Natural Disasters

News about UB’s research and advocacy in extreme events and disaster response. (see all topics)

Meet an Expert
  • Nasty Social Behavior Common after a Disaster
    9/1/05
    "Nasty social behavior" is very common following the first 48 hours of a disaster, according to University at Buffalo professor Charles Ebert, Ph.D., who teaches the course, "Disasters: analysis of natural and human-induced hazards."
  • Looting an Act of Desperation, Not Crime
    9/1/05
    Reports of widespread looting in New Orleans following the tragic flooding of the historic city sound less like actual criminal activity than desperation, according to a forensic psychologist at the University at Buffalo.
  • Ancient Statue of Hermes Fitted for Earthquake Protection
    2/1/05
    The world-renowned statue Hermes with the Infant Dionysos has been equipped with innovative seismic protective devices that will help the 7-foot-high marble statue of the Greek god withstand powerful earthquakes. The protective devices were custom made for the statue based on analysis and tests conducted at the University at Buffalo's earthquake engineering laboratory.
  • Information Fusion Research Simulates Disasters to Manage Emergency Response
    1/11/05
    Improving how decision-makers respond in the minutes and hours that follow the first reports of a natural disaster like the recent tsunami or a manmade incident, such as a chemical accident or a terrorist attack, is the focus of a research project at the University at Buffalo's Center for Multisource Information Fusion.
  • UB Librarians Offer One-Stop Web Site for Information on Tsunami Disaster in Southeast Asia
    12/30/04
    Librarians at the University at Buffalo have put together a one-stop Web site to help the public keep abreast of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster.
  • UB Opens $21.2 Million Earthquake Engineering Simulation Facility
    9/24/04
    A new era in earthquake-engineering research was ushered in today with the grand opening of the National Science Foundation's George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Facility within the University at Buffalo Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering.
  • Ready to Shake: UB to Open New Earthquake-Engineering Simulation Facility
    9/23/04
    A grand opening ceremony for the new National Science Foundation George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Facility at the University at Buffalo will be held 2 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, September 24, 2004) in Ketter Hall on the University at Buffalo's North (Amherst) Campus.
  • Andre Filiatrault Named Deputy Director of Earthquake Engineering Research Center at UB
    9/12/03
    Andre Filiatrault, Ph.D. -- a leading expert on shake-table testing of structural and nonstructural building components, including electrical substation equipment -- has been named deputy director of the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) headquartered at the University at Buffalo. MCEER is a National Science Foundation "Center of Excellence" in earthquake engineering.
  • Michel Bruneau Named Director of Earthquake Engineering Research Center at UB
    7/24/03
    Michel Bruneau, Ph.D., a leading expert on earthquake-resistant design and retrofit of buildings and infrastructure, has been named director of the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) headquartered at the University at Buffalo. MCEER is a National Science Foundation "Center of Excellence" in earthquake engineering.
  • UB Scientists to Discuss Urban Earthquake Risks
    7/19/02
    More than 800 of the world's leading earthquake specialists, including scientists from the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) headquartered at the University at Buffalo, will discuss urban earthquake risks at the Seventh U.S. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering to be held in Boston on July 22-25.