On Monday, March 14, researchers from the University of Tokyo and CISMID met online to share their progress and future activities, in compliance with the objectives of the project “Development of Integrated Expert System for Estimation and Observation of Damage Level of Infrastructure in Lima City”.
The virtual meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee (“Joint Coordination Committee” -eJCC) was attended by the dean of FIC-UNI, Msc. Wilfredo Gutierrez; the deputy resident representative of JICA in Peru, Mr. Tomoyuki Odani; the executive director of APCI, Mg. Jose Antonio Gonzalez Norris; the Ambassador of Japan in Peru, Dr. Kazuyuki Katayama; and the UNI Vice President for Research, Dr. Arturo Fernando Talledo Coronado.
The project implemented by the SATREPS 2021-2026 program, has the objective of creating an integrated expert system to estimate the level of damage in infrastructure before an earthquake, and to observe the level of damage in a post-earthquake scenario using information technologies to protect the lives of citizens by offering different levels of information. The project is divided into 4 working groups, with researchers involved from both countries and different participating institutions.
- Group 1A Topic: Seismology and Seismic Ground Movement, led by Dr. Zenon Aguilar and Dr. Hisao Kondo. Its objective is to develop intensity maps and ground movement for the city of Lima, in real-time.
- Group 1B Topic: Flood Forecasting System and Tsunami Damage for Lima, led by Dr. Miguel Estrada and Dr. Shunichi Koshimura. Its objective is to develop a system of potential flood scenarios, and improve the prediction capacity in Lima.
- Group 2A Topic: Real-time damage assessment systems for buildings, led by Dr. Carlos Zavala and Dr. Koichi Kusunoki, has the objective of developing a safety limit assessment method for Peruvian buildings, and a damage assessment system for damage to hospital buildings in real-time.
- Group 2B Topic: Vital lines services and road infrastructure, led by Mag. Jorge Gallardo and Dr. Yoshihisa Maruyama. Its objective is to develop a real-time damage assessment system for water, sewage, and urban road systems.
- Group 3 Topic: Development of the integrated disaster information system, led by Dr. Miguel Diaz and Dr. Masashi Matsuoka. The objective is to develop a GIS database for the Lima area; develop damage monitoring methods for post-disaster assessment, using earth observation data; and create a GIS platform to support decision-making in disaster management.
- Group 4 Topic: Development of human resources to effectively use the integrated expert system, led by Eng. Miguel Yamasaki and Eng. Francisco Ríos. The objective is to strengthen the capacities of decision-makers and government officials in the use of the expert system, to take the appropriate measures according to the possibility of an earthquake or tsunami, in different scenarios.
The meeting ended with final comments by Dr. Keiko Tamura and Dr. Koichi Kusunoki, who highlighted the history of cooperation of more than 100 years of exchange between Peru and Japan, with projects as important as this one, which will have an impact on life in the Peruvian population. They emphasized the excellent work of the team of scientists that make up each of the working groups and commented on the intention of organizing a next face-to-face coordination meeting when the restrictions due to the pandemic cease
SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development), is a science and technology diplomatic initiative that promotes joint research between Japan and developing countries using science and Japanese technology.