Natural hazards have always existed and always will, at least for as long as life as we now know it continues. But in many cases these hazards are growing in severity. Meanwhile the built environment is expanding, and aging. Society has ever-increasing aspirations for taller buildings, longer bridges, wider roads, bigger dams. The outcome is that both deaths and economic damage due to the damage caused by natural hazards continues to escalate. This presentation will introduce the vocabulary of perils, hazards, exposure and risk, followed by a discussion of strategies for mitigation, including policy setting, design, and growing appreciation for natural strategies that often reverse trends of the past.
Learning objectives:
- Be cognisant of statistical data trends related to natural hazard events
- Understand the difficulty of quantifying and appreciating risk for extreme events with long return periods
- Appreciate the challenge of policy setting for extreme natural hazard events
- Be familiar with past and emerging mitigation strategies
Jason Ingham is a professor and deputy dean in the faculty of engineering at the University of Auckland. Jason’s research interests include earthquake engineering and a particular focus on the seismic assessment and improvement of historic buildings. Jason happened to be in central Christchurch on the day of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. He led the data collection and subsequent reporting on the performance of masonry building at the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission. Jason has also undertaken post-earthquake reconnaissance activities in Indonesia, USA, and Nepal. For the fall quarter of 2024, Jason will be a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Notre Dame.