Tohoku University · Social Sciences
Professor Takako Izumi's research lab focuses on disaster risk reduction (DRR) with an emphasis on integrating science, technology, and innovation into policy and practice. The lab explores community-based approaches, institutional resilience in higher education, and the role of non-governmental and private sectors in strengthening disaster preparedness and response. A key focus is on understanding compound disasters—such as the intersection of pandemics and natural hazards—and how they affect decision-making, evacuation, and recovery processes.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction encourages investment in innovation and technology development in disaster risk management. However, needs for science and technology inputs are unmet, and there is a lack of policy making that is based on science and evidence. This paper identified three key issues that could help overcome these barriers: networking, coproduction of knowledge, and a stronger role played by academia. A number of innovative approaches and tools have been developed
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the key challenges, approaches and lessons of the higher educational institutions (HEIs) in the context of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted to understand the key challenges being faced by the HEIs around the world during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 150 responses were collected from 65 universities, located in 29 countries. Findings The results show that 47% of respondents with defined universities believ
The community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) approach has been taken by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as a common approach to build resilient communities in their disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts. The approach has been initially implemented in the developing world by NGOs, followed by international organizations like the International Federations of Red Cross and Red Crescent (Benson, Twigg, & Myers, 2001; Maceda, Gaillard, Stasiak, Le Masson, & Le Berre, 2009). The ap
Several countries have been affected by natural hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic. The combination of the pandemic and natural hazards has led to serious challenges that include financial losses and psychosocial stress. Additionally, this compound disaster affected evacuation decision making, where to evacuate, volunteer participation in mitigation and recovery, volunteer support acceptance, and interest in other hazard risks. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on disaster respons
Japan experienced natural hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic as some other countries did. Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures, including many other parts of southern Japan, experienced record-breaking heavy rain on 4th July 2020. While many countries were affected by compound hazards, some cases such as the Kumamoto flood did not cause a spike of the COVID-19 cases even after going through massive evacuation actions. This study aims to understand how COVID-19 made an impact on people's response
Private sector involvement in disaster management is a key element to strengthening Bangladesh's future DRR capacity. Based on the interviews with various organizations and private companies, six models for the private sector in Bangladesh to develop their interests in disaster management and get involved in DRR were identified: 1) initiating DRR involvement based on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and disaster response experiences; 2) upscaling the general safety concept to include buildi
Abstract Abstract This paper reviews the role, characteristics, achievements, and challenges of an Asian NGO Network. Ways to overcome challenges are also discussed. The Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN) is the first Asian and Pacific NGO network that mainly targets national and local NGOs based in the Asia‐Pacific region. The Network has made achievements in advocacy and capacity development in disaster risk reduction and response among local actors based on the unique chara
This publication is developed by a group of individuals from the International Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) at Tohoku University, Keio University, the University of Tokyo, the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), and Church World Service (CWS) Japan in collaboration with the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Multi-Hazards Program. The case studies of the 30 innovations were selected in a series of discussions with the grou
During the period of 2000–2009, a record 402 climate-related disasters occurred in the Southeast Asia region, and the number of geophysical disasters was 61 according to the International Disaster Database by Center for Research on the Epidemiology (CRED). The number of climate-related disasters is much higher than that of geophysical disasters, but due to small or medium scale of the events, attention and assistance to most of them have been limited. Although many people are affected by these d
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