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  • ARMENIA PSHA MODELLING | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects ARMENIA PSHA MODELLING Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment for the Republic of Armenia Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Anchor 1 Background This project responds to a World Bank request for a probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for the Republic of Armenia. The goal of this study is to better understand the existing seismic hazard information in the country, and to provide an updated hazard model. The GEM Hazard Team supports all aspects of the model development, and in the running of the analyses with the OpenQuake engine. Duration: 2017 Objectives Probabilistic seismic hazard models, such as this model for the Republic of Armenia, can be used as a rigorous and robust basis for the design of a national disaster risk financing and insurance strategy. Collaborators Verisk (AIR Worldwide), GEM Foundation, Georisk Scientific Research Company Funding partner: World Bank Group Location Armenia

  • WESTERN BALKANS CCDR | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects WESTERN BALKANS CCDR Input to World Banks' Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) for Western Balkans Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Anchor 1 Background As part of the World Bank Groups' Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs), the GEM Foundation and JBA Risk Management are working together to provide current (2021) and future (2050) earthquake and flood risk assessment for 6 West Balkans countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The GEM Risk Team is providing the exposure database (property and population data) for both the flood and seismic risk assessment for six Western Balkan countries at the lowest administrative level, using both existing datasets for 2021 and socio-economic projections for forecasted exposure to 2050. Seismic hazard and risk assessment for the current and future exposure is also being undertaken with the OpenQuake engine, leading to average annual losses and losses for specific return periods for each country. Duration: 2023 Objectives The World Bank is preparing the Country Climate and Development Report for the Western Balkans. The CCDR aims to inform policy dialogue and engagement with governments. This provides an opportunity to carry out several analytical pieces, including in the area of Disaster Risk Management, bringing together existing knowledge on the economic and social impacts of disasters and climate change, and delivering new analytical insights to support policy recommendations. Collaborators JBA Risk Management, GEM Foundation Funding partner: World Bank Group Locations Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

  • READY2RESPOND | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects READY2RESPOND Rapid Diagnostic in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Anchor 1 Background Ready2Respond (R2R) is a rapid diagnostic guide, designed to improve national, sub-national and city resilience mechanisms and to protect development gains through investments in emergency preparedness and response systems. It is informed by the World Bank Group (WBG) City Resilience Program (CRP) and other WBG resilience platforms. In this project R2R is applied to the Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh states in the Himalayan region of India. The GEM Risk Team contributes to the project by providing: Literature review and stakeholder mapping around hazard and risk initiatives, risk data and models for both states Provision of seismic hazard/risk model outputs and related descriptive information for both states (to support diagnostic activities) Review of legal regulation of the built environment and associated initiatives Review of seismic preparedness of the critical infrastructure defined in the project Preparation and remote input into stakeholder workshops Duration: 2023 Objectives This project responds to the need to provide effective and comprehensive diagnosis of the Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh states’ emergency preparedness and response systems in the Himalayan region of India. This enables the World Bank and the government to tailor investments to strengthen institutional capacity and capability, ensure public safety, and limit economic disruption in the face of multiple, and often cascading, geological and hydrometeorological hazards. Collaborators GEM Foundation, JBA Consulting, Geo Climate Risk Solutions (GCRS) Funding partner: World Bank Group Location India Himalayas

