In 1998, the Centre was renamed to Natural Disasters Research and Study Centre. As a response to a national need in conducting research on natural disasters, the Centre's statute was revised in 2003. Following the permit issued by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and approved by the Higher Education Development Council, the Centre was transformed to the Natural Disasters Research Institute to address these goals:
1. Development and promotion of research in the field of natural disasters
2. Promoting the relevant research activities
At present, the Institute consists of six research groups, i.e. Crisis Management Research Group, Environmental Hazards and Meteorological Disasters Research Group, Structural Retrofitting and Reconstruction Research Group, Geological Hazards Research Group, Hydrological Hazards Research Group, and Post-disaster Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Research Group. There are also affiliation units, including the UNESCO Chair on Natural Disasters Management, Centre of Applied Science, Journal of Housing and Rural Environment, Natural Disasters Technology Start-up Incubator, International Center for Urban Resilience Research (ICURR), Innovation and Future Study Think Tank in Crisis Management, Rural Development Research Centre, Vulnerable and Distressed Urban Areas Research Centre.