Course description
Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods, claim thousands of lives and cause tens of billions of dollars in damage each year. In this course, we develop an understanding of these natural hazards from an earth science perspective and explore how the dynamic processes operating on and within the earth can impact humans. Given our scientific understanding of these phenomena, emphasis is placed on ways to assess and forecast future natural disasters and to mitigate the adverse impacts on our societies. A collaborative environment is encouraged and students have the opportunity to work in groups on activities and examine several case studies of various natural disasters to assess their catastrophic impact.
