Imagine working for a local health jurisdiction in Washington state when, on April 7, 2027, Mount Rainier erupts. Dense ash plumes shoot up to 30,000 feet and drift northwest toward Tacoma, Olympia, Seattle and the I-5 corridor. Roads are damaged. Power, water, gas and communications lines are disrupted. Agencies struggle to coordinate their response as the systems they rely on begin to fail. Then the rumors begin. On X, Reddit and in communities across the region, people claim that air…
Center updates
Across Region 10, preparedness experts turn relationships into readiness at the second annual Northwest Preparedness and Resilience Conference
Nearly 200 people attended the second annual Northwest Preparedness and Resilience Conference, bringing together public health practitioners, emergency managers, community-based organizations, disaster researchers, Tribal leaders and other partners from across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington—states comprising the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Region 10. They gathered on the University of Washington (UW) Seattle campus on September 16 and 17, 2026, for the event, hosted by the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities (CDRC) and its Northwest Center for Evidence-Based…
Building stronger crisis leaders across the Northwest
When a crisis unfolds, leaders must make sense of incomplete information, coordinate within and across jurisdictions, communicate clearly and make decisions that affect large populations. On September 15, 2026, 24 public health and emergency preparedness professionals came together at the University of Washington Seattle campus to practice those skills at the second Crisis Leadership (CLI), hosted by the Northwest Center for Evidence-Based Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (NWPHEPR). The cohort included 20 local public health preparedness coordinators and four…
Introducing Dustin Alger, the new emergency preparedness manager for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
Dustin Alger brings a strong commitment to public service to his new role as the emergency preparedness manager for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, where he oversees a team of seven. “I come from a family that has always served in the military. My grandfather served in World War II; my dad and all his brothers served in Vietnam; I served in the Army; and two of my brothers served. Service is just something that our family does,”…
Building resilience before the next record-breaking heat event
When temperatures soared to record-breaking levels during the 2021 heat dome, hundreds of people across Washington, Oregon and British Columbia lost their lives, exposing how unprepared the Pacific Northwest was for extreme heat. A University of Washington-led study brought together insights from public health leaders, emergency managers, researchers and community organizations across the region to identify practical steps for protecting communities before the next major heat event. Their recommendations range from expanding access to cooling resources and retrofitting buildings to…
CDRC researchers advance vision for regional public health data sharing
A new study authored by several faculty affiliated with the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice outlines a vision for a regional data ecosystem that could transform public health preparedness and emergency response across HHS Region 10, which includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and 272 Tribal nations. Developed through a collaborative process involving public health practitioners, Tribal representatives, health care partners and researchers, the framework aims to overcome long-standing data silos that…
New UW data tool pinpoints landslide exposure across the United States
The University of Washington has launched the nation’s first Landslide Exposure Database, identifying about 6.5 million Americans living in areas at high risk of landslides. The tool assesses 128 million buildings nationwide and combines landslide hazard data with socioeconomic indicators to pinpoint the communities most vulnerable to impacts and recovery challenges. Researchers found that nearly 80% of at-risk residents live in Appalachia and along the West Coast, with West Virginia showing the highest share of exposed residents. The analysis also…
Breaking down data silos to improve emergency preparedness
University of Washington researchers affiliated with the Center for Disaster Resilient Communities recently published outcomes from a partnership with researchers and public health leaders across the Pacific Northwest to develop a blueprint for a regional data ecosystem designed to improve preparedness and response to public health emergencies. Using a collaborative, user-centered process, representatives from Tribal, state and local public health agencies, health care coalitions and academic institutions identified ways to break down data silos that often hinder timely decision-making during…
CDRC contributions at the 2026 Natural Hazards Workshop and Researchers Meeting
The University of Washington Center for Disaster Resilient Communities (CDRC) had a significant presence at this year’s Natural Hazards Workshop and Researchers Meeting in Broomfield, Colorado. The gathering brought together researchers, practitioners and community leaders from across the country to share ideas, learn from one another and explore how to make hazard and resilience work more useful and equitable. Throughout the workshop, CDRC leadership and team members contributed to a wide range of discussions—highlighting topics such as community partnerships, climate-driven…
New study predicts where landslides could dam rivers and cause flooding
A study co-led by University of Washington researchers presents a new way to identify where landslides are most likely to block rivers and create dangerous natural dams. The approach estimates dam risk by combining how wide a river valley is with how big future landslides might be, using existing maps and automated measurements. When applied to Oregon’s Coast Range, the results show that about one‑third of river sections have a high chance of being blocked by landslides. Most of these…