Earthquake induced Tsunami Risk Evaluation (Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire Insurance)

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About us

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Our lab was co-established by IRIDeS and Tokio Marine and Nichido in 2012. We combines IRIDeS’s academic knowledge of science and Tokio Marine and Nichido’s practical knowledge of earthquake and tsunami risk based on its insurance business. We research and evaluate the actual damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and previous large earthquakes and tsunamis (e.g., estimation of wave height distribution and arrival time). We explore the methods for tsunami risk assessment, including damage estimation and occurrence probability, taking into account the vulnerability and disaster prevention capacity of society in Japan and abroad. Furthermore, we provide our findings to the public through seminars and workshops on disaster prevention and mitigation, and developing educational tools for disaster prevention.

Objective

The methodology evaluating earthquake induced tsunami risk is developed with tsunami hazard such as wave heights and arrival time, in consideration of the vulnerability in society or disaster prevention ability. And synthetic risks of having added occurrence probability further are examined as well.

Research details

  • Conducting a joint research on earthquake induced tsunami risk inside the International Research Institute of Disaster Science
  • Collecting and analyzing tsunami risk data in both national and international level
  • Collecting and analyzing the actual damage data of the 2011 Great East Japan tsunami and related reconstruction information
  • Organizing a symposium in Sendai and Tokyo

Members

Fumihiko IMAMURA ( Professor )

Fumihiko IMAMURA ( Professor )

We hope to contribute to the creation of a safe and secure society by developing a systematic framework and methodology for earthquake and tsunami risk assessment, which will enable more reliable estimation, and provide basic information for disaster mitigation planning in coastal areas. In particular, the field associated with tsunami risks has been an untapped field, and the results of this research are being sought both domestically and internationally. In the future, we would like to conduct risk assessments both in Japan and overseas, provide systematic support for preventive disaster prevention and disaster mitigation, and build a system of disaster mitigation that transforms risk.

Kenichi KAMATA( Specially Appointed Professor )

Kenichi KAMATA( Specially Appointed Professor )

Earthquake and tsunamis cannot be controlled. However, there is room to control the generation of resulting damage. This endowed research division was established after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction, which is one of the three major agendas set by the United Nations (SDGs, Paris Agreement, and Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction), advocates knowledge on local disasters and their preparation in advance as one of the first four principles for action. We hope that our research and activities will lead to the reduction of disaster damage in the world.

Anawat SUPPASRI ( Associate Professor )

Anawat SUPPASRI ( Associate Professor )

We experienced the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which had a major impact on more than 10 countries in Asia and Africa, and the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami, which caused serious damage even in Japan, which has the highest tsunami protection level in the world. Based on these experiences, we believe that there is a strong need for comprehensive earthquake and tsunami risk assessment research. Therefore, we will evaluate human and building risks caused by local and distant earthquakes and tsunamis by using historical data, numerical analysis models, and field surveys, in cooperation with domestic and international research networks. We hope to provide the results to society and propose more disaster-resistant urban development.

David N NGUYEN ( Associate Professor (Specially Appointed) )

David N NGUYEN ( Associate Professor (Specially Appointed) )

International Standards can strengthen community resiliency by providing guidelines cities could use to strengthen disaster risk reduction. As member of ISO TC 268 SC1, we are actively contributing to the development of international standards through ISO. Standardization can help facilitate technology transfers, especially between developed to developing countries, which can assist in reducing disaster risk in the world. Together, through the collaboration with experts internationally and within Japan, we have published several deliverables through ISO.

Shinichi TAKEDA ( Academic Fellow (Professor) )

Shinichi TAKEDA ( Academic Fellow (Professor) )

To reduce the risk of earthquakes and tsunamis, it is essential to build a foundation to disseminate knowledge accumulated on the lessons learnt from the Great East Japan Earthquake, and promote interdisciplinary disaster prevention awareness. While acting as the secretariat for the Miyagi Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Roundtable (90 organizations, 200 registered members), a collaborative organization of industry, academia, government, and the media, and the Miyagi Disaster and Media Study Group, an offshoot organization, we are working to provide opportunities to share the results of university research with the broader society. I also serve as the representative of the “3.11 Memorial Network,” a collaborative organization for the transmission of folk traditions in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures, and will continue to search for a sustainable way to transmit and raise awareness about the future.

Noriko UCHIDA ( Assistant Professor )

Noriko UCHIDA ( Assistant Professor )

Ecosystems provide us the fundamental resource for life (e.g. freshwater, food, and energy), therapeutic value, and disaster risk reduction. Indeed, the coastal forest in Sendai plain saved structures from Tsunamis in 2011. To receive these ecological services, the ecosystem potentially needs to have resilience towards natural/artificial disturbance. There are several possible keys of the resilience of ecosystems such as biodiversity and ecological network. However, due to technical limitations, it has been difficult to survey the diversity of various biota and ecosystems on a long-term basis and difficult to demonstrate. Hence, my research aims to establish a method for monitoring and assessing biodiversity in ecosystems from rivers to coastal areas, using “environmental DNA (eDNA)” which is the rapidly developing technique for biological surveys. I would like to contribute to creating a sustainable society by clarifying the factors that are important for ensuring ecological resilience.

Mari YASUDA ( Project Lecturer )

Mari YASUDA ( Project Lecturer )

We live in Japan, which is a disaster-stricken archipelago region, and have a long history of protecting our daily lives from earthquakes and tsunamis, windstorms, and floods, by coping with the harsh natural environment. In the IRIDeS, the Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster Risk Research Division is conducting daily research on how to mitigate disasters through risk assessment. In particular, we are conducting outreach classes for children to pass on knowledge and lessons learnt from the earthquakes to the next generation, and to improve their ability to respond and make decisions in times of disaster by disseminating knowledge about disaster prevention and mitigation. We are also promoting the digitization of teaching materials and are working on online disaster prevention education.

Masami SATO
( Technical Assistant )

Masami SATO ( Technical Assistant )

Kanako SUGIURA
( Technical Assistant )

Kanako SUGIURA ( Secretary )

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Former Members

Contact

  • Earthquake induced Tsunami Risk Evaluation (Tokio Marine and Nichido Fire Insurance)
    ✉ contact_tmnf_irides(at)grp.tohoku.ac.jp ※(at) →Convert to @)