Regional Programme for the Caribbean

From 2009 onwards various activities have been undertaken to inform relevant stakeholders in the Caribbean of GEM:

  • On 30 July 2010 Tony Gibbs of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) delivered an address on GEM to over 70 senior engineers from a variety of countries (mostly IStructE Council Members)
  • On 20 September 2010 Tony Gibbs presented GEM to a small group of members of IStructE in Jamaica
  • On 15 October 2010 the Institution of Structural Engineers (Caribbean Division) hosted a presentation of the GEM project in Trinidad. Presenters included Anthony Farrell and Tony Gibbs of IStructE and Richard Robertson the of the Seismic Research Centre. Over 60 engineers, architects and insurance personnel from Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana attended.
  • On 21/22 March 2011 Tony Gibbs presented GEM at the Caribbean Construction Forum on the Reconstruction of Haiti, taking place in Trinidad. The event was jointly sponsored by the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC) and the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Operations Manager and Kick-Off Workshop
Following these meetings and presentations, Dr Myron Chin was appointed as Operations Manager to coordinate the setup of a Regional Programme. A large kick-off workshop was held in May 2011, hosted by the University of the West Indies, with a view to start the Regional Programme in the region. The workshop featured participation of over 70 individuals (experts and stakeholders) and led to the formation of the following working groups. The groups are now working on their planning.
Pictures of the workshop can be viewed below. To download the presentations that were given, visit the dedicated website of the Seismic Research Centre at the UWI, Trinidad & Tobago.

Contact Details
The Operations Manager of the GEM Regional Programme (RP) for the Caribbean is Dr. Myron Chin.

In order to get in touch with the GEM RP for the Caribbean, please send emails to gemcaribbean[at]uwiseismic.com.

Working Groups
Currently seven working groups have been formed, which focus on different aspects of Hazard and Risk Assesment for the region. In some cases the region also includes Central America.

HAZARD
Overall coordinator: Dr Walter Salazar

Working Group 1: Active Faults
Working Group 2: Seismicity (instrumental and historical)
Working Group 3: PSHA and GMPEs for the Carribean and Central American region
Working Group 4: Site Effects

RISK
Overall coordinator: Dr Myron Chin

Working Group 5: Exposure
- Subgroup A: Building Codes
- Subgroup B: Critical Facilities
- Subgroup C: Retrofitting
- Subgroup D: Expert Judgement
- Subgroup E: Building Inventory
- Subgroup F: Databases
Working Group 6: Vulnerability
- Subgroup A: Effectiveness of Compliance Mechanisms
Working Group 7: Socio-Economic Impact
- Subgroup A: Disaster Financing
- Subgroup B: Valuation real estate
- Subgroup C: Education and Outreach

A detailed overview of the project leaders and participants:

HAZARD

Working Group 1: Active Faults
Project Leader = Rafi Ahmed (Mona Geoinformatics, UWI Mona, Jaimaca)

  • Franck Audemard and Luz Rodríguez (FUNVISIS, Venezuela)
  • Lyndon Brown (Earthquake Unit, UWI Mona, Jaimaca)
  • Wayne Adams (Jamaica)
  • Barbara Carby (DRRC, UWI Mona, Jamaica)
  • Joan Latchman (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)
  • Enrique Arango (CENAIS, Cuba)
  • Jillian StBernard (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)

Working Group 2: Seismicity (Instrumental and Historical)
Project Leader = Lloyd Lynch and Joan Latchman (SRC, UWI, Trinidad)

  • Dario Slejko, Julio García (OGS, Italy)
  • Herbert Rendón and Leonardo Alvarado (FUNVISIS, Venezuela)
  • Walter Salazar (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)
  • Bladimir Moreno (CENAIS, Cuba)
  • Alia Juman (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)

Working Group 3: PSHA and GMPEs for the Caribbean and Central American region
Project Leader = Walter Salazar (SRC, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)

  • Dario Slejko, Julio García (OGS, Italy)
  • Carlo Lai, Elisa Zuccolo, Francesca Bozzoni (Eucentre, Italy)
  • Herbert Rendón, Oscar Andrés López and Jorge González (FUNVISIS, Venezuela)
  • Derek Gay (Department of Civil Engineering, UWI, Trinidad)
  • Lyndon Brown (Earthquake Unit, UWI Mona, Jaimaca)
  • Álvaro Climent (ICE, Costa Rica)
  • Leonardo Álvarez (CENAIS, Cuba)
  • Jillian St.Bernard (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)

Working Group 4: Site Effects
Project Leader = Rafi Ahmed (Mona Geoinformatics, UWI Mona, Jamaica)

  • Cecilio Morales and Michael Schmitz (FUNVISIS, Venezuela)
  • Carlo Lai, Elisa Zuccolo, Francesca Bozzoni (Eucentre, Italy)
  • Walter Salazar (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)
  • Leonardo Álvarez (CENAIS, Cuba)

RISK

Working Group 5: Exposure

  • subgroup A Building Codes: Carlos Buron (CECAT, Cuba)
  • subgroup B Critical Facilities: Wayne Adams (Jamaica)
  • subgroup C Retrofitting: Didier Deris (APRM, Martinique)
  • subgroup D Expert Judgement: Anthony Farrell (ISE, Trinidad & Tobago)
  • subgroup E Building Inventory: Kevin Granger (APE, Trinidad&Tobago), Jacob Opadeyi (Department of Geomatics Engineering and Land Management, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago), Jan Vermeiren (KINANCO, USA), Cassandra La Barrie (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago) and Alia Juman (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)
  • subgroup F Databases: Cassandra Rogers (Inter American Development Bank, Barbados)

Working Group 6: Vulnerability
Project Leader (TBC) = Richard Clarke

  • Dave Williams (Ministry of Local Government, Trinidad & Tobago)
  • Allan Stewart (Tobago Emergency Management Agency, Trinidad & Tobago)
  • Grisel Morejón (CENAIS, Cuba)
  • Jillian StBernard (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)
  • Alia Juman (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)

Subgroup A Effectiveness of Compliance Mechanisms
Project Leader = Tony Gibbs (IStructE)

  • Didier Deris (APRM, Martinique)
  • Jan Vermeiren (KINANCO, USA)

Working group 7: Socio-Economic Impact
Subgroup A Disaster Financing
Project Leader = Jan Vermeiren (KINANCO, USA)

  • Cassandra Rogers (Inter American Development Bank, Barbados)
  • Tony Gibbs (IStructE)
  • Fernando Guash (CENAIS, Cuba)

Subgroup B Valuation real-estate
Project Leader = Stacey Edwards (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)

Subgroup C Education and Outreach

  • Ibia Vega (CENAIS, Cuba)
  • Alia Juman (Seismic Research Centre, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago)

Collaborators
Many of the above collaborators and other important stakeholders took part in the kick-off workshop and are depicted in the following photoseries:

GEM Foundation | Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy | info@globalquakemodel.org | Tax Code: 96059180180