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UCL Institute for Risk & Disaster Reduction (IRDR) Discussion Meeting on the Honshu Earthquake and Tsunami

Wednesday 23rd March from 4.00 to 6.00 pm 


The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan has not only brought shocking images and stories, but also reports of courage and resilience. It is now obvious that this mega-earthquake is having global impacts, but what is not clear is for how long and how big these impacts will be. It is the job of researchers to analyse such disasters as part of the process of reducing risk and increasing resilience. In this regard the IRDR hosted a seminar on the Honshu Earthquake and Tsunami, the podcast and presentations from which are available here:


Professor Peter Sammonds, Director of the IRDR, chaired the seminar (Download presentation) and the speakers were:

  • Professors Riki Honda and Muneo Hori, civil engineers from the University of Tokyo, who answered questions on the event;

  • Professor John McCloskey, from the University of Ulster, assessed the seismic event, but unfortunately his presentation cannot be published at this stage;

  • Professor Dave Tappin, from the British Geological Survey, assessed the tsunami;

  • Dr Simon Day, from the Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Centre, presented questions relating to responses to the event.

  • Professor Virginia Murray, Head of Extreme Events at the Health Protection Agency, discussed health implications and coping mechanisms;

  • Professor William Shaw, UCL Chair in the Mathematics and Computation of Risk, analysed financial impacts.

A podcast of the event is available to view below: