Overview, Examples of Distinctive Research,and Collaborative Research ofthe International Research Institute ofDisaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University—On the Occasion of the G7 Science and Technology
Ministers’ Visit to IRIDeS, Tohoku University—May 13, 2023

CONTENTS
Greetings
Greetings by the Director of International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS),Tohoku University

IRIDeS' Introduction and overview
Examples of Distinctive Research
1. Disaster Digital Twin and Smart Resilience
2. Disaster Robotics for the Disaster Risk Reduction
3. History Guides Disaster Science

Collaborative International Research
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25.

Accurate measurement of tsunami boulders at the Sanriku coast
APRU （Association of Pacific Rim Universities）Multi-Hazards Program
Designing with Disaster Stories from Seven Regenerative Cities
Development of antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2
Disaster Medicine and Public Health
Disaster Robotics for the Disaster Risk Reduction
Environmental and technological vulnerabilities, and public representations in a post-disaster
context
Graduate Training Program: Multidisciplinary Coastal Zone Hazards Institutes – US, Japan,France, Indonesia
Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: Global Centre forDisaster Statistics (GCDS)
Increasing Resilience of Urban Planning
International Standards (ISO) for Smart Community Infrastructures for Disaster Risk reduction
International Workshop Series on Remote Sensing for Disaster Management
Investigating the transmission of disaster memory
IRIDeS faculty member dispatching to UCL
IRIDeS-USGS collaborative researches on tsunami deposits and sediment transport modelingLearning from diverse experiences: Case Studies from L’Aquila and Tohoku
Machine Learning approaches for real-time tsunami forecastingManaging Mass Death and Grief in Disaster Communities
Neuroscience of Disaster Communication in Multilingual Contexts
Promoting Seismic Protective Systems for Resilient Societies
Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii), British Columbia Tsunami, 2012
Radar-based Building Damage Recognition
Remote Sensing and Geo-informatics for Mapping Disaster Impact
Research on the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake
Resilience Research for Human-Centered Data applied on Flood Risk Reduction

Greetings by the Director of International Research Instituteof Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University
Shinichi Kuriyama
DirectorInternational Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS)
Tohoku University

It is a great pleasure to welcome the Ministers and our otherdistinguished guests to IRIDeS, Tohoku University and to have thisopportunity to introduce the activities of IRIDeS of Tohoku University tothe Ministers of Science and Technology and to everyone gathered here today from the G7countries. This booklet provides an overview of the institute, examples of our distinctive
research, and collaborative international research our researchers have conducted withscholars and organizations based in the G7 countries.
The vast damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11,2011 affected the Tohoku Region where you are today. The disaster left approximately
20,000 casualties, and the direct physical damage from the disaster has been estimated toamount to 16.9 trillion yen. Many communities in Fukushima Prefecture have been lost due tothe Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. More than ten years after the 2011
disaster, recovery efforts and the effects of the disaster are still ongoing.
Even before the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, researchers at Tohoku
University had been applying our scientific knowledge in preparation for the next earthquake
which we knew to expect. However, the reality of the 2011 disaster far exceeded ourexpectations. Tohoku University researchers did their utmost to investigate, report on, andsupport the affected areas in response to the disaster. About a year after the disaster,
Tohoku University established IRIDeS, to prevent future natural events becoming greatdisasters. The Institute is characterized by two things. First it is interdisciplinary in its
structure, in which researchers in engineering, science, humanities, social sciences,medicine, and specialists on disaster risk reduction work together. Secondly it has a strong
practical focus whereby it directly aims to build a resilient society and benefit disaster victims.
In the more than ten years since its establishment, the Institute has sought to learn lessons
from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and how to prepare for the next disaster.
We have also promoted the implementation of the “three major global agendas,” that is to say
the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction 2015-2030, which lays out the world’s guiding
principles for disaster reduction, alongside the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and
the Paris Agreement – and have made progress in cooperation with the G7 countries andmany other stakeholders in Japan and abroad. We hope that the research cases included inthis booklet will give you a glimpse of our accomplishments to date and will also provide
suggestions regarding the usefulness, diversity, and potential of our disaster science.
As the world faces various risks, including disasters that are becoming more severe due toclimate change and protracted wars, the importance of disaster science is only increasing. I
would be more than happy if the G7 Science and Technology Ministers’ visit to Tohoku
University could become an opportunity for the G7 countries to deepen your interest in andunderstanding of the science that has developed from the lessons of the Great East Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami, and further to promote international cooperation between us in thefield of disaster science.

