All-Hazards Approach

This book presents case studies of risk management of various hazards and risk management systems at regional, national, and local levels. It also proposes a comprehensive approach to reduce future risks by collaborating with various stakeholders and preparing for the most effective responses toward complicated hazards, minimizing social damage. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the concern as well as interest in the diversification of future risks and the complexity of the damage and impact that multiple risks may cause. These hazard risks include not only natural hazards, but also biological, industrial, and nuclear hazards along with other risks such as cyber-attacks, climate change, food security, conflict, and multiple hazards occurring simultaneously. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, adopted in 2015 at the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, accounts for the risks caused by natural or manmade hazards as well as related environmental, technological, and biological hazards and risks. The framework guides the multi-hazard management of disaster risk in development at all levels and sectors. However, in the current disaster management system in most countries, different offices are responsible for each different hazard, making it extremely difficult to manage those hazard risks comprehensively. Having experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now time to review the current risk management strategy and system, and thereafter discuss how to strengthen and transform our risk perception and manner of risk assessment and identification to tackle future multiple hazards. Simultaneously, further collaboration among experts from different backgrounds and fields will become indispensable. While the discussion of the need for an all-hazards approach has taken place for many years, there now needs to be discussion of a risk-focused framework.