Action on Natural Disasters (AND)

The focus for the last cohort of the Action on Natural Disasters (AND) programme was earthquake-induced landslides in Nepal. Landslides are a perennial hazard in Nepal that pose a particular challenge to post-earthquake disaster response. The cohort comprised four PhD research projects, all of which sought to learn from the 2015 earthquakes and build upon ongoing and existing long-term research and collaborations in Nepal. The projects were designed to address pressing questions around landslide risk, use new and innovative approaches, and brought together supervisory teams from multiple disciplines, including Earth Science, Geography, Engineering, Psychology and Philosophy at Durham University. 

All projects involved an element of fieldwork within Nepal and time on placements to work with local partner organisations to maximise the quality and utility of the research. The projects also sought to benefit directly those at risk from future natural hazards, working at the community level where it was appropriate and developing outputs that were applicable in Nepal and beyond. The projects brought together students from a range of backgrounds, who interacted to build a body of research that aimed to reduce landslide risk in Nepal and beyond.