News Ten risk profiles for countries in Central Asia and nearby parts of Transcaucasia and South Asia now available By: Dec 6, 2022 Share Facebook LinkedIn The risk profiles were released as part of the outputs of the project “Developing a Disaster Risk Transfer Facility in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Region” supported by the Asian Development Bank. GEM, a member of the consortium of organizations that implemented the project from 2020-2022 provided the exposure and seismic vulnerability data as contributions to the development of disaster risk assessments and modeling in all Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Region (CAREC) countries. The consortium was led by Willis Towers Watson. CAREC member countries face growing levels of disaster risk without sufficient financial protection. The aim of the project was to establish a regional disaster risk transfer facility to promote regional cooperation, help narrow the protection gap and increase the financing available including insurance for quick response to disaster events. GEM, along with JBA Risk also contributed earthquake and flood risk data respectively to the Narrowing the Disaster Risk Protection Gap in Central Asia publication, which explores and examines risks from flooding and earthquakes in CAREC member states to strengthen disaster risk finance and informs the design of a risk transfer facility. The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation or CAREC Program is a partnership of 11 countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, People's Republic of China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), supported by six multilateral institutions, working together to promote development through cooperation, leading to accelerated growth and poverty reduction. The Country Risk Profiles can be downloaded from the CAREC website: https://www.carecprogram.org/?page_id=21&paged=1&title=country%20risk%20profile . No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News GEM-CCARA Project trains participants from Central America on using OpenQuake to assess seismic hazard and risk By: Jul 2, 2018 Share Facebook LinkedIn “OpenQuake is vast, like a new world, so many options, you have to go deep to take advantage of it, “Jose Carlos Gil from the Mariano Galvez University, Guatemala said at the conclusion of the 3-week CCARA training workshop on seismic hazard and risk assessment held in Pavia, Italy from April 20th - May 12th. The CCARA project hosted four participants from South America to introduce seismic hazard and risk assessment using tools developed by GEM – specifically the OpenQuake engine. Other participants shared the same opinion about the OpenQuake engine saying that it’s now very user friendly but to fully benefit from it, they recognized the need to continue using it after the training workshop. They also see further applications of OQ in rural and urban seismic risk assessment citing that improvement in data collection must go hand in hand with the sophisticated software. “I found seismic risk analysis the most interesting topic because you can see the physical and economic results immediately,” a student participant shared. However, all participants agreed that social vulnerability is as important as assessing physical risk and exposure and they are keen to see GEM giving more attention to this area in the future. The workshop culminated with partners from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador presenting their respective exposure models using GEM tools in calculating seismic risk. Overall, participants said they had a wonderful experience, gaining not just new knowledge and skills but also new friends. The Assessing and Mitigating Earthquake Risk in the Caribbean and Central America (CCARA) Project aims to develop capacity in the region of Central America and the Caribbean for earthquake risk assessment by leveraging GEM tools and resources, to enhance the understanding of earthquake risk, and to bridge the gap between risk assessment and disaster risk reduction. The CCARA project, which runs from 2016-2018 is made possible through the support of USAID (From the American people). No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News Fault2SHA 3rd Workshop: Role of scaling laws & fault interaction By: Jul 2, 2018 Share Facebook LinkedIn The event gathered scientists working on earthquake hazards from a variety of perspectives: fault mappers, seismologists, hazard modelers, theoretical geophysicists, and engineers.The presentations by keynote speakers illustrated many challenges in understanding the distribution of earthquakes in time and space. However they also noted that through careful data collection and analysis, progress is being made on important topics such as fault segmentation and earthquake clustering. In addition, the work by the hazard modelers shows that the constantly improving hazard engines such as OpenQuake and skills of the modelers are capable of dealing with the complexities of earthquake occurrence. The group believes that the main challenges in estimating earthquake hazards lie in the scientific rather than technical aspects. Underscoring the value of openness and transparency, Richard Styron, GEM Active