Dear IDRiM Members,

On behalf of the Board of Directors and as President of the International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM Society) we would like to express our most heartfelt condolences to all the people of Türkiye and Syria, as well as to our members, who have lost family members, friends and colleagues to the catastrophic magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes on 6 February 2023.

The IDRiM Society has come a long way, advancing research and practice on integrated disaster risk management for over two decades. In August 2006, we held the IIASA-DPRI Forum on Integrated Disaster Risk Management in Istanbul, demonstrating that Türkiye was already an important partner in efforts towards disaster risk reduction. While there is a wealth of knowledge and advanced technologies available for earthquake risk reduction, the disastrous events of 6 February demonstrate once more that much remains to be done. As stated in our Strategic Plan, “only an integrated approach to disaster risk management, that accounts for complexity in the risks and their drivers,” including “economic and social vulnerability,” can provide “effective and implementable solutions to their reduction.” There will be many lessons to be learned from the earthquake, including how to ensure that those lessons get implemented.

Let us work together, at all levels, from the local to the international, to identify key areas of research and implementation needed for more effective disaster risk reduction.

Sincerely,

Ana Maria Cruz
President
On behalf of the IDRiM Board of Directors