The 5th APRU-IRIDeS Multi-Hazards Summer School was held on 18-21 July at Tohoku University. Nearly 40 participants from 9 countries (China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, UK, USA) participated in the even to learn the lessons-learnt and experience from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the recovery efforts in the affected areas and discuss the contribution of academia in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR).

At the opening ceremony, Prof. Susumu Satomi (President of Tohoku University), Ms. Christina Schönleber (Director for Policy and Programs, APRU Secretariat), and Prof. Fumihiko Imamura (Director of IRIDeS) gave the opening remarks. The speakers included the faculty members of IRIDeS, University of California, Davis, National Taiwan University) and the local government officials of Sendai City and Tagajo City. Moreover, the speakers were invited from NGO (Church World Service (CWS) Japan) and an elementary school in Watari town affected by the 2011 disaster. At the first Group Work, the participants shared their research findings using their posters. Furthermore, at the second Group Work, each group developed a project proposal to reduce the tsunami and flood risks.

On the Day 3, the participants visited the affected areas such as the old Nobiru station in Higashi Matsushima, the Onagawa town hospital, the Onagawa station and the Tohoku University Onagawa Field Center.