Disasters

Researchers analyze the collapse of the Misasa Railroad Bridge in Japan — an infrastructure failure caused by unprecedented flooding back in 2018 — to inform future flood-resistant designs.

Asia Research News monitors the latest research news in Asia. Some highlights that caught our attention this week are amino acids from space, a robot finger wrapped in human skin, and what makes dogs "man’s best friend".

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the world, there is mandatory 7 to 21-day quarantine for travellers who arrive in Hong Kong and Mainland China from overseas. Since self-isolation may affect people’s emotional health adversely, Lingnan University (LU)’s Wofoo Joseph Lee Consulting and Counselling Psychology Research Centre (WJLCCPRC) has designed a self-assessment questionnaire and intervention exercise to help people in quarantine cope better psychologically.

In disaster mitigation planning for future large earthquakes, seismic ground motion predictions are a crucial part of early warning systems. The way the ground moves depends on how the soil layers amplify the seismic waves (described in a mathematical site “amplification factor”). However, geophysical explorations to understand soil conditions are costly, limiting characterization of site amplification factors to date. Using data on microtremors in Japan, a neural network model can estimate site-specific responses to earthquakes based on subsurface soil conditions.

On the occasion of the One Ocean Summit taking place in the French city of Brest, UNESCO has announced that at least 80% of the seabed will be mapped by 2030, compared to 20% currently, with the support of its Member States and the private sector.

Lingnan University (LU) in Hong Kong will confer honorary doctoral degrees upon four distinguished individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in their respective professions and valuable contributions to the well-being of society.

The Kisakata Earthquake devastated Akita and Yamagata Prefectures. More details about this Edo period disaster have been revealed thanks to a collaborative project between researchers and locals.

On 20 May 2021, Sri Lanka’s worst-ever marine disaster occurred when a fire erupted on the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl container ship just 18 km Northwest of Colombo. While the long-term cost is yet to be determined, the negative impact on industries such as fisheries and tourism, and people who rely on the coastal resources of Sri Lanka is already apparent.

A new study monitored satellite images to obtain sea discoloration data as a novel indicator in detecting if an underwater volcano’s eruption is imminent.

Japan recorded a whopping 3459 #landslides in 2018. To reduce the risks of landslides, researchers have developed a new #mapping system that accurately predicts their damage.

Landslide tsunamis are difficult to simulate because of the complex interaction between soil and water. But now, researchers from Tohoku University have come up with a hybrid numerical method that allows for relatively accurate simulations.

Rapid and accurate flood mapping following a disaster is crucial for accelerating relief and response decisions. With news crews often the first on the scene, Tohoku University researchers have created a machine learning model that harnesses the power of media photos. The model helps quickly identify flooded buildings within 24 hours of the disaster.

Elevated levels of radon in the atmosphere before and after earthquakes is a commonly recorded phenomenon. However, Tohoku University researchers have discovered an anomaly: The 2018 Northern Osaka Earthquake. Analyzing data before and after the quake, they discovered that atmospheric radon concentration decreased. The discovery paints a more complicated picture surrounding radon and crustal movements.

A 2020 explosion in Lebanon’s port city of Beirut led to a southward-bound, high-velocity atmospheric wave that rivaled ones generated by volcanic eruptions.

Using data from the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, researchers have uncovered a better understand about radon concentration in the atmosphere before and after earthquakes. The findings move us closer to being able to predict when large earthquakes will occur.

Medical staff and researchers from Tohoku University and Fukushima Medical University conducted a collaborative, multifaceted training program for healthcare workers to better prepare them for disasters. The training incorporated a wide range of subjects such as data analysis, cultural revitalization in the wake of disasters, and post-disaster psychological and physical well-being.

Fujitsu, Tohoku University, and Tokyo University have unveiled a new AI model that can accurately predict tsunami flooding in coastal areas within seconds. The new technology, which harnessed the power of the world’s fastest supercomputer Fugaku, will bolster authorities ability to effectively direct evacuation orders.

Researchers trained an AI to assess post-disaster building damage just by looking at aerial images of the aftermath.

Looking for experts who can comment on natural disasters when they occur, or disaster planning and research? We have compiled a list of experts from across Asia prepared to speak with journalists on a wide range of disaster types and issues.

Researchers from the Earth System Science Programme at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have revealed that slow earthquakes, a new type of earthquake discovered about 20 years ago, follow similar scaling relations as regular earthquakes, e.g. rate of aftershocks and formula that relates an earthquake’s energy release with how long it lasts. This discovery opens a pathway for scientists to use these events as easy-to-study analogs to probe the physics governing the power and timing of devastating earthquakes, generating a clearer picture of how energy is released with time along faults.

The past is often the window to our future, especially when it comes to natural disasters. Using data from the 2018 floods that struck southwestern Japan to calibrate a machine learning model, researchers from the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) at Tohoku University and the Japan-Peru Center for Earthquake Engineering Research and Disaster Mitigation (CISMID, in Spanish), have successfully identified the flooding caused by Typhoon Hagibis.

A Communique from the InterAcademy Partnership urges countries to collaborate, use and share science-based information, and help the developing world.

A design team, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has been honored at the international design competition, iF Design Awards 2020.

South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with NASA in the United States, have successfully analyzed the main patterns of atmospheric circulation affecting the Arctic sea ice.

To initiate a stream of events for leaders, experts, policy-makers, and practitioners in Asia in the field of disaster and crisis management, this first series of IDC will bring a sharper focus on water.

A new study has estimated for the first time how the eruption of Mount Tambora changed the probability of the cold and wet European ‘year without a summer’ of 1816.

An international and multidisciplinary research team led by Prof. Charles NG Wang-Wai will deliver an extreme weather and landslide warning system, which will increase the forecast lead time of heavy rainfall from three to six hours, giving the general public and responders more time to prepare for potential disasters.