The Earthquake and Volcano Research Observation Center, Graduate Faculty of Science Hokkaido University, will hold the 2025 public lecture "Earthquakes and Disaster Prevention in Hokkaido" on June 14th and 21st.

Earthquakes always occur suddenly. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. Advance preparation is the only way to reduce damage. Fortunately, in Hokkaido, there have been no earthquakes or tsunamis that have caused widespread simultaneous damage in recent decades. However, this is just a coincidence, and the next big earthquake will definitely occur. Off the coast of Tokachi-Nemuro, known as the Kuril Trench on the Pacific side, energy is accumulating in preparation for the next earthquake, and the occurrence of a super-large earthquake for the first time in hundreds of years is imminent. In addition to active faults in various parts of Hokkaido, there is a risk of earthquake and tsunami disasters in inland areas such as Sapporo, the coast of the Sea of Japan, and the Sea of Okhotsk. In Hokkaido, which has a regional structure that is widely dispersed, the rapid decline in population is causing the social infrastructure to become vulnerable. We are now in an era where disaster risk management at the individual level is required more than ever before. Even in the case of natural disasters, we need to recognize once again that there are considerable limitations to public support after a disaster.

In the Earthquake and Volcano Research Center's 2025 public lecture "Earthquakes and Disaster Prevention in Hokkaido," we hope to provide information that will encourage people to think about earthquake disaster risk management. We would be very happy if this opportunity could be used to think about what is needed to achieve the two goals of earthquake disaster prevention measures: "protecting lives" and "protecting lifestyles."

For more information, please see here. *You will be redirected to the website of the Earthquake and Volcano Research Center, Faculty of Science Hokkaido University.