The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) initiative aims to develop a global model of earthquake risk as an open source, community-driven project. In order to begin this in a structured way, a number of global components that cover the scientific modules of the model have been defined, and requests for proposals have been released, inviting international consortia to bid and lead these projects. The consortia leading these global components define standards and best practice related to the methodologies used in seismic hazard and risk assessment and in particular the collection and storage of data needed therein. This chapter introduces these global components and describes an open source software and risk assessment platform, OpenQuake, that is being developed to provide access to and community interaction with the proposed data and tools.

The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) initiative aims to develop a global model of earthquake risk as an open source, community-driven project. In order to begin this in a structured way, a number of Global Components that cover the scientific modules of the model have been defined, and Requests for Proposals have been released, requesting international consortia to bid to lead these projects. Within the risk domain, 5 Global Components have been identified, with the following objectives: GEM Ontology and Taxonomy: to define the framework for calculating seismic risk and classify the components therein. Global Earthquake Consequences Database: to collect post-earthquake data such as loss of life, injuries, damage and economic loss into a common web-based repository. Global Exposure Database: to construct a global building and population inventory. Global Vulnerability Estimation Methods: to define levels of damage and loss as a function of ground motion intensity, for a global taxonomy of buildings. Inventory Data Capture Tools: to support the population of the exposure and consequences databases through innovative open-source tools. The consortia leading these global components will be required to define standards and best practice related to the methodologies used in seismic risk assessment and in particular the collection and storage of data needed therein. This chapter introduces these risk global components and describes the open source software and development platform that is being developed to provide access to and community interaction with the proposed data and tools.