The Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR) was founded following the Wenchuan earthquake (May 12, 2008) with an initial donation of 200 million CNY by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. In 2013, IDMR open a campus with facilities for education, research, training, public services, and conferences.
As a collaborative endeavor between Sichuan University (SCU) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), IDMR aspires to be an innovative, interdisciplinary institute with a strong sense of social responsibility. Guided by its motto, “Pooling for knowledge”, the institute advances integrated research, education and service provision on all aspects of disaster risk reduction, response, recovery and reconstruction.
Research:
IDMR is organized into two departments:
1. Department of Urban Safety, Health and Management (DUSHM)
2. Department of Disaster Prevention and Reduction Science and Engineering (DDPRSE)
IDMR currently employs 33 full time professors and researchers, whose expertise spans a broad range of fields including earthquake science, geo-hazards, urban hazards mitigation, climate change, environmental science, public health, and emergency management.
IDMR research agenda focuses on two main themes:
1. Disaster-related Natural Sciences and Engineering, covering geohazards (earthquakes, landslides, and debris flow), meteorological disasters, earthquake-resistant building designs, and disaster-related information systems;
2. Disaster-related Social Science and Public Health, emcompassing disaster education, the training of social work professionals for disasters responses, public perception of disaster risks, disaster mental health and epidemiology of disaster injuries, and disaster emergency management.
Education:
IDMR offers its own own master and PhD program on Safety Sciences and Disaster Reduction. IDMR professors also supervise master and PhD students across a wide range of disaster-related fields including Engineering, Management Sciences, Public Health etc. Throughout the years, IDMR has enrolled 645 master’s and doctoral students; among them, 44 PhD students and 330 master’s students were jointly trained by IDMR and PolyU.
In 2020, IDMR established the international innovation class on Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management to expand undergraduate education in disaster prevention and reduction. So far, 147 undergraduate students have enrolled in this program.
Additionally, IDMR provids general science education and practical training in disaster prevention and mitigation, campus safety and emergency management for students of SCU and the public, benefiting over 5000 SCU students each year.
Facility:
IDMR hosts several research platforms, including the Key Laboratory of Deep Underground Science & Engineering under the Ministry of Education, the Key Laboratory of Mountainous Disaster Risk Early Warning & Control under the Ministry of Emergency Management, and others. It is equipped with dedicated facilities for deep rock mechanics, disaster nursing and rehabilitation, disaster psychology and behavior, disaster education, and emergency skills training. With support from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, IDMR is currently constructing a new building housing 16 specialized disaster mechanics laboratories, covering geological hazards, water disasters, post-disaster environmental management, urban disasters and resilience, disaster information, emergency command, and a high-performance computing cluster. These laboratories provide a strong foundation for IDMR’s long-term development, supporting both its research and teaching needs.
International collaboration:
IDMR actively fosters international collaboration in disaster research and education. Half of its teaching and research faculty hold PhDs from top universities outside of Mainland China, and all staff members have participated in overseas exchange programs. The institute also hosts international faculty and visiting scholars, maintaining close partnerships with research institutions in the United States, Europe, Japan, and other regions. IDMR serves as the secretariat for the Alliance of Alliances of the High-Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters of the United Nations (HELP-AOA), co-chair of the Alliance of International Science Organizations on Disaster Risk Reduction (ANSO-DRR). It is also a co-founder of the International Association of Disaster Risk Reduction (IADRR), a board member of the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI), and the secretariat of the Disaster and Resilience Working Group of the Himalayan University Consortium (HUC-DRR). Over the past ten years, IDMR has held more than 50 international forums and maintains strong international visibility and engagement in disaster prevention and reduction.
Public Service:
IDMR has been actively involved in the aftermath of recent disasters both in China and abroad, including the 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 2023 Turkey earthquake. For example, its faculty members have participated in disaster investigations and damage assessments for over ten natural disasters in Sichuan Province. Following the 2023 Turkey earthquake, IDMR co-organized an international seminar on post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, sharing experiences drawn from several earthquakes in Sichuan, China, to support post-disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts.
