At the end of June 2016 members of the Israeli research team from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem visited IRIDes at Tohoku University, Sendai.

This was the first meeting between the two research groups and an opportunity for both sides to get to learn about mutual capabilities and tools.  
Over the course of the year each group will work separately on developing the various components of the DIM2SEA model. Meetings will be held bi-annually in Japan and Israel alternately. 

The visit to Sendai enabled the teams to experience first hand the earthquake and tsunami disaster sites of 2011. They visited an area that used to be a huge pine forest where only one tree survived and what used to be the crisis management department to the town of Minamisanriku - a three storey building that saved the lives of 10 people, one of them was the town mayor. The teams also saw the new protection barrier that is being built along the eastern shoreline.

The next meeting between the teams will be held in Jerusalem and will include a scientific workshop in which research progress will be presented to a group of international experts. 

For more photos from the visit click here