  • METIS | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects METIS Methods and Tools Innovation for Seismic Risk Assessment Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Outcomes Training Outreach Photos Publications Anchor 1 Background GEM is set to start a 3-year project called METIS or Methods and Tools Innovation for Seismic Risk Assessment funded by the European Commission. The project is part of the Safety margins determination for design basis-exceeding external hazards program. Electricite De France (EDF), a GEM technical collaborator, is coordinating the project which will be implemented in collaboration with 14 other organizations. GEM will contribute to the task on seismic hazard assessment and on PSA Tools and Methodology. In the hazard task, GEM will implement into the OQ Engine methods such as vector-valued probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), cluster-based PSHA as well as new methods to propagate epistemic uncertainties. Research will also be carried out in the context of processing earthquake catalogues to remove aftershocks and foreshocks and on testing PSHA models. GEM’s contribution to the PSA Tools and Methodology will concentrate on testing risk results. Duration: 2020 - 2025 More details: https://metis-h2020.eu/ Objectives The objective of METIS is to translate research into practice through rigorous and efficient methodologies and tools to assess seismic safety of NPP (nuclear power plants). It also aims to innovate current practice by combining simulation with experimental data. The research will develop methods to improve the ability to define safety limits for extremely rare events, which go beyond current design analyses (i.e. design extension for earthquakes). The refined seismic PSA (probabilistic safety assessment) is expected to provide meaningful support in defining regulations for safe design of NPP, as well as for assessing plant safety in real-time in case of temporary unavailability of relevant safety equipment or structures. Collaborators Edf Energy R&D UK Centre Limited - United Kingdom Limited Liability Company Energorisk - Ukraine Helmholtz Zentrum Potsdam Deutschesgeoforschungszentrum Gfz - Germany Geodynamique Et Structure - France Institut De Radioprotection Et De Surete Nucleaire - France Istituto Universitario Di Studi Superiori Di Pavia - Italy Lgi Consulting - France National Technical University of Athens – NTUA - Greece State Enterprise State Scientific and Technical Center For Nuclear And Radiation Safety - Ukraine Technische Universitat Kaiserslautern - Germany Univerza V Ljubljani - Slovenia Geo-Research Institute - Japan North Carolina State University - United States The Regents of The University Of California - United States Location Europe Horizon 2020 METIS Project fact sheet EdF and GEM METIS project collaboration from 2020 to 2024. New Horizon 2020 project launched to develop an advanced approach for Seismic Risk Assessment of Nuclear Power Plants

