the APRU-IRIDeS
Multi-Hazards Program

Takako Izumi
International Research Institute of Disaster Science(IRIDeS), Tohoku University1

APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities)
Multi-Hazard Program• Founded in 1997 by four university presidents(Berkeley, Caltech, USC, UCLA)• To be ‘big science’ advisory body of presidents to APEC
and promote scientific, educational and cultural
collaboration among Pacific Rim economies.
• APRU aims to promote scientific, educational andcultural collaboration among Pacific Rim economies.

APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities)
Multi-Hazard Program
Australia
Australian National University
University of Melbourne
University of Sydney
University of South Wales
CanadaUniversity of British Columbia
Chile
University of Chile
ChinaFudan University
Hong Kong University of ScienceandTechnologyNanjing University
Peking University
Tsinghua University
University of Hong Kong
University of Science andTechnology ofChina
Zhejiang University
Chinese Taipei
National Taiwan University

Indonesia
University of Indonesia
Japan
Keio University
Kyoto University
Osaka University
Tohoku University
University of Tokyo
Waseda University

Korea
Korea University
Seoul National University
Yonsei University
Malaysia
University of Malaya
MexicoMonterrey Institute of Technology
and Higher Education
National Autonomous University ofMexico
New Zealand
University of Auckland

Philippines
University of the Philippines
RussiaFar Eastern Federal University
Singapore
National University of Singapore
Thailand
Chulalongkorn UniversityUSACalifornia Institute of Technology
Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los
Angeles
University of California, San Diego
University of California, SantaBarbara
University of Oregon
University of Southern California
University of Washington
University of Hawaii, Manoa

APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities)
Multi-Hazard Program

Shaping Asia-Pacific Higher Education and Research
APRU universities can together shape the policy environment for higher education
and research and influence social, economic, political and cultural forces that impact
the future of universities.

Creating Asia-Pacific Global Leaders
APRU universities will cooperate to enhance the global leadership capabilities offaculty, administrators and students – as well as of their institutions.

Partnering on Solutions to Asia-Pacific Challenges
APRU universities will work together and with partners from government andbusiness, international organizations, other universities and community leaders onsolutions to regional and global challenges.

APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities)
Multi-Hazard Program Sustainability & climate change (UC San Diego) Multi-hazards (Tohoku U) Global Health (USC) Food security
 Ageing in Asia
 Brain and Mind in the Asia-Pacific Research museums and innovation (Kyoto U) Global governance & public policy Biodiversity and resilience (University of Philippines –TBC)APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities)
Multi-Hazard Program• The International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) ofTohoku University provides secretariat services as the regional
program hub.
Purposes of the Program:• Harness the collective capabilities of APRU universities for cuttingedge research on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and recovery,• Share strategies to cope with campus disaster risk management• Contribute to DRR related discussions at regional and international
levels.

3-year activities under
APRU Multi-Hazards Program1) Core Group

1) Core Group

5) Contribute todiscussions atregional andinternational
levels4) Datasharing2) Summer
School/Symposium3) Collaborative
survey/Research• 10 members from China, ChineseTaipei, Japan, Thai, USA, and Chile• Develop 3-year workplan and provide
assistance in planning andimplementation of activities
2) Summer School• IRIDeS organizeｄ the first summer
school in July 2013 to learn fromlessons-learnt from the Great East
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami• Emphasize importance of disaster
preparedness on campus
3) Collaborative research paper• Address the importance and need ofcampus safety• Being used to develop policy
statement to be shared at high level
events3-year activities under
APRU Multi-Hazards Program4) Collaborative data sharing• Scientific data collected by APRU
member universities to be sharedwidely through APRU network

1) Core Group

5) Contribute to
discussions atregional andinternationallevels

4) Datasharing2) Summer
School/Symposium3) Collaborativesurvey/Research5) Contribute to discussions at regional
and international levels• Share the research result andprogram outcome at international andregional events such as UN World
Conference on Disaster Reduction toaddress need and voices fromacademic society2013 Summer school program“Lessons-learnt from the Great East Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami, and Future
Disaster Risk Reduction”
Dates:
23-24 July 2013: 2-day seminar
25 July 2013: Field trip to the affected sites
Participants: 31 participants from 9 countries
Main objectives:• Share lessons and experiences on effective
disaster preparedness from the Great East
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami;• Discuss the roles of universities/research
institutes in DRR and their challenges;
Feedback:• 95% of the participants answered they weresatisfied or very satisfied with the course
contents.

2014 MH Summer School Program“Prepare for high-impact disasters: towards
the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction”
Dates:
22, 23, 25 July 2014: 3-day seminar
24 July 2014: Field trip to Kesennuma city
Participants: 47 participants from 7 countries
Main objectives:• Share lessons and experiences from the Great
East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami;• Discuss 1) the roles of universities/research
institutes in disaster risk reduction (campussafety) and 2) the regional focus in disaster risk
reduction (climate change, local action, resilience,early warning etc)

Campus safety
Survey on current status of disaster preparedness on campus among
the APRU institutes
Purposes of the survey:• Develop a minimum standard and checklist fordisaster preparedness on campus.
• Promote the need of campus safety and share
the best practices at international and regional
levels.
Suggestions from the summer school:• Universities should ensure all staff and student areaware of the university’s disaster management
mechanism and procedures.
• Conduct a regular drill and simulation exercise as
well as a disaster preparedness guidance.
• Conduct a vulnerability and risk assessment andshare the results• Post-event data collection to use them as data andmaterials for future researchMajor activities: Contribution to discussions atregional and international levels
APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation(PPSTI) through APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulations(ACES)••••Develop science, research and technology cooperation;
Build human capacity;
Develop innovation policy frameworksACES is a researcher’s network for earthquake simulation in the Asia and Pacificand aims for information dissemination and sharing the research outcomesInternational and regional events such as the 2015 UN World
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2014 Asian
Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction• Share the activities of the APRU Multi-Hazards Program and research and heresearch outcomes• Address the voices of academic society on the needs and importance of science,
campus safety and other areas to contribute to the process of Post-HFAdiscussion.

UNWCDRR Public Forum
Practical DRR and Science~ Role of Universities and Academia in DRR~
Session 1: “Bridging the gap
between science andpractice”
Session 2: “How can scienceand technology contributeto practical DRR?”
Session 3: “Role of social
science in DRR”

21 disaster related experts
and scholars were invited tothis session as speakers fromgovernment, academia, NGO,
the private sector, andresearch institute such asNASA.