International Workshop for Learning Trajectories of Catastrophic Disasters andBuilding Resilience to Natural Hazards and Risks (2023/5/15-16)
Theme: natural hazards, disaster risks, complexity, building resilience, interdisciplinarity
Venue: DPRI, Kyoto University

On May 15-16, 2023, Professor Michio Ubaura (Spatial Design Strategies Lab), Associate
Professor Sebastien Boret (International Research Collaboration Office) and Assistant Professor
Hyejeong Park (Disaster Medical Informatics Lab) participated in a workshop titled "InternationalWorkshop on Trajectories of Disasters: Building Resilience to Natural Hazards and Risks," held at
the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University. The workshop aimed toanalyze strategies for enhancing disaster resilience in societies facing disaster risks by examining
long-term trends and past experiences, to adapt improved strategies to the future. In particular, theworkshop purposed to understand better the social, economic, and cultural impacts induced bypast disasters, including the reconstruction and recovery processes, to aid in imagining,
forecasting, and better preparing for future catastrophic scenarios by looking at disaster history
trajectories.
Professor Ubaura, currently visiting professor at DPRI, gave a talk on "Recovery of the physicalenvironment from the Great East Japan Earthquake". Associate Professor Boret presented"Managing Mass Death after the Great East Japan Earthquake" from the perspective of disaster
anthropology, and Assistant Professor Park contributed a presentation on risk management andresilience in natural hazard-triggered technological accidents. As a significant outcome of theworkshop, an interdisciplinary research group was formed between research institutes in Japan,France, and Canada, including IRIDeS, to actualize and achieve an advanced step toward adisaster-resilient society. The research group comprises prominent researchers with abundant
experience and knowledge in disaster risk reduction and recovery in historiography, anthropology,geography, engineering, social science, and social psychology. Focusing on the potential large
earthquake and tsunami in the Pacific Ocean, this research group is expected to take further
proactive steps, such as applying for collaborative research grants and organizing workshops tounderstand each research field. Moreover, the research group has discussed a comparative
approach that involves studying past large-scale earthquakes and tsunamis and their histories,
different disaster cultures, and catastrophic disasters focusing on Shikoku and Tohoku regions inJapan, Southern France, and Eastern Canada.
This interdisciplinary project, encompassing various
fields and perspectives, is expected to significantly
reduce future disaster risks, mitigate social damage, andenhance coping mechanisms for potential Nankai-troughearthquakes. We hope our interdisciplinary research
activities promote further and proactive international
collaboration between IRIDeS and research partners.
Assoc. Prof. Boret during the workshop

Report by Hyejeong Park (Disaster Medical Informatics Lab)
Sebastien Boret (International Research Collaboration Office)Michio Ubaura (Spatial Design Strategy Lab)