Fault Specialist says, “The level of communication and mutual interest was high among participants throughout the workshop, and there is widespread support for the creation of natural laboratories where observational scientists and modelers can share data and ideas, and test hypotheses, in an open and mutually supportive environment.” The FAULT2SHA is a Working Group formally approved by the European Seismological Commission during its 35th General Assembly in September 2016. It is open to all researchers interested in contributing to discussions on topics that could improve the assessment of seismic hazard. For more information, please visit https://fault2shablog.wordpress.com/ . No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News GEM presents the OpenQuake Engine to EDF and CEA scientists and engineers By: Mar 18, 2019 Share Facebook LinkedIn About 10 scientists and engineers from Électricité de France (EDF), a nuclear electric power generation company and France’s Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), participated in the presentation and meeting on GEM's OpenQuake Engine held at the EDF lab - Paris Saclay from February 26 to March 1, 2019. The meeting focused on the description of the main features of the seismic hazard component of the OpenQuake Engine and its potential use for site-specific studies. During the 4-day meeting workshop, the GEM team composed of Marco Pagani, Hazard Team Coordinator and Michele Simionato, Senior OpenQuake Developer described the main tools developed by GEM for the construction of components of a hazard model. The participants provided many useful suggestions on potential improvements to be introduced into the engine. These suggestions as well as other scientific topics will be at the core of the initial collaboration between GEM and EDF/CEA, which proposes to utilize the OpenQuake-engine for research in probabilistic seismic hazard assessment. No images found. GALLERY 1/2 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News Estimating fault slip rates in the Cascadia region of North America using joint geologic-geodetic block modeling By: Jun 3, 2021 Share Facebook LinkedIn Richard Styron, GEM hazard team, was recently invited to present at the Seismological Society of America (SSA) Conference held in April on the ongoing collaborative research between GEM, Natural Resources Canada, and other scientists to study earthquake faults in the northwestern US and western Canada. The authors of the conference paper were Richard Styron, Tiegan Hobbs (Natural Resources Canada), Zach Lifton (Idaho Geological Survey), Nick Harrichhausen (University of California, Santa Barbara) and Murray Journeay (Natural Resources Canada). The project uses a software program developed by Richard called Oiler , that estimates the long-term movement of faults and corresponding production of earthquakes. Oiler uses geodetic (mostly global positioning system or GPS) measurements of the movement of tectonic plates, as well as geologic data such as geologic mapping and paleoseismic studies, to solve for the slip rate (and therefore earthquake production rate) of all faults within a fault network. For this project, the researchers used existing fault data augmented with some new mapping in the US, and completely new mapping of possibly-active faulting in Canada, to build the fault network. Over the next year or two, the researchers hope to be able to incorporate all of this data into a comprehensive database of seismically active faults in order to evaluate the earthquake potential of previously-unstudied faults in western Canada and the northwestern US. Watch Richard’s SSA presentation here. [ VIDEO LINK ] About #SSA2021 Held on 19–23 April 2021, the virtual SSA Annual Meeting featured more than 750 technical presentations, including sessions co-sponsored by the Latin American and Caribbean Seismological Commission and the Seismological Society of China. For more about SSA, visit https://www.seismosoc.org/ . No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

Publications Guidelines for component-based analytical vulnerability assessment of buildings and nonstructural elements Share Facebook LinkedIn Download 2014 | Report A procedure is offered forthe analytical derivation ofthe seismic vulnerability of building classes, that is, probabilistic relationships between shaking and repair cost as a fraction of replacement cost new for a categoryofbuildings.Itsimulatesstructural response,damage,and repaircost for thestructuralandnonstructuralcomponents thatcontributemost toconstructioncost,and thenscalesup results toaccount for the components thatwere not simulated.It does so fora carefully selected sample of building specimens called index buildings whose designs span the domain of up to three features that are believed to most strongly influence seismic vulnerability within the building class. One uses moment matching to combine results for theindexbuildings toestimatebehaviourandvariabilityof thebuildingclass.Onecansimulate non-structuralvulnerabilityalonebyignoringdamageandrepaircostforstructuralcomponents.Theworkis written for a structural engineer with a master’s degree, skilled in structural analysis, but not necessarily experiencedinlossmodelling.

