Pacific Disaster Centers

The Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) is an initiative managed by the University of Hawaii in cooperation with the Department of Defense. It operates under the oversight of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Defense Logistics Agency. The primary goal of the PDC is to advance science and technology applications for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. This involves developing innovative technologies to operate an integrated multi-hazard monitoring, early warning, and decision support system known as DoD RAPIDS, which provides unclassified information sharing capabilities across various defense operations.

The PDC's objectives include enhancing preparedness, situational awareness, and civil-military communications for humanitarian missions worldwide. It achieves this through its applications and information products designed to support national-level socio-economic risk and vulnerability assessments. These assessments help inform strategies by measuring indicators for national resiliency using scientific methods. The program also focuses on expanding its analytical capabilities to better support national security interests and critical decision-making processes.

In recent years, the PDC has been recognized for its global efforts in disaster risk reduction, notably winning the United Nations Sasakawa Award in 2022. The center has supported various Combatant Command humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts through analytics, training delivery, and disaster response activities. Collaborations with organizations like NASA have extended hazard coverage capabilities within their systems. Additionally, the PDC has been involved in initiatives such as Climate Change Impact assessments and integrating Women, Peace, and Security analysis into military training programs.

Looking ahead, the PDC plans to continue enhancing its DisasterAWARE platform to support operational readiness for multi-hazard early warning and decision support functions. This includes leveraging advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence to improve hazard detection and impact analysis. The center aims to sustain its disaster management tools for public benefit while ensuring these technologies keep pace with advancements in big data and AI to meet Department of Defense requirements effectively.