Managing catastrophic risks

‘There’s enough scientific knowledge to reduce suffering, but it’s not being adequately applied.’ – Satoru Nishikawa

Earthquakes themselves don’t kill people. Societal conditions can. Where people are and what their environment is like when an earthquake hits will determine whether a natural phenomenon becomes a disaster, and on what scale.

Recognising the risk of an earthquake and tsunami in it’s northern regions, Japan had begun to take steps to manage the impact, as early as 2005. An early alert system, automatic braking of bullet trains and a host of building codes, education initiatives and other programs were in place. But when the tsunami struck on March 11, 2011, the impact was about four times as severe of any scenario that had been modeled.

Of the 500 000 people living and working in the worst affected region, 19 500 lost their lives. This devastating number could have been higher. Lessons learned for future generations will mean that next time, the loss of life will be further reduced.

There is enough scientific knowledge to reduce suffering and the loss of life. It is not adequately applied. A concerted international effort must be made to take action to prepare for disaster and prevent such tragedies unfolding once again on the television screens of the world.

Author:

From 2004 to 2007, in the years including the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, Satoru Nishikawa was the Director for Disaster Preparedness, Public Relations and International Cooperation in the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan. When the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake occurred he was in charge of regional planning for Tohoku, the area most affected by the tsunami.

Satoru Nishikawa’s career in risk management and disaster preparedness and relief has spanned thirty years. He has worked with the United Nations and as the Executive Director, Asian Disaster Reduction Center. Mr Nishikawa has been responsible for managing disaster responses of all varieties including tsunamis, typhoons and earthquakes across many regions of the world.

Most recently his focus has been on working with business, government and relief agencies on what can be done to mitigate the full human impact of disasters by better preparation. Disasters do occur, we can’t always predict them, we can’t control them, but we can manage their impact more effectively through regulation, education, engineering and public/private partnerships.

Satoru Nishikawa has a PhD in Risk Analysis from Nagoya University, Japan.

IdeasLabs are a unique format presented at World Economic Forum meetings around the world. In each IdeasLab, leading thinkers from the world’s top academic institutions present their current thinking, and the audience and their colleagues interact on their ideas.