Format: Virtual Webinar. 45 min. presentation followed by 15 min. Q&A

An optional post-lecture workshop will immediately follow each lecture for expanded Q&A and networking

Session 1, Wednesday, Sep 25, 2024, 9 am to 10 am US Central Time

Session 2, Monday, Dec 16, 2024, 8 pm to 9 pm US Central Time Register Here

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Abstract

My work involves geological hazards risk assessment and reduction in densely populated areas near plate boundaries. A place we are most needed is SE Asia, which accounts for 85% of the world’s casualties to natural hazards in only 12% of its landmass. After the 2004 Indian ocean tsunami, which killed around 250,000 people in the region, I realized that natural hazards risk assessment does not save lives unless the risk is communicated effectively and risk reduction strategies are in place before the hazard. This pivot in my career focus meant broadening the scope and participation of the research to include experts in education, communication, marketing, building construction, hydrology, volcanology, engineering, art and so on. This multidisciplinary consortium is known as WAVES. The focus of WAVES is to work from the bottom up and top down to bridge the gap between what science can quantify as a geohazard risk and what those in harm’s way are prepared for.

WAVES team members travel to densely populated parts of the world vulnerable to natural hazards to help those most at risk implement grassroots risk reduction measures. Thousands of lives have been saved because of our collaborative, community-based efforts.

Funds for WAVES are difficult to find, which motivated me to start a non-profit organization known as ‘In Harm’s Way’. The mission of the NPO is natural hazard risk reduction through education and risk reduction activities. SEG was also motivated by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami to start Geoscientists Without Borders (GWB), which is bold effort to support full-spectrum natural disaster risk reduction.

For example, with funds from GWB the WAVES team discovered that the southern coast of Java and other islands in Indonesia have been battered by tsunamis from mega-thrust earthquakes on the Sunda Trench, much like what happened during 2004. Numerical models of likely rupture scenarios of the Sunda Trench reveal that over 6 million people live on coastal plains below 30 m elevation, which are at risk of tsunami inundation. To communicate this risk, we developed a catchy phrase to generally help these communities practice a self-evacuation strategy. It is known as the “20-20-20” principle; if the ground shakes for more than 20 seconds, those inhabiting coastal communities have 20 minutes to evacuate to an elevation of at least 20 meters. This simple principle, that condenses years of scientific research into three numbers, saves lives because it empowers those at risk to self-evacuate. Illustrations of the 20-20-20 principle are now brazened on t-shirts, evacuation signs, billboards, scarves, and a snakes and ladders games. Tsunami evacuation drills guided by the 20-20-20 principle are now a common occurrence in coastal communities throughout Indonesia.

Tsunami inundation model for full rupture of the eastern Sunda Trench.

Excavating a tsunami deposit in eastern Indonesia. Bridging the gap between scientific knowledge of geohazards and what those most at risk are prepared for.