EPICentre release new Japan Tsunami model with Willis Re & Tohoku University

Researchers at the EPICentre Research Group, a multidisciplinary research group based in UCL Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) that investigates risk to society and infrastructure from earthquakes and other natural hazards, have released a new Japan Tsunami model to advance the industry's understanding of catastrophic tsunami losses. The model has been developed through the Willis Research Network with Willis Re, the global risk adviser, and Tohoku University's International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), using data from the 2011 Japan Tsunami. The new model combines tsunami loss information with earthquake shaking damage output, providing the intelligence to quantify and manage risk from these extreme events, where historically losses have been little understood. Professor Tiziana Rossetto, Director of EPICentre, UCL, said: "We at EPICentre are proud to have worked with Willis Re for several years on the development of the tsunami model. Our focus has been on the development of the vulnerability model, linking tsunami intensity with mean damage and loss. "There are significant obstacles to estimating tsunami losses due to limited availability of data for low-frequency/high-severity events. The current tsunami vulnerability model utilizes rigorous statistical analysis of detailed data from the 2011 Japan Tsunami, resulting in a model which represents the state-of-the-art in estimating losses per building due to tsunamis.