It has been announced this week that the Gallagher Research Centre (GRC), which was launched last year by ICMIF Supporting Member Gallagher Re, is partnering with Tohoku University (Japan) to improve the understanding and quantitative assessment of tsunami risk.
Through this partnership, both the GRC and the university’s International Research Institute of Disaster Sciences (IRIDeS) will seek to improve the understanding and quantitative assessment of tsunami risk, both in Japan and abroad. Gallagher Re says it means to apply the knowledge gained from this collaboration to its agreement with Morocco’s Solidarity Fund against Catastrophic Events (FSEC), which has tasked Gallagher Re with profiling tsunami risk in the region.
Colleagues from the GRC and Tohoku University will collaborate on:
- Quantifying tsunami risks
- Assessing the impact of recent changes in infrastructure on tsunami risks along the coast of Japan
- The effect of imminent sea-level rise due to climate change
By combining the analytics and advisory expertise of the GRC with the achievements and technological innovations of the IRIDeS, the University says it is optimistic that the partnership will bring about not only cutting-edge research, but also help establish it, already one of Japan’s most renowned universities, to be recognised as a global leader in natural disaster science.
Tsuyoshi Noguchi, CEO of Gallagher Re Japan, said: “We’re delighted to announce that Gallagher Re is renewing a long-standing research partnership with Professor Imamura and his team at Tohoku University. The tsunami research that the Tohoku team continues to develop has proved invaluable in characterising the contemporary insurance risk of this peril around Japan, as well as helping profile this peril around the world.”
The need and potential impact of a partnership such as the one between the GRC and Tohoku University becomes clear in light of recent trends in natural catastrophes, or, as Professor Fumihiko Imamura, a leading tsunami expert at the IRIDeS noted: “Since the turn of the 21st century, we have observed an increased frequency of natural catastrophes. Seismic events leading to tsunamis have caused considerable damage and human casualties globally. Tsunami risk management best practice begins with the quantification of the risk. Equally as important is the implementation of a comprehensive disaster resilience framework through a combination of public and private partnerships, investment into infrastructure and knowledge sharing among stakeholders. This is the area where we would like to continue to build out our research relationship with the GRC.”
One such worldwide application of this research is Gallagher Re’s agreement with Solidarity Fund against Catastrophic Events (FSEC) to profile tsunami risk in Morocco. FSEC is the Moroccan fund for the protection of uninsured people against the consequences of earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides and human-made catastrophes.
To learn more about the mission and work of the GRC, visit the Gallagher Research Centre page.
