TORONTO, March 6, 2012 - The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, and the resulting nuclear reactor meltdown, has challenged basic assumptions about dealing with large risks and hazards, according to experts who will speak at York University on Friday about the lessons learned from the multifaceted disaster.
The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan underscored the need to plan far beyond typical disaster scenarios, as it brought not only physical destruction but affected social and economic stability locally and even globally, says Professor Ali Asgary, graduate director of York University’s Disaster & Emergency Management Program.
Red Cross experts, academics, government officials and journalists who bore witness to the emergencies will share their on-the-ground experience during the seminar, timed to mark the one-year anniversary of the disaster. An economist and an expert in corporate social responsibility will talk about the broader implications of the Japanese disaster, on international economy, trade and ethical corporate behaviour.
In the past, the lessons related to crisis response and recovery may have been overemphasized at the expense of lessons about policies and strategic thinking related to risk reduction and hazard mitigation, according to Asgary. Canada can learn from Japan, and in fact Canadians have wasted no time rethinking disaster plans, he says. Many ethical questions have also arisen out of the disaster: for example, is it ethical to put a power plant in a hazardous area, and to what level did businesses respond to their own employees and help them?
WHAT: Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami, Lessons Learnt – On the first anniversary.
WHEN: Friday, March 9, 2012, 9am-4:30pm
WHERE: Atkinson Building, Harry Crowe Room (Room 109), York University
MAP: number 33 on the map, http://www.yorku.ca/yorkweb/maps/keele.htm
Website: http://disasterlessons.info.yorku.ca/
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto – Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 55,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 240,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Media Contact:
Media must pre-register, due to limited space, with Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22101 / wallsj@yorku.ca
