Lessons from Canterbury quake and other disasters

Lessons from Canterbury quake and other disasters

The Canterbury earthquake, the BP Oil spill and other disasters such as Hurricane Katrina will be the subject of the inaugural professorial lecture by Professor Bruce Glavovic at the Wellington campus on Tuesday.

Professor Glavovic, who holds the EQC Chair in Natural Hazards Planning at the University as well as being associate director of the Joint Centre for Disaster Research, will deliver the lecture about recent disasters at 6pm in the Museum building.

“The Canterbury earthquake is a stark reminder of the perils facing New Zealanders,” he says. “It underscores the imperative to reduce disaster risk and build resilience. How might the Canterbury experience shape future choices about risk and resilience in New Zealand? We can learn from pre-and post-quake experiences and from other distant narratives to answer this question.”

Professor Glavovic’s lecture will also reflect on the impact of climate change on communities in Louisiana. “These narratives are pertinent to New Zealand as a coastal nation exposed to both natural and anthropogenic [human-made] hazards in this era of global change.”

Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey, John Hamilton from the Ministry of Civil Defence and Ian Simpson from the Earthquake Commission will attend the lecture.

The Chair in Natural Hazards Planning, is funded by the Earthquake Commission, and aims to provide vision and leadership for the field of natural hazards planning in New Zealand and to advance understanding of the social, economic and political dimensions of hazards more generally.

Professor Glavovic’s lecture Disaster narratives and the Canterbury earthquake: Learning from Katrina, the BP Oil Spill and climate change is being held at the theatrette of the Museum Building, Buckle St, Wellington between 6pm-7.20pm on Tuesday December 7.

ENDS

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