Institute prepares China for future natural disasters

Sichuan province, which was hit by a devastating earthquake on May 12, 2008, is home to China's first institute for disaster management - aiming to improve scientific understanding and the country's reconstruction capacity in the event of natural disasters.

The Wenchuan earthquake, as it is known, killed more than 69,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands more.

By the following month, work to develop the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction had begun, with a focus on disaster prevention, mitigation and reconstruction as well as medical treatment, building design and disaster management science.