Disaster planningBrown graduate students help bankrupt city create disaster plan

Published 14 March 2012

To help the cash-stricken city of Central Falls, Rhode Island, thirty graduate students from Brown University have banded together to help create a disaster preparedness plan

To help the cash-stricken city of Central Falls, Rhode Island, thirty graduate students from Brown University have banded together to helpcreate a disaster preparedness plan.

The students, all in Brown’s environmental studies graduate program, are working to update Central Falls’ disaster plan which outlines how the city should prepare and respond to major events like flooding.

Central Falls has filed for bankruptcy protection and lacks the staff and funds to update its disaster plan. With the aid of the graduate students, an updated disaster plan would allow the cash-strapped city to apply for additional federal disaster preparation funds.

To update the city’s disaster plans, the graduate students will study the likely impact of natural disasters, identify the areas at greatest risk, and review the main challenges to public health and safety.