IRIDeS' Introduction and overview

Introduction and overview
Liz Maly 2023.05.13
1Self-introduction• Research on People-centered Housing Recovery:

housing recovery to support life recovery, minimize disruption

Mississippi Cottage
Villa Sophia (NHA)

New Hope (NHA)

SM Cares (NGO)Villa Diana (NHA)
North Hill Arbor (NHA)

Mt. Merapi Recovery, Indonesia

Guadelupe (NHA)

Greendale (NHA)

GMA, Habitat for Humanity,
Global Medic, Core Housing,
PICE (NGO + City)

St. Francis (NHA)

Lions (NGO+ City)
Knightsbridge (NHA) (future)
UN Habitat (CMP)

UNDP (NGO+ City)

Ridgeview (NHA)

CRS (NGO)

Rapido Housing in Texas

Temporary Wooden Housing after 3.11

Pope Francis Village (NGO)Operation Blessing (NGO)

Hurricane Katrina

San Francisco EQ Shacks

Temporary Housing in Hokkaido

Housing relocation after
Typhoon Yolanda,
Philippines.

2History
Tohoku University and IRIDeS• 1907- Tohoku University was founded. We celebrated our 115 year
anniversary last year in 2022

• 2007- 100 years later, IRIDeS’ precursor was formed, an interdisciplinary
Disaster Research Group with researcher from humanities and sciences,to prepare for the predicted Offshore Miyagi Prefecture earthquake.

• March 11, 2011- Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE)• April 2012, IRIDeS established one year after the GEJE
• IRIDeS is the first university disaster research center in Japan to include
medical experts, along with physical and social scientists• IRIDeS has 60 full-time dedicated faculty, and more than 200 members
including staff, concurrent, and visiting faculty members.

33.11
The Great East Japan Earthquake,Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster43.11The Great East Japan Earthquake,
Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster•USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO JAPANFOR THE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMIKEY

20,000 lives lost140°

Aomori
Misawa Air Force Base

MOST-AFFECTED PREFECTURES? Misawa
HachinoheHirosaki

DISTRICTS WITH ASSESSEDDAMAGE OR FLOODING *JAPANAFFECTED NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS•561 km2 inundated

Noshiro

DISTANCE FROM FUKUSHIMA DAIICHIDISTANCE FROM FUKUSHIMA DAINI40°

MAJOR ROADS40°

IWATESECONDARY ROADSMiyako

RAILROADS* Source: U.S. Government
03/21/11•

129,000 houses totally destroyed

KamaishiSea of Japan

OfunatoSakataEPICENTERMAGNITUDE 9.0
03/11/11

IshinomakiSendai

FORMATIOIC INPH

FUKUSHIMANagaoka

USAID

/DCO
HA/

12 mi (20km)

Fukushima Daiichi andDaini Nuclear Power Plants

Koriyama

A

GEOG
RA

50 mi (80km)

UNIT

470,000 evacuees (peak);

MIYAGIN•$169 billion in damage (notincluding nuclear accident)
D•F

6 mi (10km)

Jitchaku
Iwaki•Nikko350,000 later in March 2011.

UedaTokyo

Matsumoto•As of March 2023, still more than
31,000 people officially living inevacuation (ReconstructionAgency)

PACIFIC OCEAN

Hitachi

Kiryu
TakasakiTsukuba

DART PRESENCE

Yokota AFBDART PRESENCE

Yokota Air Force Base
Hachioji?

35°

Shimizu

NaritaTokyoÎKawasakiFunabashiAtsugi

0'N

MatsudoNumazu!

Choshi

Yokosuka

35°

Tateyama
0Hamamatsu

140°

050
50

100 mi100

150 km5IRIDeS’ mission
1. Contribute to the recovery of the Tohoku region
2. Apply the lessons from the 3.11 disaster and recovery
3. Share lessons and research for global disaster risk reduction• Therefore, IRIDeS must have multi-disciplinary disaster science
research that contributes to practical disaster mitigation in society.

• As our new director Prof Kuriyama says: “Disaster Research is notjust Science and Art, but needs Science and Heart”

6Research at IRIDeS:
Interdisciplinary research on historic mega-earthquakes• Multidisciplinary research on the 1611 Sanriku Earthquake from geology, history, seismology
and tsunami engineering.

