About the symposium

The Chuetsu Region, which is located at the centre of Niigata Prefecture, experienced a series of serious natural disasters in a short period between 2004 and 2007.
These disasters included a flood in Sanjo city caused by the July 2004 Niigata-Fukushima Downpour, massive earthquake damage caused by the October 2004 Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake, snow damage caused by the 2006 heavy snowfall, and more earthquake damage caused by the July 2007 Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake. The violent nature of these disasters has also caused tremendous damage not only in the Chuetsu Region of Niigata Prefecture but also in other regions in Japan as well as in other countries.

In addition, recently, there have been other cases of earthquake damage, including the March 2007 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, and the June 2008 Iwate Miyagi Inland Earthquake. Furthermore, several countries and regions of the world also suffered great loss caused earthquakes such as the September 1999 Chi-chi Earthquake in Taiwan, the December 2004 Sumatra Earthquake in Indonesia, the great flood brought by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 in the United States, the October 2005 Pakistan Earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan, and the May 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in the Sichuan Province of China, and a Cyclone in Myanmar. Millions of people suffered from these disasters and many are still trying to recover.

It is said that people who suffered from any massive natural disaster need 3 years to recover, and another 3 years to revitalize themselves, thus it takes 10 years in total in order for people to get back to their daily lives. The year 2009, which is the 5th year after the flood, earthquake and the heavy snowfall in the Chuetsu area, is in the middle of the recovery process. On the other hand, this year is the beginning of the revitalization stage for victims of the Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake. Thus, in commemoration of the 5th memorial of the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake, an international symposium will be held in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, between October 16th and October 18th, 2009.

At the symposium, world experts on disaster prevention, recovery, and revitalization will share their profound knowledge and ideas, to deepen mutual ties among participants, and report the outcomes of the symposium to the international community.

The Chuetsu Organization for a Safe and Secure Society and the Japan Society for Disaster Recovery and Revitalization will host, in collaboration with the Niigata University Research Centre for Natural Hazards and Disaster Recovery, the international symposium on disaster prevention and safety measures for natural disasters and revitalization after disasters. Not only experts form all over the world but also people who have suffered from the disasters are expected to come to the symposium. I hope for an effective and meaningful information exchange at the symposium

April, 2009
Shigeru Ito
Chief Director
The Chuetsu Organization for a Safe and Secure Society