Understanding Earthquake Risk: A must in urban disaster risk management
By:
Jul 2, 2018

GEM successfully raised awareness and interest on the need for a global collaborative effort to assess urban risk due to earthquakes and other natural hazards. GEM facilitated the session during the 8th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation held in Bonn, Germany from May 4-6.
"The main goal is to continue establishing collaboration networks with the cities and institutions starting with those involved in the session to ensure cities are ready when an earthquake strike,” John Schneider, GEM Secretary General. Panelists from Latin America, Asia and Europe, and participants (including mayors and local authorities from cities around the world, and representatives of international organizations working on urban development such as ICLEI, Rockefeller Foundation and UN-Habitat) agreed to further discuss needs, interest and expectations of potential beneficiary cities; implementation modalities and required partnerships; and interaction and complementarity with other relevant initiatives in order to attain the goals of building resilient cities.
Mr. David Jácome Polit, the Director of Resilience at the Metropolitan Institute of Urban Planning (IMPU) and the Chief Resilience Officer from 100 Resilient Cities in Quito, Ecuador presented the scheme, objectives, and tools to increase the resilience in the city.Mr. Takashi Otsuka, Director at ICLEI Japan Office – Asia presented the use of Electric Vehicles (EV) and Plug-in Hybrid (PHV) for electricity back up after earthquakes as a solution for supplying power for medical devices warming up meals, lighting, heating or air condition.
Mr. Georg Schwarz, Consultant Corporate Responsibility, from Munich RE, one of GEM’s main sponsors, presented the case of Aizawl, Mizoram (India), in which Munich RE supported the risk reduction actions for landslides triggered by earthquakes, while the actions for Disaster Risk Reduction in Dhankuta (Nepal), with the respective lessons learnt and recommendations were presented by Nush Raj Shrestha, Senior City Manager of the City.
The 8th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation featured more than 440 participants from over 55 countries, 40 sessions and a number of side events, making the Congress an outstanding platform for learning, sharing ideas, and creating solutions. The conference was hosted by ICLEI and held in Bonn, Germany from May 4-6.
No images found.
GALLERY
VIDEO

RELATED CONTENTS