Support is provided for the Committee on Natural Disasters. The National Research Council established the Committee to maintain readiness for conducting post-disaster reconnaissance studies and documenting perishable information useful to researchers, designers, planners, building officials, and emergency preparedness officials. The teams quickly enter the field to collect data on the performance of constructed facilities and social systems following such events as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods. Such rapid post-disaster audits allow for the acquisition of data that would often be unavailable once rehabilitation work is undertaken in a disaster-struck area. It is anticipated that four studies will be conducted during this project period. Future study sites will be selected when it is evident that the performance of engineered structures and systems under disaster loadings and performance of response and recovery systems under disaster conditions can be effectively studied.
