A disaster researcher at Iowa State University has begun examining how the destruction from the EF3 tornado in Marshalltown this past summer affected different types of households – particularly immigrant households and renters.

The goal is to understand what can be done in the future to address disaster recovery needs in small communities throughout the United States. 

Sara Hamideh, assistant professor of community and regional planning, received a quick response grant from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Natural Hazards Center – a program that helps researchers travel to areas recently stricken by disaster before memories fade and physical evidence is erased.

The project also received funding from the ISU Hazard Mitigation and Community Resilience Program, established in ISU’s College of Engineering last year to foster multidisciplinary disaster research.

The study will include a random sample of about 600 Marshalltown households and housing units to examine damage, life disruption and displacement of renters and immigrants, and how that compares with other disaster victims.