IDRiM Podcast

Summary: In this special episode, we explore the science and wider impacts of the 2026 Venezuela Double Earthquake, looking beyond the initial headlines to understand what made this event so unusual. The discussion examines how two powerful earthquakes occurred within seconds of each other, how stress can transfer between faults, and why scientists are still trying to answer fundamental questions...

Summary: This podcast episode focuses on the International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths 2026 global campaign aimed at reducing preventable deaths associated with disasters, public health failures, accidents, and other avoidable risks. The discussion reviews the campaign’s recent activities, including awareness events, educational initiatives, student engagement projects, and the launch or re...

Abstract: The increasing severity of natural disasters, combined with aging and depopulation in rural Japan, has revealed critical shortcomings in current recovery frameworks. Focusing on the built environment and architectural dimensions of post-disaster recovery, this paper examines the structural, institutional, and social conditions affecting disaster recovery in Suzu City following the 2024 N...

Abstract: The increasing severity of natural disasters, combined with aging and depopulation in rural Japan, has revealed critical shortcomings in current recovery frameworks. Focusing on the built environment and architectural dimensions of post-disaster recovery, this paper examines the structural, institutional, and social conditions affecting disaster recovery in Suzu City following the 2024 N...

Abstract: Disaster resilience starts where preparedness and awareness converge, giving students the skills to respond effectively to crises. This research investigates the gaps in student disaster awareness and preparedness, identifying challenges and seeking solutions to improve disaster resilience through the creation of the Integrated Student Disaster Resilience Framework (ISDRF). This qualitat...

Summary: The 16th International Conference of the Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM) 2026 brings together global experts to advance integrated approaches to disaster risk management. IDRiM 2026 will highlight innovative solutions, interdisciplinary research, and practical strategies for building resilient communities. Participants will engage in insightful discussions, collaborative sessi...

Summary: The interview features Dr. Ranjan Tata from the Canada chapter of the Avoidable Deaths Network, who focuses on disaster research through the lens of Indigenous and community led knowledge. He highlights the importance of centering the perspectives of Indigenous, racialized, and marginalized communities in understanding avoidable deaths, emphasizing that solutions should come from within c...

Summary: The first interview explores how creative expression, particularly poetry, storytelling, and other artistic forms, is used to raise awareness about avoidable deaths across sub–Saharan Africa. Patience Andrew, a leader within Custodians of African Literature and an advisory board member for the Avoidable Deaths Network, explains how campaigns have engaged young creatives through spoken wor...

Summary: The first interview explores the role of creative arts within the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN), featuring Winifred Ekezie from Aston University. While positioned within the UK chapter, the discussion centres on how creative approaches, such as poster campaigns, blogs, and planned creative health initiatives, are used to communicate evidence on avoidable deaths in more engaging and acces...

Summary: This episode introduces the launch of the Taiwan chapter of the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN), marking a new milestone in the global campaign for the International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths (IAD4AD). The initiative builds on Taiwan’s long-standing experience with natural hazards such as earthquakes, typhoons, landslides, and flooding. To celebrate the launch, a seminar will brin...

Summary: The ADN Junior Champion Magazine is led by two junior champions Master Arkoneil Ghosh (Founding Editor) and Miss Prarthona Datta (Deputy Editor). They will feature the voices of the children and of those who are particularly on the frontline bearing the brunt of climate change and extreme weather events, every day. Each Magazine will feature a timely theme. Based on this theme subject-spe...

Summary: This episode explores Pakistan’s engagement in the International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths (IAD4AD), with a 2026 focus on road safety. In response to rising traffic accidents in rural districts, the campaign brings together schools, police authorities, and community leaders to raise awareness among young people—especially motorcyclists—about safe driving, helmet use, and responsi...

Summary: The International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM) is pleased to announce the Call for Nominations for the IDRiM Outstanding Dissertation Award. This award aims to recognize and encourage outstanding early-career researchers whose doctoral dissertations have made significant and original contributions to the field of Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM). Thro...

Summary: This podcast episode explores the International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths (IAD4AD) through a discussion with Vishal Pathak from the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) in Ahmedabad, India. As a member of the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN), AIDMI focuses on extreme heat as a highly preventable public risk. Vishal shares how Ahmedabad became a leading example through ea...

Summary: This episode explores the global initiative International Awareness Day for Avoidable Deaths (IAD4AD) and the work of the Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN), which aims to reduce preventable deaths linked to disasters and extreme events. Launched in 2023 in Japan, the campaign runs annually and is designed as a long-term effort, with activities taking place throughout March to allow global pa...

Abstract: In this 50th-episode anniversary special, hosts Haris Rahadianto and Mark Ashley Parry reflect on the first year of the IDRiM podcast, tracing its origins, early uncertainties, and unexpected growth from a tentative experiment into a sustained international platform for disaster research discussion. They revisit the original aims, making research more accessible, spotlighting early-caree...

Abstract: Conventional, top-down approaches have dominated disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives for decades, with central governments coordinating disaster preparation and recovery efforts, fortifying coasts, and building large-scale gray infrastructure such as levees and seawalls to mitigate potential threats. Critics have questioned the usefulness and applicability of this strategy, especia...

Abstract: This discussion examines the catastrophic floods and landslides that struck Sumatra, Indonesia in late 2025, affecting millions across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. Joined by members of U-INSPIRE Indonesia, the conversation traces how prolonged heavy rainfall escalated into large scale flash floods and landslides, overwhelming infrastructure, isolating communities, and destroyin...

Abstract: In this episode of the IDRiM podcast, we explore the devastating floods and landslides that struck Sumatra, Indonesia in late 2025, affecting millions of people across Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. Joined by members of U-INSPIRE Indonesia, the discussion traces how prolonged heavy rainfall escalated into widespread flash floods and landslides, destroying homes, cutting off commu...

Abstract: This podcast episode examines the rare and devastating floods that struck Sumatra between 21 and 30 November, bringing together experts from the Bandung Institute of Technology to explain the event from meteorological and disaster risk perspectives. The discussion explains how a tropical disturbance that first formed on 21 November developed into an unusually rare cyclone near the equato...

Abstract: Catastrophic flooding has been noted to occur with greater frequency following deforestation, but limited observations have been available to test this connection over large spatial scales. Here we used the data of mega forest fires impacting a region of 25,000 km2 in Australia exhibiting rapid loss in forest canopy, where the runoff generation has been carefully observed with minimum an...

Summary of Episode: The episode features Dr. Haris Rahadianto and Dr. Mark Ashley Parry reflecting on the 2025 IDRiM Conference held on the Greek island of Samos. They begin by describing the challenging travel logistics and storms that highlighted Samos’s isolation, an appropriate context for a conference centered on island resilience five years after the island’s major earthquake. Both note the...

Background: Prof. Nibedita Ray-Bennett is a Professor of Risk Management at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, and the founding President of the Avoidable Deaths Network. Her research focuses on disaster risk reduction, public health emergencies, and the social dimensions of avoidable deaths. She has worked extensively on improving policy and practice in disaster and health systems, part...

Abstract of Paper: A key element in risk management in countries susceptible to experiencing natural hazards is facilitating preparedness. While several theories of preparedness have been developed, they have emerged in countries that are culturally individualistic. Recognition of the fact that the majority of disasters occur in countries that are predominantly collectivistic has identified a need...

Background: Fengyi Sun is a researcher and sustainability professional trained at Kyoto University, where he completed his Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering with a focus on disaster risk management and environmental economics. During his time at the university’s Disaster Prevention Research Institute, he contributed to projects on Natech risk and social vulnerability, including developi...