline at the global, regional and local levels.
The University of Washington is home to more than 100 faculty experts conducting disaster-related research across 80 units in 10 different colleges and schools. To coordinate and amplify these efforts, the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities was launched in 2023. The Center unites research, education, training and technical assistance to expand the UW’s capacity to drive innovation and impact in this critical field.
