International collaboration vital in reducing impact of natural disasters

The Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which begins on Saturday in Sendai, north Japan, is a landmark event, write Julian Hunt and Joy Pereira for the Guardian. As part of this process, they hope the meeting will initiate international collaboration into better understanding and prediction of earthquakes.

The authors present Malaysia as a potential model for what could be achieved, describing a science platform that has brought together multiple agencies and scientists from multidisciplinary backgrounds to support the National Security Council with the focus to seek a holistic solution for the hazards that will affect the country in a changing climate.