Conference: Reducing the risk of natural disasters

Links:

ucl.ac.uk/drrconference" target="_self">Disaster Risk Reduction Conference

Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre

UCL will host a three-day conference next month focusing on how to prepare for natural disasters and reduce the risk to human life.

The Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) conference, which takes place between 4 November and 6 November, will bring together researchers and practitioners from a range of disciplines.

The conference will reflect on recent natural disasters in the Philippines, the Pacific and Indonesia and provide a forum to explore ways in which disaster risk reduction may become more effective and integrated in the future.

Dr Stephen Edwards, Development Manager of the Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre, said: "Disasters and risk do not respect discipline or institutional barriers, and the conference is taking a huge step towards breaking down these barriers by bringing together a wide range of researchers and practitioners who work on many components of DRR.

"This integration of expertise should foster innovative approaches and partnerships that lessen the impacts of future natural disasters, which are urgently needed because disasters continue to take society by surprise."

The conference has particular emphasis on multi-hazard environments and multi-disciplinary approaches within natural hazards research.

There are five planned sessions covering the breadth of disaster risk reduction:

• What is DRR and how does it work in practice?
• Quantifying hazardous natural processes
• Assessing vulnerability, resilience and capacity
• Cultural perceptions of hazard and risk
• Effective policy, communication and decision making.

The meeting is sponsored by Bridging the Gaps, UCL DRR Hub, SPIDER Network, CAFOD, Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre and UCL Grand Challenges, with support from EPICentre and the UCL Development Planning Unit.

For more information please follow the links above.

Image: a seismograph recording an earthquake

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UCL context

The Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre is Europe's leading multidisciplinary academic hazard research centre. It comprises three groups: Geological Hazards, Meteorological Hazards & Seasonal Forecasting, and Disaster Studies & Management.

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