International Symposium “Multiple and Cascading Hazards at Snow-Covered Active Volcanoes: Hazards, Risk Assessments and Future Mitigation” Held in Niigata
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On July 12, 2026, the Research Institute for Natural Hazards and Disaster Recovery, Niigata University, hosted the international symposium “Multiple and Cascading Hazards at Snow-Covered Active Volcanoes: Hazards, Risk Assessments and Future Mitigation” at Art Hotel Niigata. The symposium was also supported by the Volcanological Society of Japan, the Japanese Society of Snow and Ice, the Geological Society of Japan, the Japan Association for Quaternary Research, and the Sedimentological Society of Japan. A total of 73 people participated, including 19 participants from Japan and 54 from overseas.
The symposium aimed to deepen understanding of the multiple and cascading hazards triggered by snow- and ice-melt and rain during and after eruptions at snow-covered and glacial volcanoes. It also provided an opportunity to discuss hazard processes, risk assessment, and future mitigation strategies for regions with snow-covered active volcanoes. The year 2026 marks the centenary of the 1926 Taisho lahar at Tokachidake Volcano in Hokkaido, offering a timely opportunity to reconsider the lessons of snowmelt-induced lahars and preparedness for future volcanic disasters.
Five invited speakers from Japan and overseas participated in the symposium: Aldo Martín Umazano of the National University of La Pampa, Argentina “Logjam dynamics and catastrophic sedimentation in fluvial systems: historical lessons from Chaitén Volcano and the Blanco River, Southern Chile”; Violchen Andrea Sepúlveda of the Chilean Geological Survey (SERNAGEOMIN) “Geological hazards and disaster risk management in the Los Lagos Region, Southern Chile: Cascading geological hazards and risk management challenge”; Andrew Russell, Emeritus Professor at Newcastle University, UK “Volcanically generated outburst floods in iceland: processes, impacts and hazards”; Kae Tsunematsu of Yamagata University “Numerical modeling of gravity currents on snow-clad volcanoes: avalanche, slush flows, snowmelt-induced lahars”; and Christopher Conway of the Geological Survey of Japan, AIST “Landforms and hazards created by interactions between eruptions and ice/snow at arc volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean”.
Researchers from the institute also presented studies on the distribution of snow water equivalent at Niigata-Yakeyama Volcano and Osorno Volcano in southern Chile, as well as rheological measurements of tephra–snow–water mixtures. A poster session provided additional opportunities for participants to share their research and exchange ideas.
Through the invited lectures, poster presentations, and general discussion, the symposium facilitated the exchange of interdisciplinary knowledge with the key concept of “cascading hazards” in snow-covered active volcanic regions. It provided a valuable forum for strengthening research networks and for developing future international collaborative research on multiple and cascading hazards and disaster mitigation in snow-covered volcanic regions.
Lecture by Prof. Umazano
Conference venue and audiences
Panel discussion by invited speakers
Poster presentation
Group photo of invited speakers and faculty members of the institute