News Canada renews support for GEM as Public Sponsor By: May 21, 2020 Share Facebook LinkedIn The GEM-Canada National Steering Committee led by Natural Resources Canada - with members Public Safety Canada, Insurance Bureau of Canada, Defence Research and Development Canada, the Department of Finance, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, Canadian Institute of Planners, Assembly of First Nations, and the Métis National Council – renews its commitment to support GEM for five years as Public Sponsor. GEM Governing Board officially welcomed Canada as a new member in 2017. The renewed partnership is expected to continue its contribution to the assessment of earthquake risk using OpenQuake in support of disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning in Canada. Sonia Talwar, Geological Survey of Canada, who has replaced Phil Hill as official representative, expressed excitement and is looking forward to a continued fruitful collaboration in the development of GEM’s future tools and risk models for earthquakes and other hazards in Canada. “I am happy to represent Canada in the GEM Governing Board and continue the excellent working relationship that Phil Hill started three years ago. Canada will remain committed in the next five years to support GEM’s vision of a world that is resilient to earthquakes through development and enhancement of hazard and risk models, tools and data that are critical in formulating disaster risk reduction plans and strategies,” Sonia Talwar, Geological Survey of Canada. Sonia was officially welcomed in the governing board meeting held in December 2019 at the GEM headquarters in Pavia, Italy. Phil Hill represented Canada from 2017-2019. His dedication to achieve earthquake risk reduction during his tenure paved the way for a sustained commitment from Canada. “GEM is very pleased to continue our collaborative work with Canada to reduce and manage earthquake risk. We are thankful for the generous support that the government of Canada has committed for the years ahead. This will definitely strengthen our efforts in systemic risk and recovery modelling; and capacity development for integrated assessment and scenario planning,” John Schneider, GEM Secretary General. Under the new agreement, the partnership will deliver a high-resolution profile of earthquake risk in Canada with support for the use of tools and methods to understand earthquake risk and take decisions to improve resilience. The GEM-Canada partnership will use the open source hazard and risk assessment tools developed by GEM’s international consortium of experts and combine these with expertise and knowledge on the Canadian risk environment. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News GEM Governing Board meeting (2-3 June 2022) By: Sep 15, 2022 Share Facebook LinkedIn After more than two years of remote-only meetings, GEM held the first hybrid-format Governing Board meeting, with 25 partners and 23 staff attending in person, and 29 partners and 7 staff attending remotely. Another 30 guests remotely attended an open session featuring presentations of GEM’s progress report on its technical work program. The Governing Board approved several new and renewed memberships. Allianz Group and RMS are new Private Governors, represented by Matthias Hackl and Nilesh Shome, respectively. The Public Governor sponsorships of NIED Japan and Civil Protection Italy were renewed, represented by Hiroyuki Fujiwara and Daniela Di Bucci, respectively. Also approved was a change in sponsorship type for Swiss Re from Advisor to Private Governor, with Michael Ewald as the representative. The GB approved the formation of a standing committee on product development, which will guide the development of new and improved products for a range of users across public and private sectors, particularly aimed at the dissemination of information to downstream users in the broader risk management and disaster risk reduction communities. The GB also formed a task force to recommend new members to the GEM Advisory Board. The task force is seeking individuals for their technical and strategic perspectives in the context of GEM’s new strategic plan. The meeting featured Safehub’s donation of a building sensor for monitoring earthquake shaking to GEM to symbolise the commitment of both organisations to continue working together toward using sensor data to improve model predictions of damage from earthquakes; and the awarding of GEM Outstanding Contributor to Peter Pazak of Aon Impact Forecasting. GEM would like to extend its gratitude to all the participants and guests who actively participated in the open sessions. GEM will hold its next Governing Board meeting on Dec 1-2, also in hybrid format. No