Ten years ago, a devastating earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province, China, causing the death of almost 90 000 persons, widespread damage to urban and rural communities and the economy of the region. The earthquake triggered tens of thousands of landslides in a large area. Subsequent rainstorms in the years after the earthquake have re-activated many of the landslides and triggered debris flows from their deposits. Even though strategies for geo-hazards assessment and risk management have been implemented to reduce the long term-disaster-chain effects of the earthquake, 10-years on, the Wenchuan region still is threatened by various geo-hazards in the aftermath of the earthquake. Spatial and temporal trends in the level of this threat raise international awareness and concerns about the issues of long term-disaster-chain effects in hazard and risk reduction.
Global trends of climate change, environmental destruction and explosive population growth are further increasing the frequency and impact of geo-hazards. There is urgent international need for opportunities to exchange up-to-date knowledge on the nature of geo-hazards and on risk-reduction techniques, between researchers, engineers and decision makers at national, regional and local level. Chengdu University of Technology, through SKLGP has been pro-active in providing fora for such exchanges. We have hosted five successful international symposia to date in memory of the earthquake victims: “Asian regional conference of IAEG” in 2009; “An International Symposium on Earthquake Induced Landslides and Disaster Mitigation at the 3rd Anniversary of the Wenchuan Earthquake” in 2011; “The International Symposium in Commemoration of the 5th Anniversary of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake: Long-term Geo-Hazard and Risk Consequences of Areas Struck by High Magnitude Earthquakes” in 2013; and the “4th International Symposium on Mega-earthquake Induced Geo-disasters and Long Term Effects” in 2015. Building on these experiences and their social benefits, Chengdu University of Technology through SKLGP will host “The 5th International Symposium on Mega Earthquake Induced Geo-disasters and Long-term Effects” in May 2018 in memory of the many victims. It will provide opportunity to present and exchange international knowledge and experience on the occurrence of geo-hazards in areas struck by mega earthquakes and their long-term effects.