• Analyzed historical documents and tsunami debris, and calculated simulations, from different
perspectives• Found the 1611 earthquake caused a similar scale tsunami as 3.11

7

Research at IRIDeS:
Tsunami inundation and damage forecasting• Creation of new real-time tsunami inundation estimation system,
fusing real-time numerical modeling and geo-informatics.
• Launched as a function of the emergency response of theJapanese Cabinet Office in 2018.

8

Research and Response at IRIDeS:DMAT, material rescue, emergency investigation

DMAT-Disster Medical Assistance Team

Emergency investigations including:- Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines, 2013
- Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal, 2015
- Kanto-Tohoku Heavy rainfall Disaster, Japan, 2015
- Kumamoto Earthquake, Japan, 2016
- Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake, 2018
- Earthquake and Tsunami, Palu, Indonesia, 2018
- Yamagata Earthquake, Japan, 2019
- The 2019 East Japan Typhoon, Japan, 2019
- Fukushima Earthquake, Japan, 2021
- Türkiye-Syriah Earthquake, 2023

Historical materials rescue

9Research and Recovery work:
Recovery planning, psycho-social care, radiation
protection, science communication, recovery anddisaster mitigation map-making• Reconstruction andDRR mapping indisaster education• Recovery

planning andreconstruction
projects

10

International Collaboration• 2015 UN 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction andWorld Bosai Forum

ArcDR3Regenerative
Urbanismproject, with
UCLA andAPRU designschools

Association of Pacific RimUniversities (APRU) MultiHazards program and events

Co-Created 3.11
Exhibit at the PacificTsunami Museum(PTM) in Hilo, Hawaii

UN World Tsunami Awareness Day, Aceh Indonesia

https://xlab.aud.ucla.edu/irides-tohoku-arcdr3/ 11

Examples of Distinctive ResearchDisaster Digital Twin
& Smart Resilience
Shunichi KOSHIMURA, Ph.D.
Deputy Director

International Research Institute of Disaster Science,
Tohoku Univ.

What is Smart Resilience?
Reduce functionality loss and recover quickly
F (Functionality of Society)• Human Activities• Lifelines• Medical Services• Traffic• Supply Chains, Economy• Well-being

F

Build-back Better
Functionality losst0t1t2

time

Modified after Bruneau et al. (2006)
2

Digital Twin

World Unique Nation-wide Real-time Tsunami Inundation Forecast Technology

University-based start-up
operating forecast system togovernment organizations andcommercial clients.

Supercomputer4

Nation-wide Real-time Population Estimates
Every hour, Every 500 m

5The Population at Shinjuku, Tokyo (5 March)

6

The Population Anomaly at Shinjuku, Tokyo (5 March)

72021 Atami Landslide, Shizuoka Prefecture
27 people were killed.

Monitoring Point

8Digital Twin Saving Lives – Medical Service –FloodedEnvironment
Not floodedVictims（Triage Level）
DMAT AgentAmbulance

DMAT HQ
Helicopter

DMAT Gathering

Disaster Key Hospital

Staging Care Unit

HospitalFire Fighting Dept.

9Digital Twin Saving Lives
Personalized Alert

Real-world time > Cyber world time10Disaster
Digital Twinand Smart
Resilience
Mixed-Initiativeof Human andMachine11

Disaster Robotics for the Disaster Risk Reduction

Prof. Satoshi Tadokoro,Director, Tough Cyberphysical AI Research Center, Tohoku University
Past President, 2016-2017 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society; President, International Rescue System Institute
Robotic Contribution to Disaster Risk Reduction
Marine Vehicles (Swimming Robots)• Search, Structural Assessment,
Repair• ROVs (remotely operated vehicles)
were effectively used for victim
search at East Japan Earthquake,
inspection and repair of plantfacilities at Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill.

Digitally Empowered Rescue Dogs
• Victim Search• Robotic digital suits empower rescue
dogs for estimation and record ofpositions, what they see, behavior,and reason why they bark.

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (Ground Robots)• Search, Sensor Information Gathering,
Sampling , Structural Assessment,
Decontamination, EOD, etc.
• UGVs are intensively used for FukushimaDaiichi NPP Accident, EOD, CBRNE, etc.

OutbreakResponse

Preparedness

Recovery

Aerial Robots (Drones)• Search, Overview Information
Gathering, Structural Assess.
• Drones are widely used formapping and imaging of wide
areas, infrastructure inspection,victim search, etc.
(C) Luce Search, Hiroshima

Intelligent Video Scopes (Snake Robots)• Search, Structural Assessment• Active Scope Camera, a snake robot,
was effectively used for inspection innarrow confined space of crushedstructures and industrial facilities.

Remote Construction (Construction Robots)• Remote construction machines were intensively used
for construction, victim search, decontamination andrepair at dangerous sites of volcanos, Fukushima-Daiichi
Nuclear Power Plant Accident, earthquakes, landslides,etc. to significantly reduce disaster risks.

Gaps for Social Implementation
 Technology must be ready for practical use with enough high technology readiness level.
 Users, governments, researchers and industry must know the requirements, capabilities in real situations, potential future solutions, and social importance.
 Robotics must be continuously tested and used in the fields.
 Laws, regulations, international standards, and related social systems must be prepared.
 Business environments must be nurtured.
 Human resource of stakeholders (users, responders, engineers, researchers, managers, sales, etc.) must be rich.
Contact: Prof. Satoshi Tadokoro <tadokoro@tohoku.ac.jp>
Director, Tough Cyberphysical AI Research Center /Professor, Graduate School of Information Sciences /International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku Univ.

SMURF for Search in Debris (HORIZON2020 CURSOR Project)

Quince for Fukushima-Daiichi

A swarm of the advanced miniaturized robots, SMURFs finds victim in debris by sensor
fusion of VOC sensors, thermal images, voice sound, etc. Tohoku U developed the SMURF bycollaboration with EU partners in a HORIZON2020 project, CURSOR led by THW.
Quince was used in the Fukushima-Daiichi as thefirst national robot in the nuclear reactor building.

Dragon Firefighter, a Flying Hose

Intl. Partnerships


IEEE
RoboCup
EU HORIZON
UNDRR

National Projects

Cyber Rescue Canine

 Cabinet OfficeImPACT MEXT DDT F-REI Project

The hose flies and extinguish the fire origin
directly in tower buildings and confined spaces.

Rescue dogs are operated
from a distance by remotemonitoring and commanding.
Contact: Prof. Satoshi Tadokoro <tadokoro@tohoku.ac.jp>
Director, Tough Cyberphysical AI Research Center /Professor, Graduate School of Information Sciences /International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku Univ.

History Guides Disaster Science
Rescue of Damaged Historical Documents in the Great East Japan Earthquake

On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake
struck. In the affected areas, many historical materials
were damaged.
Historians at Tohoku University salvaged these after
the disaster. We have preserved many historical
documents with the help of conservation experts andcitizen volunteers.
Why do we rescue historical documents?
1 These historical documents are valuable cultural heritage of Japan.
2 The information contained in these historical documents is important data fordisaster science research.
3 People in the affected areas can regain their sense of place and identity and rebuild
their resilience.
Disaster prevention research using historical data

Historical Disaster Research through Collaboration of Humanities and Science

When the Great East Japan Earthquakestruck, the mass media said that it was aonce-in-a-thousand-years disaster.
However, historical documents showthat a large-scale earthquake andtsunami had occurred in the Tohoku
region in 1611. IRIDeS has attempted toelucidate the earthquake and tsunamithat occurred in 1611 by having
historians review historical documents
and collaborate with science andengineering researchers.

History

Collaboration

Geology

Tsunami Engineering

Through this collaboration, we were able to show that the earthquake and tsunami
400 years ago were close in magnitude to those of 2011.
Technologies for Preserving Cultural Heritage and Analyzing History
Use optical copy techology to record data onstone monuments. Research cultural
practices related to disasters and epidemics

IRIDeS studies historical landform changes from historical documents and analyzes therelationship to damage caused by current disasters. The results will be used for futuredisaster prevention.
Topographic map in 1874

The tsunami of 2011 hit
Miyako City Hall. This
site used to be a riverbank.

The past topography is visuallyreconstructedfrom historical maps.
The damage caused by the 2011
tsunami is superimposed on this.

Data Conversion of Historical Pictorial Drawings
Using Ultra-High Definition Scanning Equipment

Utilize online maps for cultural heritage
rescue in times of disaster.