Mr. Ara GHONYAN from Armenia
I'm a visiting researcher at the ADRC from Armenia.
Geographically, Armenia is located in the northeast of theArmenianUplandbetweentheCaucasus

andSouthwestern Asia. The Armenian Upland is one of themost active segments of Alpine-Himalayan seismic belt.
Armenia is one of the most disaster prone countries in thesouthern Caucasus. It is vulnerable to a number ofdisasters caused by natural hazards, such as earthquakes,
droughts, floods, landslides, mudslides, strong winds,
snowstorms, frost and hail. All of these adverse events disrupt the routine life of acommunity and have a wide range of human and material consequences. Homes aredestroyed, communities are isolated, and basic services are damaged.
Located in one of the world's most active seismic zones, Armenia frequently experiences
earthquakes. Numerous strong earthquakes have occurred over the course of Armenia'shistory, destroying many buildings and taking many human lives. The last and the mostcatastrophic event was the Spitak earthquake (1988), which caused massive destruction
and took the lives of more than 25,000 people. Seismic observations and seismic hazard
assessment tasks are the responsibility of the National Survey for Seismic Protection of
the Republic of Armenia (NSSP). This governmental organization was established in
1991, after the catastrophic earthquake of December 7, 1988, with the aim of drastically
improving the seismic observation system and seismic risk reduction measures, thereby
protecting people against earthquakes.
I work for the Armenian Western Survey for Seismic Protection (AWSSP) which is astate noncommercial organization within the Ministry of Emergency Situations that is
responsible for earthquake disaster risk reduction in Armenia with particular emphasison the capital city of Yerevan. The main tasks of AWSSP are multidisciplinary seismic
hazard assessment and seismic and environmental risk reduction. And the AWSSP
operates with a seismic network and can provide information about seismicity andseismic regime patterns in Armenia as well as in Yerevan.
The lessons learned from the Spitak earthquake showed that seismic risk reduction

strategies and disaster management systems are integral factors in national safety.
ADRC has been a coordinating body in the fields of risk and hazard assessment, riskreduction, and disaster management for the Asian region since its founding, and it is an
institution that allows member countries to share not only their theoretical knowledge,
but also to share their practical knowledge in the disaster field. I think my purpose andposition at ADRC as a Visiting Researcher is very important. During my stay in Japan,
I visited various research institutions and governmental organizations and gave twopresentations intended to share my experience and information on disasters in mycountry with ADRC researchers. I appreciate the valuable experience I gained during
my time at ADRC. I expected to learn about disaster prevention and preparedness,disaster emergency measures, disaster recovery and reconstruction, and earthquake
disaster countermeasures. I am sure that my experience at ADRC will be beneficial to
my work for the AWSSP, and will also prove beneficial to the work being done by othergovernmental

andnongovernmentalorganizations

responsiblefor

disastermanagement and prevention.
I would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to the entire staff of ADRC
for their kindness, hospitality and readiness to provide any support needed during mystay in Japan.