Dear Colleagues:

On behalf of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) Forensic Investigations of Disasters (FORIN) project, it gives us great pleasure to welcome you to the new IRDR FORIN listserv!

This discussion forum, within the wider IRDR FORIN community of practice (CoP), will serve as an interactive virtual community for those utilising the FORIN template to uncover the deeper and underlying causes of disasters. As the web-based presence for this growing methodology within the disaster risk reduction field, the IRDR FORIN listserv specifically, and the FORIN CoP in general, will provide the avenue to share FORIN news, proposals, results, and ideas and facilitate the community’s growth through the addition of new researchers interested in utilising the FORIN methodology in their own research.

FORIN, a project of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme, aims to develop a set of case studies of recent disasters that will investigate the underlying causes of disaster losses in order to improve understanding and awareness that can lead to improved disaster risk reduction and prevention. Many of the project’s attributes have already been described in its project report, Forensic Investigations of Disasters: The FORIN Project (IRDR FORIN Publication No. 1).

As the body of case studies grows it will become possible to draw general conclusions and present evidence to support improved disaster risk management. A growing number of scholars and institutions are now using and helping to further develop the FORIN approach in their research. These include the STREVA Project on volcanic hazards and disasters, based in the United Kingdom, and the forensic work of the Centre for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM) in Germany, and much more. The community is growing!

This is an exciting new phase in the IRDR programme, and we welcome your full participation on the IRDR FORIN listserv to encourage the continued growth of this community. Please consider sharing this announcement with those in your networks who may be interested.

Yours Sincerely,

Ian Burton & Anthony Oliver-Smith
Co-Chairs
FORIN Project