From September 11 to 16, 2025, the 2nd International Conference on Smart Informatics and Multi-hazard Reduction opened in Chengdu. The theme of this conference is "Empowering Resilience: Transferring Technologies into Solutions for Effective Disaster Risk Reduction".

On the morning of September 12, the 2nd International Conference on Smart Informatics and Multi-hazard Reduction (SIMR 2025) grandly kicked off at the main venue of the State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection, Chengdu University of Technology. With the theme of "Empowering Resilience: Transferring Technologies into Solutions for Effective Disaster Risk Reduction", this conference brought together more than 200 experts, scholars, representatives of international organizations and industry leaders in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation from over 20 countries and regions around the world. They conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as the cutting-edge applications and future development directions of emerging technologies in multi-hazard risk assessment, interdisciplinary collaboration paths and disaster reduction management.    

This conference was hosted by the State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection of our university, and co-organized by Loughborough University in the United Kingdom and Zhengzhou University. The conference was presided over by Fan Xuanmei, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection.

▲Fan Xuanmei presiding over the opening ceremony of the conference

At the opening ceremony, President Xu Qiang, on behalf of the conference organizing committee and the university, extended a warm welcome to the academicians, experts, leaders and guests present. He reviewed the core purpose of the SIMR conference, shared the university's scientific research accumulation and major achievements in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation and geological engineering, introduced the agenda of this conference, and expressed a firm willingness to further strengthen international cooperation and jointly respond to global disaster risks.   

▲Xu Qiang delivering a welcome speech

Soichiro Yasukawa, the Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Unit at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Shinji Sassa, Executive Director of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), Vassilis Marinos, President of the International Association of Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG), and Yang Saini, Executive Director of the International Science Programme on Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) cosponsored by the International Science Council (ISC) - United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), congratulated the conference on its opening. They expressed their expectation that the SIMR conference, as a bridge and link, would help strengthen international cooperation and jointly address global disaster challenges.

▲Soichiro Yasukawa delivering a speech

▲Shinji Sassa delivering a speech

▲Vassilis Marinos delivering a speech

▲Yang Saini delivering a speech

Professor Liang Qiuhua from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, on behalf of the conference organizing committee, reported on the preparation progress and agenda design of SIMR 2025. According to the introduction, the academic arrangement of this conference has both "breadth" and "depth": 2 pre-conference training courses focusing on "Application of Disaster Risk Reduction Data Policies" and "Practice of High-performance Flood Simulation and Risk Assessment" respectively; during the conference, there will be 12 keynote reports, 38 special invited reports and 78 oral reports, covering 10 thematic areas such as "Disaster Processes and Field Observations", "Big Data and Artificial Intelligence for Disaster Reduction", "Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience"; in addition, 14 posters will be displayed centrally outside the main venue, and the field investigation route of "Luding Hydropower Station - Moxi Platform Landslide Investigation" will provide participants with typical cases for on-site research.

▲Liang Qiuhua introducing the preparation work

During the 5-day conference, 12 internationally renowned scholars including He Manchao, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Reinhard Hinkelmann from the Technical University of Berlin in Germany, and Professor Joshua West from the University of Southern California in the United States will deliver wonderful keynote reports. With cutting-edge insights and innovative practices, they will lead the future of disaster reduction. The content covers multiple fields such as earthquake prediction, marine disasters, engineering geology applications, social impact assessment of climate events, glacial debris flows, disaster chains and international cooperation, contributing "top-tier wisdom" to global smart reduction of multi-hazards.

▲Group photo

The International Conference on Smart Informatics and Multi-hazard Reduction (SIMR) was launched in 2023, co-initiated by our university and Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. Since its launch, the conference has quickly become an important exchange mechanism in the field of global smart reduction of multi-hazards. It is committed to integrating information-based and intelligent technologies with traditional disaster reduction practices, promoting the paradigm transformation of risk management, and aiming to provide an international platform and forum for global scholars to discuss the development and application of emerging smart information technologies, and support the construction of global disaster reduction collaboration capabilities and open research.