International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction: York U experts available
Oct. 13 marks the United Nations’ International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, a global call to action to prevent and lessen the impact of disasters. This year’s theme, “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters,” highlights the urgent need to shift from costly crisis response to smarter investments in risk reduction. As Canada faces increased risks from wildfires, floods, extreme weather and other hazards, experts from York’s Disaster & Emergency Management (DEM) program are available to provide insight on disaster preparedness, risk mitigation, climate resilience, and how evidence-based planning can strengthen communities and reduce disaster impacts.
Eric Kennedy is an associate professor of DEM and director of York’s Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Governance, Response Institute (Y-EMERGE). He is also editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Emergency Management.
Kennedy’s research focuses on wildfire management and the human and social dimensions of fire, particularly the use of data and evidence in fire decision-making. His lab group focuses on a central question: how might we help people, communities, and agencies live in better relationship with wildland fire by integrating evidence and values?
Current projects include enhancing the use of predictive services in fire management, increasing the uptake of wildfire mitigation by local governments, and building linkages between research users and producers in fire.
Key areas of focus:
- Wildfire management in Canada and around the world
- Wildfire response
- Fire risk mitigation
Aaida Mamuji is an associate professor of DEM, and the graduate program director handling the University’s master’s and doctoral programs in DEM.
Her areas of interest include social vulnerability and capability in the disaster context; hosting and resettlement; international responses to natural-hazard disasters; and risk assessment. Mamuji’s research aims to capture the lived experience of various priority groups facing disasters across Canada. She is currently researching international aid transfer and the provision of humanitarian assistance in the context of mass violence.
Key areas of focus:
- International response to natural-hazard disasters
- Risk assessment
- Social vulnerability
Nirupama Agrawal is a professor and a founding faculty member of York’s DEM program. She holds a PhD in Water Resources from Kyoto University and has over 35 years of professional experience in her field. Her textbook, Natural Disasters and Risk Management in Canada: An Introduction, published by Springer, is one of the most used textbooks in emergency management.
Her wide-ranging research includes: threat assessment from potential natural, intentional, and technological hazards; public safety; disaster resilience in a changing climate; and the use of geospatial technologies for decision-making.
Agrawal is an adjunct professor at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and a co-director of the CDSN-MINDS project on domestic operations.
Key areas of focus:
- Climate change and natural hazards
- Flood risk mitigation and adaptation
- Disaster risk, risk perceptions and disaster resilience
- Early warning systems and response strategies
