In recent years, wind-related disasters have occurred frequently not only in Japan but also overseas, causing significant casualty, property damage and economic loss. The sum of economic loss in the United States, Japan and China, which are disaster hotspots, makes up more than 80 % of the total worldwide loss. In addition, such disasters frustrate economic advancement in developing countries such as the countries of South-East Asia.
Hence, the mitigation of wind-related disaster is a challenge needed to be faced by many countries. In this context, ‘wind-related disasters’ does not only refer to structural failure caused by strong winds, but also includes various disasters which are directly or indirectly caused by wind, such as strong winds which accompany various meteorological phenomena (e.g., typhoons and tornadoes) and environmental problem caused by weakened wind phenomena (e.g., urban heat islands and air pollution). Latest researches suggest that climate change affects increase of extreme weather and results in both extremely strong and weakened wind.
In order to mitigate wind-related disasters, approaches from the social sciences must be combined with engineering and scientific approaches. This workshop will offer an opportunity to understand the current situation of wind-related disasters and to discuss the methodologies proposed by researchers and experts from various academic fields aimed at lessening loss caused by these disasters.