The workshop below may be of interest to some of our readers undertaking research into natural hazards, or working within the disaster risk reduction community. Please note that this workshop is not organised by Geology for Global Development:
THE DYNAMICS AND IMPACT OF INTERACTING NATURAL HAZARDS
An interdisciplinary workshop on current research and future directions
14th‒15th February 2013
To be held at: University College London, London, UK
Convened by University College London, King’s College London, and the University of Southampton.
Many populated areas are affected by more than one natural hazard, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, floods, storms, and wildfires. Different hazards can overlap in time and location, so that the total impact on a community is increased by interactions between the hazards. Example of interaction types include:
- One hazard triggering another or a cascade of hazards (e.g., an earthquake triggering a landslide, which dams a river and causes flooding).
- One hazard changing the probability of another occurring (e.g., a wildfire removing vegetation and increasing the probability of landslides during storms).
- Temporal changes in vulnerability during successive hazards (e.g., the damage to buildings during an earthquake may increase both the building and human population’s’ vulnerability to subsequent hazards, such as hurricanes or tsunamis).
Hazard assessments tend to focus on the impact of single hazards and so overlook the cumulative impact of interacting hazards. To advance current methods of assessment it is, therefore, essential to improve the characterisation and modelling of hazard interactions and their impacts. The results should be of immediate value to governmental and non-governmental agencies and to business.
This two-day workshop will bring together field practitioners, researchers and representatives from the academic, humanitarian, development, governmental and business sectors in order to evaluate the practical applications of current research and to define key directions for future investigations into the interaction of natural hazards. Although all relevant research is welcome, specific themes will be:
- Methods for measuring or analysing the interactions between hazards
- Evaluating and mitigating the impact of hazard interactions
- Understanding temporal and spatial changes in vulnerability
- Strategies for future interdisciplinary research in hazard interactions
We invite abstracts of no more than 300 words for oral or poster presentations in the specific themes above. Details and formatting guidelines for the submission of abstracts can be found on the conference website (details below). Abstracts may include a key figure or table. We anticipate that the conference will include a range of session types, and therefore the number of oral contributions may be restricted in order to encourage extended discussion. The registration process allows you to submit “Points for Discussion” which will be used to provide a framework for discussion and other interactive sessions.
The deadline for registration and the submission of abstracts and discussion points is 14th December 2012. There is a provisional limit of 40 places. To register, please complete the registration form.
For further information and details, please see the workshop website.
