Natural hazards and disaster risk

We are providing the evidence base and solutions to protect lives and livelihoods from natural hazards around the world.

What we do and why we have an impact

  • World-renowned
    We have deep expertise in every major natural hazard - flooding, volcanic risk, eruptions, landslides, tsunamis and extreme weather. Our academics are prized for their work - having received a Royal Medal, the Queens Anniversary Prize, the Lloyds Science of Risk Prize, the Vetlesen Prize (widely recognised as the Nobel prize of earth sciences) and two Wolfson Merit Prizes.
  • Expert advisors
    We have provided expert advice and analysis to national and international governments, including the UK Natural Audit Office (for flood risk), the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (for risk of volcanic ash), Guatemala's Government before and after the 2018 volcanic eruption, the UK Government's National Risk Register 2018 (for all UK environmental risks), and Japanese Governments following Fukishima (regarding the risk of radioactive waste). We retain a strong commitment to helping decision makers understand and mitigate the risks posed by natural hazards.
  • Societal insight
    Our strength is our ability to fuse rigorous quantitative models with a deep understanding of how societies work. Through the arts and humanities we have explored how culture, local history, and understandings of resilience can impact disasters. And by working directly with communities, we have co-produced solutions to mitigate against landslide and volcanic risk.

Current natural hazards and disaster risk research projects