Tsunami evacuation route sign at an intersection in Nehalem, Oregon.
Nathan J Wood, Ph.D.
Nathan Wood is a supervisory research geographer with the USGS Western Geographic Science Center.
He supervises the WGSC Hazard Vulnerability Team that specializes in societal-vulnerability science, geospatial modeling, and web mapping applications. He has conducted research and written extensively on community vulnerability to natural hazards, such as asset exposure, demographic sensitivity, and pedestrian evacuation modeling. He has done work related to tsunami threats in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska, American Samoa, and Guam; volcanic hazards in Washington and California; and coastal hazards in California, the Pacific Northwest, and the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. He also works with natural scientists to model and create national-scale hazard maps, including landslide, sinkhole, and Valley Fever susceptibility. He is a co-leader of a project characterizing multi-hazard risk for the U.S. Department of the Interior. He is a USGS representative for the Coordinating Committee of the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.
Professional Experience
2014 – Current: Supervisory Research Geographer, USGS Western Geographic Science Center (WGSC)
2001 – 2014: Research Geographer, USGS WGSC
1999-2001: Project Manager, Extension Sea Grant, Oregon State University
1998-1999: Instructor, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Geography, Oregon State University, 2002
M.S. Marine Science, University of South Florida, 1996
B.S. Geology, Duke University, 1993
Science and Products
Connecting with our stakeholders - developing a better understanding of use and usability for science products
Subsidence Susceptibility Map for the Conterminous U.S.
CDI Risk Map
Tsunamis
Coastal Change
Earthquakes
Data associated with characterizing the exposure of the U.S. road network to areas susceptible to landslides, 2023 Data associated with characterizing the exposure of the U.S. road network to areas susceptible to landslides, 2023
Estimates of population exposure and evacuation potential for earthquake-related tsunami hazard zones in the United States Estimates of population exposure and evacuation potential for earthquake-related tsunami hazard zones in the United States
Pedestrian evacuation time maps for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands tsunami-hazard zones Pedestrian evacuation time maps for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands tsunami-hazard zones
Pedestrian evacuation time maps for Alaska tsunami-hazard zones Pedestrian evacuation time maps for Alaska tsunami-hazard zones
Pedestrian evacuation time maps for Puerto Rico tsunami-hazard zones Pedestrian evacuation time maps for Puerto Rico tsunami-hazard zones
Pedestrian evacuation time maps, population estimates, and cruise ship passenger estimates for USVI tsunami-hazard zones Pedestrian evacuation time maps, population estimates, and cruise ship passenger estimates for USVI tsunami-hazard zones
Tsunami evacuation route sign at an intersection in Nehalem, Oregon.
Estimated average annualized losses from potential building damage and fatalities due to earthquake-generated tsunamis in the United States Estimated average annualized losses from potential building damage and fatalities due to earthquake-generated tsunamis in the United States
Estimated average annualized tsunami losses for the United States Estimated average annualized tsunami losses for the United States
Variations in road exposure and traffic volumes in the United States in areas susceptible to landslides Variations in road exposure and traffic volumes in the United States in areas susceptible to landslides
National population exposure and evacuation potential in the United States to earthquake-generated tsunami threats National population exposure and evacuation potential in the United States to earthquake-generated tsunami threats
Population vulnerability of residents, employees, and cruise-ship passengers to tsunami hazards of islands in complex seismic regions: A case study of the U.S. Virgin Islands Population vulnerability of residents, employees, and cruise-ship passengers to tsunami hazards of islands in complex seismic regions: A case study of the U.S. Virgin Islands
Projections of multiple climate-related coastal hazards for the US Southeast Atlantic Projections of multiple climate-related coastal hazards for the US Southeast Atlantic
Oahu Tsunami Evacuation Dashboard Oahu Tsunami Evacuation Dashboard
Hazard Exposure Reporting and Analytics (HERA) Hazard Exposure Reporting and Analytics (HERA)
Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst Tool Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst Tool
Science and Products
Connecting with our stakeholders - developing a better understanding of use and usability for science products
Subsidence Susceptibility Map for the Conterminous U.S.
CDI Risk Map
Tsunamis
Coastal Change
Earthquakes
Data associated with characterizing the exposure of the U.S. road network to areas susceptible to landslides, 2023 Data associated with characterizing the exposure of the U.S. road network to areas susceptible to landslides, 2023
Estimates of population exposure and evacuation potential for earthquake-related tsunami hazard zones in the United States Estimates of population exposure and evacuation potential for earthquake-related tsunami hazard zones in the United States
Pedestrian evacuation time maps for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands tsunami-hazard zones Pedestrian evacuation time maps for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands tsunami-hazard zones
Pedestrian evacuation time maps for Alaska tsunami-hazard zones Pedestrian evacuation time maps for Alaska tsunami-hazard zones
Pedestrian evacuation time maps for Puerto Rico tsunami-hazard zones Pedestrian evacuation time maps for Puerto Rico tsunami-hazard zones
Pedestrian evacuation time maps, population estimates, and cruise ship passenger estimates for USVI tsunami-hazard zones Pedestrian evacuation time maps, population estimates, and cruise ship passenger estimates for USVI tsunami-hazard zones
Tsunami evacuation route sign at an intersection in Nehalem, Oregon.
Tsunami evacuation route sign at an intersection in Nehalem, Oregon.