Hiroshima University’s Resilience Research Center hosted two technical sessions online in the 14th Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) International Conference held from September 12-14.

This time around, the EASTS conference was held with HU Vice President and Professor of the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering Akimasa Fujiwara as the chair of the Conference Committee. A total of 711 researchers and practitioners from 28 countries/regions, mainly from Asia attended the event.

Paper presentations were done in two sessions entitled “Transportation and Natural Disasters,” chaired respectively by Professor Fujiwara and Associate Professor Makoto Chikaraishi from HU’s Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering.

During these sessions, the latest research results from around the world on transportation management amid natural and man-made disasters in the “coronavirus era” were tackled.

Disaster transportation management is an important research area in terms of prompt rescue of human lives, transport of emergency relief goods, and the return of citizens' daily lives and economic activities as soon as possible.

We will continue to make efforts towards the SDGs goals No. 11 (Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) and 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts).