Plenary Session
Wednesday, June 17, 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. MDT
Location: Interlocken A/B

Members of this field have long argued that disasters are preventable. But how, in this era of rapidly escalating risk, can we make this a reality? This plenary session will introduce a disaster forensics approach that moves beyond documenting damage to identifying the root causes of disaster. This methodology focuses on the historical, social, political, and economic factors that leave people exposed and vulnerable and, importantly, clarifies practical actions to reduce cumulative and systemic risks. Speakers will describe this collaborative research approach and explain how coalitions of analysts are being trained to carry out these forensic investigations on various disasters around the world.