  • SARA Project | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects SARA Project South American Risk Assessment (SARA) Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Outcomes Training Outreach Photos Publications Anchor 1 Overview South America incorporates some of the most seismically active regions on the planet, where the South American subduction zone generates the forces to create the Andes Mountains and drives the occurrence of destructive earthquakes across Chile, western Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. In turn, the high vulnerability of many structures and the high population density of the main cities are factors that contribute to the region’s high seismic risk. In the last two decades alone, over 3,000 fatalities have been reported, and the economic losses have exceeded 30 billion USD (EM-DAT, www.emdat.be ). While expert capabilities exist in these countries to assess earthquake risk, the information, infrastructure, tools, and collaboration networks necessary to develop comprehensive knowledge among scientists and engineers and to move this knowledge into the mainstream of disaster risk reduction activities has been lacking. Objectives The approach is to bring together international best practice tools and methodologies with local expertise and knowledge needed to establish local ownership and define risk assessment objectives and priorities. GEM Foundation combined these elements and focused on developing local capacities across sectors (academic, public and private), across technical disciplines (e.g., hazard, risk, IT), and through the implementation of disaster risk reduction policies and programs. The program of capacity development was initiated in 2013 with the South America Risk Assessment (SARA) Project to bring experts, institutions, and stakeholders from 7 countries to develop a regional assessment of earthquake hazard and risk. GEM provided its OpenQuake earthquake hazard and risk analysis software and other tools and databases freely and openly to all participants. More than 50 of the region’s experts across 17 institutions collaborated to produce critical data sets, develop common approaches, and develop open-source tools for both data collection and interpretation. Collaborators The SARA Project, completed in December 2015, provided the foundation for formal and informal collaborations at many levels and for many purposes. GEM subsequently developed formal partnerships across public and private sectors (e.g., SuraAmerica Insurance, the Geological Survey of Colombia, EcoPetrol), academic partnerships (e.g., EAFIT Univ, Univ del Norte, Univ Catolica Chile), non-profits (e.g., OSSO), and most recently, with municipal governments (Cali, Colombia and Quito, Ecuador), for urban risk assessments. (complete list ) Location Andean Region (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina) Introduction The project was carried out by experts and institutions from the region using to the extent possible open data sets, methodologies and tools such as GEM’s new open source software, the OpenQuake Engine and other OpenQuake tools. The project revolved around 5 modules: hazard, exposure and physical vulnerability, socio-economic vulnerability and resilience, loss estimates and city scenarios. The modules were carried out by a variety of experts/scientists from the region , in collaboration with the project coordinators and, where relevant, the GEM Secretariat. 1. Seismic hazard In early 2013 the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) published seven Requests for Proposal covering topics related to the compilation of basic datasets as well as the creation and calculation of an updated probabilistic seismic hazard input model for South America. Five consortia of South American researchers responded to this request and submitted proposals, which were reviewed in an initial stage by scientists working at the GEM Secretariat, and successively discussed in a meeting in Bogota held in December 2013 at the “Servicio Geologico Colombiano”. 2. Exposure and Physical Vulnerability Development of exposure datasets and vulnerability functions for South America at regional, national and/or sub-national levels have been considered. Modelling of exposure and physical vulnerability in the most earthquake prone countries is the main goal in the first stage of the project. 3. Social Vulnerability and Resilience The social vulnerability component of SARA comprises the development of composite indicators of social vulnerability and resilience along with their robustness testing and validation. The objective is to provide tools and information useful for understanding the potential effects of earthquakes in communities of South America. 4. National and subnational estimation of losses An open and transparent seismic risk assessment for the Andean countries has been performed. A probabilistic approach was followed for the calculation of risk metrics, that includes average annual economic and human loss maps, mean loss exceedance curves per country, and statistics that reveal which building classes are most vulnerable to earthquakes. 5. City Scenarios Following the objectives of SARA, the development of city scenarios is crucial for planning risk management strategies in cities with larger concentration of population and exposed to significant hazard. In this sense, the GEM Secretariat has been seeking collaborations with research groups and governmental stakeholders that will be the end users of case studies in Lima (Peru), Quito (Ecuador), Medellín (Colombia), Iquique, Osorno and Rancagua (Chile). Capacity development and institutional strengthening To promote sustainability, SARA’s work included the following: capacity development and institutional strengthening, and stakeholder engagement. The outcomes of activities in these areas are described below. A blog by Carlos Costa featuring the SARA project workshop in Chile 2014. [News ] A wiki project website containing technical information about the SARA project. [Website ] BUSINESS NEWS Quito workshops 2015 1/3 BUSINESS NEWS Lima workshops 2015 1/2 SARA Project Executive Summary [PDF ] Probabilistic Seismic Risk Assessment Of The Residential Building Stock In South America [PDF ] A conference paper on Building A Ground-Motion Logic Tree For South America Within The Gem-Sara Project Framework [PDF ] SARA (South America Risk Assessment Project Workshop) on “Inventory of Quaternary deformation of South America” [PDF ]

  • SERA Project | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects SERA Project Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe (SERA) Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Anchor 1 Background The Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe (SERA) aims to reduce the risk posed by natural and anthropogenic earthquakes based on innovative research and development projects. SERA will significantly improve the access to data, services and research infrastructures for scientists and other professionals. GEM's contributions focus on taxonomy and exposure of residential, commercial and industrial buildings in Europe; physical vulnerability assessment for buildings; integrated earthquake risk analysis using the risk assessment framework and OpenQuake software established by the Global Earthquake Model. SERA is a Horizon 2020-supported programme responding to the priorities identified in the topic INFRAIA-01-2016-2017 ‘Integrating Activities for Advanced Communities’. SERA involves 31 partners and 8 linked third parties in Europe. It started in May 2017 and will last for three years. Objectives The EUCENTRE-SERA project is collaborating closely with the GEM Foundation (Global Earthquake Model) to: develop a European Risk Modelling framework that brings together the strengths of previous projects such as SHARE, NERA and fills in the research gaps; integrate knowledge and data from other SERA working packages; and build on the risk assessment framework and software developed by GEM. SERA is engaging 31 partners from 16 European countries. They all have leading expertise in the operation of experimental facilities, monitoring infrastructures, and data repositories in the fields of seismology, anthropogenic hazards or earthquake engineering. (complete list ) Location Europe EM-SERA OpenQuake Training in Istanbul, Turkey SERA European Building Exposure Workshop: From European Hazard to Risk

