| Session Description |
Asia and Oceania encompass some of the most hazard-prone parts of the globe, where the monsoon and cyclone belts overlap zones of pronounced tectonic activity. Many countries therefore experience a threat from multiple hazards: cyclone, flooding, landslide, volcanic eruption, earthquake and tsunami. Attempts to mitigate these hazards are often complicated by a wide diversity in demographics, from large urban agglomerations in south Asia to isolated coastal communities in Oceania. Large gains in reducing impacts from these hazards are nevertheless achievable through disaster risk reduction strategies that are well supported by natural hazard science. The success of such strategies depends not only on the ability of natural hazard science to produce reliable and accurate estimates of the probability and magnitude of hazard events and their impacts, but also on a healthy, active interface between hazard science, disaster management and the insurance industry. Natural hazard science should form a key component of disaster management at both the national and local level, informing the full spectrum of activities ranging from public awareness to the development of risk assessments and the establishment of catastrophe insurance. But how well is this ideal realized in practice? This session is aimed at drawing together both natural hazard scientists who are working towards the uptake of their research by the disaster management community, as well as disaster managers and representatives from the insurance industry who are trying to utilize best-available science in the formulation of risk reduction strategies. |
