We live in a world of increasing disasters and extreme events: more intense hurricanes, damaging wildfires, and unprecedented flooding, among others. While there has been a proliferation of disaster research, it is scattered across multiple disciplines, each with its own specific vantage point on disasters, making a holistic evidence base for solutions development hard to establish. This is even harder when trying to develop solutions for climate adaptation and building climate resilience in preparedness to and recovery from disasters.
The Disaster Genome Project, inspired by the genome mapping of DNA, works to ensure the growing body of disaster science is accessible and actionable by the practitioners who need it. Phase I of this project was led by the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia Climate School, Jeff Schlegelmilch, M.A. in Climate and Society students Kalain Hosein, Olivia Johnson and Bhumi Sharma, and Climate School lecturer and researcher Hope Sutherland to build the foundation of a decision-support tool that harnesses current research to support better strategies, decisions and outcomes.
Case studies, podcasts, and other resources have been developed to provide tools for exploring the intersection of these facets of disasters as well, and are designed to support educational efforts as well as frame the challenges and potential solutions.