  • GEORGIA DRR | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects GEORGIA DRR Capacity building to understand and take action on seismic risks in Georgia Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Anchor 1 Background This project aims to enhance the understanding of earthquake impacts in Georgia and to address the following two challenges: i. The lack of understanding of potential earthquake risk and the impact on people, infrastructure and the economy at large; and ii. the lack of efforts to reduce the vulnerability of existing infrastructure, particularly critical emergency response infrastructure. The project is divided into 5 tasks, with the GEM Risk Team contributing to all tasks, with a specific emphasis on developing exposure models, identifying vulnerability models and running the probabilistic seismic risk assessment with the OpenQuake engine: Task 1 – Project Inception Task 2 – Preparation of Input Data & Development of Input Models Task 3 – Seismic Risk Analysis Task 4 – Recommendations on Risk Reduction Strategy Task 5 – Capacity Building Workshops Duration: 2020-2021 Objectives The objective of this project is to provide greater insight to the World Bank into the exposure of Georgia’s emergency response sectors to earthquakes and the potential consequences, as well as strategies to build seismic resilience in these sectors. The findings allow the World Bank to develop recommendations and better advise the Government of Georgia on how to: i. enhance its capacity to plan for future risk reduction investment programs based on a better understanding of earthquake risk in emergency response buildings; ii. develop options for a framework for a future short, medium and long-term intervention strategy; and iii. communicate and build consensus on earthquake risks and potential interventions in key sectors. Collaborators GEM Foundation, Arup, Progress Project LLC, Ilia State University Funding partner: World Bank Group Location Georgia

  • TREAD | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects TREAD daTa and pRocesses in sEismic hAzarD Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Anchor 1 Background GEM is one of the partners of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) funded TREAD project, which involves a consortium of 14 academic institutions and 8 private partners of the highest scientific level from 7 European countries. TREAD will train a new generation of seismic hazard scientists to tackle the challenges of earthquake forecasting in complex tectonic contexts such as the Europe and Mediterranean regions. During the 4 year project GEM will host and supervise two PhD students, one working with the hazard team and the other with the risk team, on the following topics: 1. Modelling distributed seismicity under innovative approaches (under joint supervision with the University of Milano, Bicocca, 2. Assessment of the impact of advanced seismic hazard modelling approaches on earthquake risk (under joint supervision with the University of Chieti-Pescara) More information at https://tread-horizon.eu/ . Duration: 2023-2027 Objectives The aim of TREAD is to train a new generation of seismic hazard scientists to tackle the challenges of earthquake forecasting in complex tectonic contexts such as the Europe and Mediterranean regions. A change of paradigm in seismic hazard is necessary to be able to fully account for the specific properties of earthquake source and seismic modes in those areas. For example, to calculate the probability of having multiple earthquake ruptures, the interaction between active faults across various space-time scales needs to be accounted for, as well as the effects of stress transfer and fault-fluid interaction in earthquake triggering. TREAD objectives are: 1) Developing a novel integrative approach to seismic hazard analysis in Europe and the Mediterranean by bridging the gap from small-scale laboratory experiments to large-scale observations. 2) Establishing physics-based earthquake modelling by linking computational modelling of earthquakes from millions of years to fractions of a second. 3) Transferring earthquake geology and computational modelling to hazard and risk assessment adapted to the needs of government, industry and scientific stakeholders. Collaborators University of Chieti-Pescara, CNRS, University of Utrecht, GEM Foundation, University of Grenoble Alps, Ludwig Maximilians University, University of Barcelona, University of Padova, ETH Zurich, IRSN, OGS, INGV, Ruhr University Bochum, IPGP, Helmholz Centre, Willis, IFP, EDF, University of Milan Bicocca, Munich Re, TNO, Tre Altamira, University D'Aix Marseille Funding partner: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), European Commission Location Pavia, Italy

