Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience

We stimulate and support thought and practice around hazard, risk and resilience.

We are transdisciplinary and responsive, drawing on expertise across the physical and social sciences.

We train people to work with complexity and the interrelationships between hazard, risk and resilience.

We directly support and collaborate with governments, communities and NGOs.

We stimulate and support, thought and practice around hazard, risk and resilience.

We draw on our global range and stakeholder engagement to make a real difference to people living with hazard and risk now and in the future.

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Internationally-recognised leaders in developing resilient, research-informed approaches to hazard and risk

We are a world-leading research institute in hazard, risk and resilience based at Durham University. We support innovative research and training for use in policy and practice, collaborating directly with communities, Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and governments.

Our commitment is to work with and learn from the widest possible range of stakeholders living with hazard and risk – empowering people, fostering resilience, and improving lives, both now and in the future. Our success stems from our capacity to approach complex problems holistically, drawing together a transdisciplinary team of experts from across the physical sciences, the social sciences and the humanities.

News

Events

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) can be a key tool in the management of extremes of rainfall, due to their capacity to attenuate and treat surface water. Yet, implementation is a complex process, requiring buy-in from multiple stakeholders. Buy-in is often undermined by a lack of practical evidence and monitoring of implemented SuDS. In this paper, we present a collaborative case study between a local authority, university and the UK Environment Agency. This partnership approach enabled the installation of SuDS and monitoring equipment to address surface runoff in the north east of England. Ultrasonic sensors were installed in the drainage network to evaluate the attenuation of surface water. SuDS were installed during an atypically wet spring, followed by a hot and dry summer, providing a range of conditions to assess their performance. Results demonstrate that there was a statistically significant difference in the detected flow level in manholes downstream of the SuDS interventions. Several challenges occurred, from signal obstacles in wireless telecommunication services, to logistical constraints of installing sensors in the drainage network, and issues with the adoption of property level SuDS. These issues require further research. Qualitative support for partnership working was crucial to increase the capacity for delivering SuDS. To ensure the success of future schemes and likelihood of SuDS uptake, partnership working and engaging with communities is vital. View Full-Text

(12 Nov 2020)

Giving women a voice in disaster risk reduction

Dr Hanna Ruszczyk, IHRR Postdoctoral Research Associate and NSET Nepal have had a paper published which is based on years of collaboration. Click here for more insights.

(10 Sep 2020)