Research Archive

Population Composition, Geographic Distribution, Natural Hazards, and Vulnerability in the Coastal Regions of Puerto Rico

The primary goal of the proposed project is to understand how factors contribute to the vulnerability of the Puerto Rican population living in coastal regions, how they have changed from 1990 to 2000, and how risk and vulnerability vary according to different demographic, social, and economic characteristics. This research project is a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort between the Disaster Research Center (DRC) at the University of Delaware, the Center for Applied Social Research (CASR) and the Physical Oceanography Laboratory in the Department of Marine Sciences, both at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez.

Disaster-Resistant Community Initiative: Evaluation of the Pilot Phase

In 1997, the Federal Emergency Management Agency began the pilot stage of Project Impact, a program designed to encourage local communities to step up their efforts to contain disaster losses through mitigation and preparedness activities. The goals of the program were to mobilize community-level organizations and resources to reduce disaster-related damage and disruption through the adoption of new loss- reduction strategies and to help communities develop ways of coping with disasters when they do occur. Using face-to-face and telephone interviews and focus group methodology, DRC charted the implementation of Project Impact in the seven pilot communities and then in ten additttional Project Impact Communities.