MAKEWAVES consortium honoured with 2024 Hamaguchi Award for tsunami and coastal disaster resilience

Represented by Rossetto, who is Professor of Earthquake Engineering in UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, the MAKEWAVES team accepted the 2024 Hamaguchi Award award in Tokyo from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT). 

Professor Tiziana Rossetto expressed the consortium's honour at receiving the award during a milestone year: 

It is an incredible honour for our consortium to receive the Hamaguchi Award in this particular year, marking the 20th anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, a tragedy that profoundly shaped our commitment to tsunami resilience research. Our work and its impact would not have been possible without the diverse skills and dedication of all UK and international MAKEWAVES partners.

The MAKEWAVES Consortium includes experts from institutions such as UCL, HR Wallingford, London South Bank University, and Arup. Originally established by Professors Tiziana Rossetto and Ian Eames (UCL EPICentre), Professor William Allsop, and Dr Ian Chandler (HR Wallingford), Visiting Professor Ziggy Lubkowski (Arup), and Dr David McGovern and Keith Adams (London South Bank University), the consortium has since expanded to include members from the Universities of Southampton, Plymouth, Imperial College London, Naples Federico II, TU Delft, and the Technical University of Athens. Furthermore, MAKEWAVES has collaborated extensively with Japan’s Tohoku University following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, advancing tools and standards used globally.

Professor Andy Nisbet, Interim Dean of UCL’s Faculty of Engineering Sciences, also commented on the award:

We are delighted that the significant impact that the MAKEWAVES consortium has had on tsunami resilience has been recognised by the award of the highly prestigious Hamaguchi Award, and we are very proud of Professor Tiziana’s leadership and the involvement of colleagues across the UCL Faculty of Engineering Sciences in this global consortium.

The Hamaguchi Award is named after 19th-century Japanese leader Hamaguchi Goryō, who is remembered for guiding his village to safety from a tsunami. The award was established in 2016 in conjunction with the UN’s “World Tsunami Awareness Day,” celebrating advances in coastal resilience and disaster awareness. 

The 2024 Hamaguchi Award recognises the MAKEWAVES team’s dedication to prevent future tragedies like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. On December 6, 2024, the consortium will gather at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in London for a half-day symposium commemorating the 20th anniversary of this event, where many MAKEWAVES contributors will present their insights and advancements in tsunami and coastal disaster resilience.

We’re thrilled to have our work recognised with this award by the Japanese government. It’s amazing to know that we are making a real difference to the lives of people who live with the threat of tsunamis. – Dr Ian Chandler, Principal Engineer, HR Wallingford.

Since 2014, the MAKEWAVES consortium has endeavoured to understand these destructive waves, converting that knowledge to building guidelines and standards to try and save lives. – Dr David McGovern, Senior Lecturer at London South Bank University

Receiving the Hamaguchi Award for 2024 is a recognition of over 10 years of work, the vision of David and Professor Tiziana Rossetto at UCL, and our partners at HR Wallingford. – Dr Keith Adams, Lecturer at London South Bank University.

This award acknowledges the contributions of a team of academic and industry experts in advancing understanding of tsunami loading and the social impacts that followed the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. – Marco Baiguera, Visiting Academic, Southampton University and former Research Fellow at UCL

The research, collaboration, and engagement have been a journey of growth and enlightenment. It has allowed Arup to provide our clients with more resilient solutions through a better understanding of tsunami processes and impacts. – Ziggy Lubkowski, Arup

Hamaguchi led his village to safety following the 1854 Ansei-Nankai earthquake and tsunami. It has been a privilege to be part of the MAKEWAVES tsunami research team and to follow in Hamaguchi’s footsteps, striving to improve the safety and resilience of coastal communities. – Cels Jonas, UCL PhD candidate

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