The Caribbean is a region of lush vegetation, beaches, active volcanoes, and significant mountain ranges, all of which create a natural aesthetic that is recognized globally. Yet these very same features, molded through geological, oceanic, and atmospheric processes, also pose natural hazards for the developing countries in the Caribbean. The rise in population density, migration to coastal areas, and substandard building practices, combined with the threat of natural hazards, put the region’s human population at risk for particularly devastating disasters. These demographic and social characteristics exist against a backdrop of the threat of an evolving climate, which produces a more vigorous hurricane environment and a rising average sea level. The 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti and Hurricane Ike (2008) both caused widespread destruction and loss of life, illustrating the need for a scientific focus on the underlying natural hazards of the Caribbean. Prompted by these and other events, a new National Science Foundation (NSF)– funded initiative known as the Continuously Operating Caribbean Observation Network (COCONet), which commits roughly $7 million over 5 years to a collaborative natural hazard research team, was formed in 2010. This team includes researchers from UNAVCO, Purdue University, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)