  • SOLOMON ISLANDS EXPOSURE | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects SOLOMON ISLANDS EXPOSURE Assessing the Risk Exposure of Road Network to Climate and Natural Hazard Risks in Solomon Islands Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Anchor 1 Background This project aims to conduct a robust multi-hazard risk assessment of the road network to climate and natural hazards in the Solomon Islands, both historically and under future climate projections. The project includes three main dimensions: - Characterization of the climate and natural hazards - Physical vulnerability of the road network - Multi-criteria criticality analysis The three main outputs are: - Multi-hazard maps - Road network risk exposure analysis (global risk score) - Identification of "first priority" road segments and estimation of their rehabilitation costs The GEM Hazard Team supports the project by computing seismic hazard maps and uses these to produce maps to classify low to high risks of earthquake hazards, according to their intensity and frequency. Duration: 2021 Objectives Many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share a major common feature: they are among the most exposed nations to natural hazards and climate change. SIDS are also characterized by insularity and geographic remoteness, as well as small geographic area, economies, and population, all of which increase their social and economic vulnerability. This project aims to assist the Solomon Islands to better manage climate and disaster risks by improving the understanding of risk and the use of this information for risk reduction decision-making, and the design and implementation of investments at the provincial and community level. Collaborators GEM Foundation, ARIA Technologies, Actimar, Suez Consulting, Setec Group Funding partner: World Bank Group Location Solomon Islands

  • WFP-ADAM+ | Global Earthquake Model Foundation

    Projects WFP-ADAM+ WFP-ADAM+ Innovation Accelerator Project Versión en español English version Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Overview Anchor 1 Background The World Food Programme (WFP) Innovation Accelerator was established in 2016 to identify, support, and scale innovative solutions that contribute to ending global hunger by 2030. Based in Munich, Germany, the Accelerator provides funding, hands-on support, and access to WFP’s global operations and expert networks to empower WFP teams, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and NGOs worldwide. GEM participated in the Accelerator’s five-day bootcamp, held from November 27–29, 2023, where innovation and humanitarian experts collaborated with start-ups and WFP innovators to address field-level challenges, refine project strategies, and develop scalable solutions. Following this process, GEM successfully secured a place in the Accelerator’s Sprint Programme, a six-month initiative designed to advance innovations from proof of concept to prototype implementation. The bootcamp culminated in GEM’s participation in the WFP Accelerator Pitch Event in February 2024 in Munich, where GEM was selected as one of eight innovations to present its project to WFP senior management and potential funders. Duration: 2024 - 2025 Overall Objective The project aims to integrate GEM’s earthquake risk methodologies and datasets into humanitarian emergency preparedness and response efforts. By leveraging GEM’s expertise, the project seeks to enhance global access to reliable earthquake risk data and post-disaster impact assessments for humanitarian actors. This will be achieved by testing GEM’s models within WFP’s ADAM tool , ensuring they align with humanitarian needs in earthquake-prone regions. Expected Outputs 1. Improved Spatial Risk Assessment for Preparedness Development of high-resolution datasets on building exposure, population demographics (including gender and age groups), and vulnerability indicators. Validation of these datasets through ADAM-Preparedness to enhance the identification of at-risk communities. 2. Enhanced Post-Earthquake Impact Assessments Rapid estimation of affected populations within hours of an earthquake using USGS ground-shaking data integrated with GEM’s exposure and vulnerability layers. A refined impact assessment within 48 hours, leveraging GEM’s full modeling capabilities to estimate damaged buildings, displaced populations, homelessness, and fatalities for improved humanitarian response. Collaborators Coordination World Food Programme Project partner Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation, Italy Funding partner: W orld Food Programme Innovation Accelerator Programme, Munich, Germany Locations Earthquake-prone WFP Countries with initial pilots in Afghanistan, Nepal, Turkey, Syria, Haiti, and the Philippines.

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