Reducing Disaster Risks

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Understanding threats and reducing risks to human wellbeing

Thousands of lives and billions of dollars have been lost in recent natural disasters such as the 2010 Haiti and 2015 Nepal earthquakes and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Not to mention the hurricanes that struck Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Geohazards have shaped and reshaped the planet for millennia. Now climate change is adding to the threats, even as urban centers are expanding and more people are living in vulnerable locations.

We study Earth processes—what causes them and how to predict where and when they will happen—but we also seek to reduce the risks to human wellbeing, especially in increasingly populated and vulnerable cities worldwide. Our expertise in both subsurface-originating hazards and the surface changes brought about by shifts in climate and land use provides a unique vantage point from which to analyze a new breed of potential hazards and risks.

Jenny Suckale

Assistant Professor of Geophysics

Simon Klemperer

Professor of Geophysics

Tiziana Vanorio

Assistant Professor of Geophysics

Greg Beroza

Professor of Geophysics

Eric Dunham

Associate Professor of Geophysics

Howard Zebker

Professor of Geophysics and Electrical Engineering

Paul Segall

Professor of Geophysics

See all faculty

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Foundations of Contemporary Geophysics

Reflection Seismology

Disasters, Decisions, Development in Sustainable Urban Systems

Physical Volcanology

Earthquake Seismology, Deformation, and Stress

Predicting Volcanic Eruptions

Man vs Nature: Coping with Disasters Using Space Technlogy

Crustal Deformation and Fault Mechanics

Earthquake Seismology

Crustal Geophysics

Stanford Center for Induced and Triggered Seismicity

Rock Physics Lab

A "billion sensors" earthquake observatory with optical fibers

The same optical fibers that deliver high-speed internet and HD video to our homes could one day double as seismic sensors for monitoring and studying earthquakes.

New tool to reduce risk of triggering manmade earthquakes

A new software tool can help reduce the risk of manmade earthquakes by calculating the probability that oil and gas injection activities will trigger slip in nearby faults.

News related to Reducing Disaster Risks

The shifting burden of wildfires in the United States

Wildfire smoke will be one of the most widely felt health impacts of climate change throughout the country, but U.S. clean air regulations are not equipped to deal with it. Stanford experts discuss the causes and impacts of wildfire activity and its rapid acceleration in the American west.

Climate change has caused billions of dollars in flood damages

Flooding has caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage in the U.S. over the past three decades. Researchers found that 36 percent of the costs of flooding in the U.S. from 1988 to 2017 were a result of intensifying precipitation, consistent with predictions of global warming.

Crystals may help reveal hidden Kilauea Volcano behavior

Stanford researchers used millimeter-sized crystals from the 1959 eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano to test models that offer insights about flow conditions prior to and during an eruption.

The science behind earthquakes

A collection of research and insights from Stanford experts on where and how earthquakes happen, why prediction remains elusive, advances in detection and monitoring, links to human activities, how to prepare for "The Big One," and more.

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