The 2nd National Digital Disaster Reduction Conference was held in Xi’an, China on 25 April 2026, under the theme “Digital Disaster Reduction for Safe Cities”. Hosted by the Committee on Digital Disaster Reduction of the Chinese National Committee for the International Society for Digital Earth, and organized by Chang’an University and the State Key Laboratory of Loess Sciences, the event brought together more than 200 experts, researchers and practitioners from universities, institutes and government agencies.
Against rising climate extremes and compound disaster risks, the conference highlighted how big data, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, digital twin and BeiDou technologies can strengthen monitoring, early warning, risk assessment and emergency response for urban resilience. Distinguished speakers included Academician Li Shutao of Chang’an University, Academician Huang Jianping of Lanzhou University, Prof. Shan Xinjian of the Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, and Prof. Saini Yang, IRDR’s Executive Director.
Presentations covered the formation of heavy rainfall belts in northern China, satellite Earth observation, geodetic techniques for seismic and geological hazards, and AI enabled intelligent prevention of small and medium scale geo hazards. Parallel sessions addressed resilient cities, satellite supported flood and drought defense, seismic and geological hazard monitoring, multi hazard cascade risk assessment, multi modal digital DRR, and smart disaster prevention.
In line with IRDR’s mission to advance integrated, science based disaster risk reduction, the conference strengthened interdisciplinary and cross sectoral collaboration, linking cutting edge digital innovations to local risk governance and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. It provided a key platform for translating risk data into actionable solutions for safer, more resilient cities in China and beyond.
This conference supports IRDR’s global efforts to strengthen digital and data driven approaches for local risk reduction and sustainable development.