images found. GALLERY 1/13 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News News Briefs December 2023: Institutional projects By: Dec 14, 2023 Dec 14, 2023 Share Facebook LinkedIn Institutional Projects SURA Project's Milestones The SURA project focused on enhancing OpenQuake's efficiency and developing a tailored rupture catalogue for Latin America. Improved computational efficiency now allows intricate risk calculations for vast regions with complex reinsurance schemes. Exporting loss curves based on Occurrence Exceedance Probability (OEP) and Aggregate Exceedance Probability (AEP) is now feasible. The curated rupture catalogue covers Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama, ensuring consistent magnitude-frequency distributions and loss estimations across countries with different hazard models. Colombia's National Earthquake Risk Model GEM collaborates with the Colombian Geological Survey (SGC) and 11 universities to develop Colombia's National Earthquake Risk Model (MNRS). GEM leverages its experience in urban, national, and regional risk modelling using the OpenQuake engine. MNRS integrates detailed residential exposure models and vulnerability functions for representative building classes, developed by local experts. Expected in 2024, the model will feature public data on human impact, building damage, and economic losses for probabilistic risk and earthquake scenarios. Central America's PSHA Model Development GEM's work in the FORCE project focuses on developing a Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) model for Central America. Key tasks involve developing datasets for seismic source characterisation, including a fault database derived from a block model encompassing the region. Advancements in homogenising the event catalogues and streamlining the workflow in the Modelling Building Toolkit (MBTK) are notable achievements within this initiative, aimed at enhancing seismic risk assessment capabilities in the region. FERMI: A Step Forward in Earthquake Source Modelling GEM's FERMI, replacing SHERIFS, revolutionises seismic hazard models' sub-fault to multi-fault earthquake source construction. Enhanced with superior performance and customisability, FERMI employs OQ-Engine functions, ensuring compatibility. In 2023, significant progress included a comprehensive system for enumerating potential multi-fault ruptures from a network, employing graph theory algorithms, while implementing filtering mechanisms based on plausibility for larger models. This breakthrough promises robust seismic modelling capabilities. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News GEM Concludes Successful Online OpenQuake Training for its Bhutan partners By: Oct 9, 2024 Aug 12, 2024 Share Facebook LinkedIn The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) continues its commitment to enhancing seismic resilience in Bhutan with the successful conclusion of a four-day online training on Earthquake Hazard and Risk, held from August 6-9, 2024. Following a productive visit in March, the training aimed to equip participants from key government agencies and academic institutions with vital skills in seismic hazard and risk assessment. This training is part of GEM's USAID-BHA-supported Forecasting and Communicating Earthquake Hazard and Risk (FORCE) project, of which Bhutan is one of the project sites. More than 60 participants attended the training, representing various organisations including the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Works & Human Settlement, the Department of Culture and Dzongkha Development, and the College of Science and Technology at the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB). The sessions provided hands-on experience in utilising OpenQuake for seismic hazard and risk assessment. Facilitated by GEM Senior Seismic Risk Modeller, Alejandro Calderón, the training was tailored to meet Bhutan's specific needs. It covered essential topics such as earthquake rupture modeling and damage and loss estimation. Participants had their first hands-on experience with the models being developed for Bhutan within the context of FORCE, which aims to strengthen the country’s disaster preparedness. Key government participants provided valuable feedback on the methodology and results of the seismic risk model for Bhutan during the sessions. GEM expresses optimism about the impact of these tools on Bhutan's future disaster response efforts and looks forward to seeing their implementation in enhancing national resilience against seismic events. For more information about the FORCE project, you can learn more at this link. https://www.globalquakemodel.org/proj/force ## No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS