The Natural Disasters Roundtable seeks to facilitate and enhance communication and the exchange of ideas among scientists, practitioners, and policymakers concerned with urgent and important issues related to natural disasters. Roundtable meetings are held three times a year in Washington, DC. Each meeting is an open forum focused on a specific topic or issue selected by the NDR Steering Committee.

The NDR Steering Committee is composed of 5 appointed members and sponsoring ex officio members. Appointed members are: Rutherford H. Platt, Chair, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; James P. Bruce, Global Change Strategies International, Inc., Ottawa, Canada; Wilfred D. Iwan, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; Stephen P. Leatherman, International Hurricane Center, Florida International University, Miami; and Mary Fran Myers, Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, University of Colorado at Boulder. Ex officio members are: Ralph Bernstein, EPRI; Lloyd S. Cluff, Pacific Gas & Electric; Miriam Heller, NSF; Robert M. Hirsch, USGS; Margaret Lawless, FEMA; Earnest D. Paylor, II, NASA; and Helen M. Wood, NOAA.

This paper presents the rapporteur's summary of the forum discussions and does not necessarily reflect the views of the roundtable members or other participants.

For more information on the Roundtable visit our website: http://nationalacademies.org/naturaldisasters or contact us at the address below.

Natural Disasters Roundtable

The National Academies

2101 Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20418

Phone: 202-334-1964

Fax: 202-334-1961.