Novel coronavirus information

Fall 2020 update  |  FAQ page  |  Class flexibility for students  |  Novel coronavirus updates

What's Happening

  • Statement on Systemic Racism from the North American Alliance of Hazards and Disasters Research Institutes

    We are the leaders of academic hazards and disaster research institutes, centers, and laboratories located across North America. We study hazards and disasters for a living, and we have dedicated our professional lives to reducing the harm and suffering from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, technological disasters, terrorism, pandemics, and myriad other extreme events. We have mobilized as an academic research community in response to many other large-scale disasters in the past. As that work continues, we have also turned our focus to the global COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives while disproportionately affecting the elderly, medically fragile people, the poor, and communities of color. Now, following several high profile killings of unarmed Black citizens, the United States has been convulsed by a wave of mass protests, rioting, state sanctioned violence, and civil unrest. The country is being forced to confront the slowest and perhaps most deadly disaster of all, that of deeply embedded, systemic racism.

  • ASU Now: ASU professors to help Gulf Coast communities assess climate risks

    As the seas rise along the Gulf Coast of the U.S., thousands of communities must decide how to adjust to a new environment. Two professors at Arizona State University are part of a team that’s developing a new tool to help homeowners assess their risk and make informed decisions.

  • Emergency Management Student Association

    We are the Emergency Management Student Association (EMSA), an Arizona State University Student Organization. EMSA is located at the ASU Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security (CEMHS). We bring hands-on experiences to students interested in Disaster Management, Operations, Preparedness, Response and Homeland Security. We have already teamed up with Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management, Arizona State University, ASU Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security and Arizona’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.

  • Outstanding graduate credits ASU program for becoming a fire captain at 24

    For a firefighter to attain the rank of captain usually takes several years, often a decade or two, of dedicated service. At age 24, Utah Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Oliver Silva — make that Fire Captain Oliver Silva — credits his graduate studies at Arizona State University as what set him apart from his colleagues. Silva is captain in the fire department at the 801,505-acre U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground in the northwestern Utah desert, about 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. He is receiving his master’s degree in emergency management and homeland security offered by ASU’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, and is the Watts interdisciplinary programs’ fall 2019 Outstanding Graduate.

  • The Whole Community: Managing Heat as a Critical Hazard

    Heat is increasingly recognized as a critical hazard globally – and here in the Phoenix metro area. This fall’s panel discussion series aims to understand heat as hazard and the state of current and best practices for local governments in mitigating heat risk for a sustainable quality of life and the safety of our vulnerable populations. Heat impacts all areas of our daily lives – housing, eating, recreating, mobility and more. The challenge of mitigating heat risks invites collaboration across the city and with the whole community. This series is co-sponsored by the Sustainable Cities Network and The Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

  • Novel Coronavirus Situation Report

    COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

  • The health of the Sun Devil community is a top priority at ASU

    Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) has identified and confirmed one case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the ASU community. Given the global nature of Arizona State University, we want to share important tips on how to stay healthy, remind you of the health and wellness resources that are available to you and inform you of the national and international protocols that are being followed by the university to help minimize the spread of illness. Health and counseling services are available in Mandarin as needed.

  • Melanie Gall selected as 2020 Knowledge Exchange for Resilience Fellow

    Melanie Gall, Research Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security has been selected as the 2020 Knowledge Exchange for Resilience fellow. The Knowledge Exchange for Resilience fellowship is a twelve month program with a focus on community and organizational transformation.

  • Flood Mapping for the Nation

    SHELDUS is featured in a report by the Association of State Floodplain Managers. SHELDUS data shows rising trend in losses caused by flooding.The Association of State Floodplain Managers Inc. (ASFPM) published this report as part of its mission to promote education, policies and activities that mitigate current and future losses, costs and human suffering caused by flooding.

2020 Monsoon Season Outlook:

Arizona Monsoon Outlook 2020

What we are up to:

July 12-15, 2020: 45th Annual Natural Hazards Workshop (virtual)

July 22, 2020 (11am-12pm MST): All Together Now: Opportunities for Arizona Cities in County All Hazard Mitigation Planning. 
RSVP to Anne.Reichman@asu.edu to receive the Zoom link.                                                                                                                                                                                                

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What we focus on:

What we focus on:

  1. Risk Management Collaboratory 
  2. Cross-sector Relationships & Operations
  3. Risk and Threat Management
  4. Transformative Risk Reduction Strategies
  5. Disaster Analytics
  6. Hazards Governance

"We ensure that all of the theory taught is grounded in practice. Our goal is to instill the critical-thinking skills necessary to tackle large-scale problems."

Danny Peterson
former ASU Emergency Manager

Latest Publication:

Latest Publication:

                   

        Gall, Melanie, and Carol J. Friedland. 2020. If Mitigation Saves $6 Per Every $1 Spent, Then Why Are We Not Investing More? A Louisiana Perspective on a National Issue. Natural Hazards Review

  View all of our Publications

 

 

New Project:

New Project:

The New First Line of Defense

To make informed decisions about where to live and how to protect housing investments, residents require knowledge about potential natural hazard exposure and impacts along with available mitigation strategies.  This project aims to advance community resilience by improving people’s understanding of risks and their willingness to undertake hazard mitigation when choosing where they live.  The project team will work with communities throughout the Gulf region to test strategies for dissemination and uptake of information on disaster risk and mitigation alternatives. The ultimate goal is to identify practices most likely to result in residents taking actions to reduce risk and increase resilience.

Project Period: September - August 2022

 

View all our Projects