We are bringing together a multitude of minds and technologies to create science which is capable of responding to multi-hazards and the chain of temporal and spatial damage that they wreak.
CROSS BRAIN
For the creation of new science that can protect human lives.
Architecture
Fire
The scope of the danger to human life extends far beyond the fields of architecture and fire research. Thus, if protecting human life is our top priority, it is essential that we adopt a research approach which combines different fields. That first step begins here and now.
Data science involves extracting valuable information from big data and utilizing it. Its use is increasing not only in management and economics but across a range of fields encompassing everything from medical care to dairy farming. What will be needed to find new and unprecedented ways to connect disaster data with the safety of cities, homes, and people?
Cities which are safe and secure cities which are conducive to daily living. Achieving both of these is essential in future disaster prevention. That is all the more reason, therefore, to bring together a wide range of know-how and technology in the continued pursuit of research which does not overlook anything. There is much that needs to be done, and we have a list.
Using interconnected research to tackle multi-hazard disasters.
What are “multi-hazards?”
Cities, as a collection of people and assets, represent a special type of human institution and living space containing dense concentrations of skyscrapers along with temporospatially extensive, high-volume traffic and information networks. The urban functioning of cities is maximized through the use of an ordered and diverse system of intricately coordinated infrastructure and lifelines. If, though, one part of this system collapses due to natural disaster, major fire, the spread of new infectious diseases, etc. (i.e., hazards), it can lead to a chain reaction of destruction in other systems which produces large-scale social unrest, the collapse of the medical system, and putting people’s lives at risk (temporally linked multi-hazards).
Disasters in urban areas
Temporally chained multi-hazards
Successive destruction of infrastructure systems
Power outage/ blackout
Telecommunications failure
Water supply interruption
Electronic device failure
Spatially chained multi-hazards
Multiple disasters in the same region lead to infrastructure collapse
Earthquake × Fire
Volcanic eruption × Communications failure
Flood × Landslide
Extreme weather × Infectious disease
If these factors combine, the damage would be severe, the medical system would collapse, and there would be large-scale social unrest, creating an existential crisis for the nation.
Creating safety through new science
Japan is located in a natural disaster-prone region, and urban risks are particularly high here compared to other parts of the world. In particular, if there were compound disasters (i.e., spatially chained multi-hazards) which combine multiple hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, storm tides, strong winds, volcanic eruptions, or fires, occurring at the same time and in the same area, such as in the case of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the anticipated future Tokyo epicenter earthquakes, Nankai Trough earthquakes, or super typhoons, the severity of the resulting damage creates an existential risk for the nation.
For this reason, it is essential to make the most of previous research on individual hazards and to elevate this into a systemic discipline that can handle temporospatially chained multi-hazards, as well as to create a comprehensive urban disaster prevention science that combines various fields of science and engineering, including life science, the humanities and social sciences. Our goal is to develop and practice a new science focused on temporospatially chained multi-hazard urban disaster prevention that will contribute to the creation of a safe and secure society which is sustainable, inclusive and respects diversity.
Creation and practice of a multi-hazard urban disaster prevention science
Comprehensive knowledge of multi-hazards
Innovative hard and soft infrastructure measures
Disaster prevention informatics
Human resources development
Risk assessment
Towards a safe and secure society which is sustainable and respects diversity
Research Center for Multi-hazard Urban Disaster Prevention
