Mission Areas
Natural Hazards
Every year in the United States, natural hazards threaten lives and livelihoods and result in billions of dollars in damage. We work with many partners to monitor, assess, and conduct targeted research on a wide range of natural hazards so that policymakers and the public have the understanding they need to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.
Reducing Risk
USGS scientists develop new products to make science available to the public, emergency managers, and decision-makers. These efforts increase public safety and reduce risk and economic losses caused by natural hazards.
Learn MoreHazard Research
USGS scientists conduct research to understand earth processes and the natural hazards they can pose to society in order to increase public safety and reduce risk and economic loss.
Explore our ProgramsNews
Coral Reef Barriers Provide Flood Protection for More Than 18,000 People and $1.8 Billion Worth of Coastal Infrastructure and Economic Activity Annually
Study helps managers take effective actions to reduce the risk to, and increase the resiliency of, U.S. mainland and U.S. insular coastal communities to flooding and other hazards.
New Tsunami Evidence Along One of Earth’s Largest Faults, the Alaska-Aleutian Megathrust
Recent geological studies of a key section of the Aleutian Island chain of Alaska suggest Aleutian tsunamis may occur more frequently than previously understood.
Mapping by Moonlight
Every successful expedition has a skilled pathfinder who points the way. Meet ours.
Publications
Satellite observations of surface deformation at the Coso Geothermal Field, California
Surface deformation time series and rates are identified at the Coso Geothermal Field (CGF) and surrounding areas by applying interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) to satellite scenes from Envisat (June 2004 ̶ October 2010) and Sentinel (November 2014 – April 2018). The measurements are done in the line of sight (LOS) to each...
Eneva, Mariana; Barbour, Andrew; Adams, David; Hsiao, Vicky; Blake, Kelly; Falorni, Giacomo; Locatelli, Roberto
Landscape change associated with the upper Scenic Drive landslide, La Honda, California, January 10–June 28, 2017
La Honda, California, is a small town in unincorporated San Mateo County, located on the west edge of the San Francisco Peninsula in the Santa Cruz Mountains, between San Francisco and San Jose. The Scenic Drive area of La Honda has experienced several past episodes of landslide motion, which were documented in 1998, 2005, and 2006. This report...
Pickering, Alexandra J.; Prentice, Carol S.; DeLong, Stephen B. Determining Moho depth beneath sedimentary basins using regional Pn multiples
The study of the Moho beneath thick sedimentary basins involving natural earthquakes is challenging, as low‐velocity materials often cause strong reverberations that mask Moho signals. Here, we develop a method to determine the depth of the Moho by taking advantage of the presence of the sediments. The method utilizes the first Pn crustal multiple...
Yu, C.; Zhan, Z.; Hauksson, E.; Cochran, Elizabeth S.; Helmberger, D.