The Centre was inaugurated in January 2006 by the the Honorable Home Minister of India Shri. Shivraj Patil in the gracious presence of General NC Vij., Vice Chairman, National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India and patronized by VIT University with state-of-art infrastructure. It was the first centre to be set up in India for disaster mitigation and management after the National Disaster Management Act was passed in Parliament in December 2005.The focus areas are Research, Development & Consultancy Services in Disaster Reduction Programs, Innovative Disaster Education Initiatives and Knowledge Networking & Partnerships .

The Centre aims to achieve excellence in the key areas of research on par with international standards and regional issues and concerns, especially in Earthquake Disaster Mitigation and Management, Early Warning Systems, Mitigation Efforts and Disaster Preparedness across India.

The centre has faculty with domain expertise in Earthquakes, Landslides, Cyclones & Floods, Droughts, Construction and Structural Engineering, Geomatics Technology (Remote Sensing, GIS, GPS, Surveying, Digital Photogrammetry etc.) and Multi-media Technology. Research and consultancy projects are carried out through sponsored funding from the Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and International Donors like UNDP-India, Provention Consortium / Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPS), etc.