Effective and Sustainable Disaster Tradition based on Scientific Evidence

A number of natural disasters have occurred in Japan, largely owing to where it is located. These include volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, as well as floods and cyclones. Due to the regularity of such incidents, there is much expertise around what to do in the event of such a disaster but there is always room for improvement. By learning about past natural disasters, researchers can apply this knowledge to implementing more effective and sustainable disaster response procedures. Professor Shosuke Sato and his team at the Tohoku University International Research Institute of Disaster Science in Japan are committed to developing effective and sustainable responses to natural disasters based on scientific evidence. The institute is interdisciplinary, with four departments: Risk Evaluation and Disaster Mitigation Research (Science and Engineering); Disaster Humanities and Social Science (Humanities and Social Sciences); Disaster Medical Science (Medicine); and Practical Research and Collaboration Division. Sato and his team are working to shed light on the mechanisms and factors behind disaster experiences and memories that have been successfully passed down over many years, and to build a system which can effectively and sustainably pass down disaster experiences and memories. They have developed a disaster storyteller training programme and tested the method using examples from people who had experienced war. By listening to narratives, it is possible to feel the reality of disaster response and to increase the options for disaster response.