AIT organizes regional symposium on Scientific Forum on the Tsunami, Its Impact and Recovery
Leading scientists and experts around the world recently gathered and participated in the Regional Symposium on Scientific Forum on the Tsunami, Its Impact and Recovery organized by the Asian Institute of Technology held on 6-7 June 2005. The symposium was organized in partnership with UNEP Regional Resource Center for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP RRCAP); University of Rhode Island/USAID; Federal Institute of Hydrology, Germany; Ibaraki University, Japan; Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC); Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Thailand; Kenan Institute Asia; United Nations University, Japan; ASEAN Foundation, Indonesia; French Regional Cooperation; and the SOI Asia Project/KEIO University.
The event, sponsored by UNEP RRCAP and AIT, aimed to explore, analyze and take measurable steps to better understand the recent Tsunami which struck the Indian Ocean basin and affected hundreds of thousands of people in countries including Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India.
The forum main theme concerns tsunamis in general, their impacts and recovery, and in particular the Asian Tsunami of 26 December 2004. The following sub-topics covered under the general theme were: Post-tsunami reconnaissance survey (Dr. Pennung Warnitchai of SCE serving as Coordinator); Mapping of tsunami impacts and hazard (Dr. Kiyoshi Honda of SAT serving as Coordinator); Tsunami simulation and scientific investigations (Dr. Sutat Weesakul of SCE serving as Coordinator); Disaster Preparedness, early warning system for tsunamis, emergency responses (Prof. Tawatchai Tingsanchali of SCE serving as Coordinator); Socio-economic-environmental impact assessment in tsunami affected areas (Dr. Soparth Pongquan and Dr. Thammarat Koottatep of SERD serving as Coordinators); Recovery, sustainable rehabilitation, education and reconstruction in tsunami affected areas (Dr. Amrit Bart and Dr. Vilas Nitivattananon of SERD serving as Coordinators); and Capacity building, public participation, regional cooperation and other related issues (Mr. Earl Kessler of ADPC serving as Coordinator).
The event started with a welcome and introduction by Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon (above), AIT Acting President, followed by an Opening Address by Mr. Surendra Shrestha, Regional Director and Representative of UNEP RRCAP and Introductory Remarks by Dr. Krasae Chanawong, Chairman, ADPC Board of Trustees.
On 6 June, two keynote lectures were conducted by Prof. Nobuo Shuto (via Video Conference), and Prof. M.H. Faber, Chair of Risk and Safety, ETH - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, on 'Sustainable Risk Management of Natural Hazards in South-East Asia'. Prof. Chongrak Polprasert, Dean of SERD and Acting Dean of SCE served as Moderator.
On 7 June, AIT Tsunami Task Force Team delivered a keynote lecture on 'AIT's Response to the Earthquake and Tsunami in South and Southeast Asia' and Prof. Dr. Karl Hofius, Professor, Federal Institute of Hydrology, Germany, delivered a Keynote Lecture on 'Assessment of Water Related Stress Conditions Caused by Tsunamis as a Tool for Recovery'. Prof. Tawatchai Tingsanchali of SCE served as Moderator.
During the two-day Forum, about 40 papers were presented by the participating world experts. Among them were papers presented by AIT faculty as follows: 'Lessons Learned from the 26 December 2004 Tsunami Disaster in Thailand' by Dr. Pennung Warnitchai; 'Development of Water-Related Disaster Management in Thailand' by Prof. Tawatchai Tingsanchali; 'Development of WMS Server for Tsunami Geo-Spatial Information Sharing: Providing Print-Quality Map and Real Time 3D Capability' by Dr. Kiyoshi Honda; 'Delivering Affordable Housing after the Tsunami' by Dr. Bernard G. Lefebvre; 'Tsunami Reconstruction with Geosynthetics in Coastal Areas and Waterways' by Prof. Dennes T. Bergado; 'Hydrodynamic Modelling of Tsunami Impact for Phi-Phi Island, Thailand' by Dr. Sutat Weesakul; 'Investigations on Fine-grained Recent Tsunami Deposits of Phra Bhat Bay, Andaman Coast, Thailand' by Dr. Ulrich Glawe, S. Jain, S.H.M. Jafri, Joydeep Dutta and V. Singh; 'An Improved Flying Balloon System for Disaster Monitoring and Damage Assessment' by Prof. Michiro Kusanagi, Santosh Tripathi and Rajesh Bahadur Thapa; 'Impact of Tsunami on Natural Resources, Environment and Communities in the South of Thailand' by Dr. Soparth Pongquan and Dr. Thammarat Koottatep; 'Logistics Problems in Recovery Assistance of Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster' by Dr. Shinya Hanaoka and Mr. Fayyaz Mahmood Qadir; 'Applicability of Electric Imaging in Site Investigation for Reconstruction and Emergency Response in a Tsunami-Affected Beach in Phuket', by Dr. Pham Huy Giao, Dr. Noppadol Phien-wej, K. Adisornsupawat, V. Singh and P. Inkoom; 'Post-Tsunami Sustainable Coastal Environmental Improvements, Livelihoods Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Reconstruction - A Case Study' by Dr. Amrit Bart and Dr. Vilas Nitivattananon; and 'Post-tsunami Disaster Reconstruction Management: A Case Study of Thailand' by Dr. Chotchai Charoenngam and Mr. Narong Leungbootnak.