• Dates: Mar. 2, 2009 (Mon)
• Location: Conference Room, Venture Business Laboratory, Ikarashi Campus, Niigata University

On May, 12, 2008, a great earthquake “wenchuan dizhen” assaulted the province of Sichuan, China.  According to the Chinese national government, the causality is sixty nine thousands, while eighteen thousands are still missing, and five million people lost their houses.  That was a really unprecedented disaster.  After the earthquake, many researchers including the Japanese entered the afflicted area for research but the areas open to foreign scholars’ inspection are still limited.  Through media reports, we may have a decent estimate on the scale and scope of its affliction.  However, as for the current real conditions of the afflicted area and technical analyses on the earthquake as of now, there is no way to see the details but asking Chinese researchers

GIS Center for Environment and Disaster Mitigation (Niigata University) holds “the Second International GIS Forum in Niigata: For the Understanding of Earthquake Disasters and the Recovery from the Great Earthquake in China (Wenchuan Dizhen).  For this, we will invite two Chinese researchers: Professor Li Jing from Beijing Normal University and Dr. Ken Xiansheng Hao who is now working at National Research Institute for Earth Science & Disaster Prevention [NIED], Japan.  They would show us precious and excellent studies on the current real conditions of the afflicted area and its analysis which only Chinese scholars can afford to make.  At the same time, we will have a report from our colleagues who were delegated to China in order to conduct an on-the-spot investigation and an analysis on the satellite images over the afflicted area which our GIS specialist conducted right after the disaster.   

In our country, we had the Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku Earthquake in 2008, which did away with many precious live.  In our local area, Niigata, we had two earthquakes in succession: the Niigataken Chuetsuoki Earthquake in 2007 and the Niigataken Chuetsu Earthquake in 2004.  Through these disasters, its sacrifices and affliction, we have earned precious experiences and knowledge for disaster recovery.  We only wish in our Forum we may explore possible venues for our future collaboration between Japan and China for the disaster recovery by exchanging valuable experiences and knowledge of the people—researchers, local government officers, and NPO groups-- who have been engaged in disaster recoveries.

Lastly, there are many Chinese Students working hard in Niigata University.  They must be very anxious about the affliction of their mother country.  We would like to invite them to join our solidarity for the recovery. 

Director of GIS Center for Environment and Disaster Mitigation
Abe Nobuyuki   Professor, Faculty of Agriculture

Schedule on Mar. 2, 2009

MC: Tanaka Toru (Professor, International Exchange Support Center)