News Integrated Risk Modelling Toolkit By: Jul 2, 2018 Share Facebook LinkedIn “Not only is it vital to evaluate and benchmark the conditions that lead to adverse earthquake impacts and loss – says GEM Social Vulnerability and Integrated Risk Coordinator Christopher G. Burton- it is equally important to measure the capacity of populations to respond to damaging events and to provide a set of metrics for priority setting and decision-making”. To allow for a holistic approach to seismic risk assessment and to integrate societal factors with risk estimation, GEM released the Integrated Risk Modelling Toolkit, a QGIS plugin compatible with the OpenQuake platform that is now accessible from here and from within the QGIS software itself. By leveraging user-supplied data or the GEM-CEDIM Socio-Economic Databases, the tool facilitates the integration of composite indicators of socio-economic characteristics with measures of physical risk (i.e. estimations of human or economic loss) to form what is called an integrated risk assessment. Learn more from here. A user manual can be accessed directly from within the tool. For web-based mapping and data exploration of completed and shared integrated risk assessments, GEM has also recently developed the Integrated Risk Viewer, a tool now directly accessible from the OpenQuake Platform where users can explore and interact with the models over the web without having to install or operate the QGIS plugin. Find it at: https://platform.openquake.org/irv/ . No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

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News Open, reliable risk data: a key element for good disaster risk governance By: Oct 12, 2020 Share Facebook LinkedIn The GEM Foundation released today several national and regional earthquake hazard and risk models, and global model digital data products in the observance of this year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction theme - the role of national and local disaster risk reduction strategies on good disaster risk governance. The models are composed of , , , , , and , while the global digital products are composed of global comprehensive earthquake hazard, global exposure model and global vulnerability (buildings). The updated models are part of the mosaic launched in December 2018. Almost all of the models and global digital products are open access, and can be downloaded from GEM's new . “GEM believes that the availability and accessibility of reliable and updated risk information play a key role in good disaster risk governance. We are optimistic that the models and global digital products that GEM has released today will contribute in the development and improvement of national and regional earthquake risk reduction strategies.” John Schneider, GEM Secretary General. Increasing exposure of critical infrastructure and economic assets has been the major cause of long-term increases in economic loss from disasters and shows that the economic incentives for building in many hazard-prone areas continue to outweigh the perceived disaster risks. This situation has been consistently observed in the national and regional hazard and risk data released by GEM today. In the Andean region of South America, residential, commercial and industrial buildings are concentrated in areas susceptible to mid-high probability of ground shaking due to earthquakes. This trend continues all the way to the Caribbean and Central America, and across the globe - in Southeast Asia. “The release of GEM’s earthquake hazard and risk data for public access is a great example of how the world of science can contribute to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, helping to save lives and reduce damage to critical infrastructure around the world. This trove of data will guide public policy and strengthen national strategies for disaster risk reduction,” said Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction. The seismic hazard, exposure, vulnerability and risk data can be used by risk managers, urban planners, emergency responders and humanitarian agencies for input to a wide range of disaster risk reduction activities including monitoring of the . The models and global products were developed in collaboration with various public and private institutions, national governments, and individual experts, where possible, using . Open and free distribution of data, models and tools will continue to be at the core of GEM’s work, and will further strengthen its efforts to broaden their availability and accessibility. The second batch of hazard and risk models will be released in December this year. ---------- END ---------- John Schneider, GEM Secretary General Marco Pagani, Hazard Team Leader Vitor Silva, Risk Team Leader Paul Henshaw, IT Team Leader Jephraim Oro: (English) Sandra Giacomini: (Italian/English) No images found. GALLERY 1/7 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News Conference on Risk Financing of Disasters: Insurance could reduce financial impact, but cannot be a substitute for other disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities By: Jun 27, 2018 Share Facebook LinkedIn The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) held a conference on “Developing the elements of a disaster risk financing strategy” in Bangkok on 8-9 May 2018. Representatives from finance and emergency management agencies from more than 20 countries, as well as many representatives of insurance and risk modeling companies participated in the conference. GEM Secretary General, John Schneider was invited to speak in a session on “Damage and loss data collection and exposure quantification”, and discussed GEM’s OpenQuake platform and the development of the global earthquake risk model. The presentation was well received, particularly by risk modelling and insurance companies. Country representatives discussed the collection of disaster loss data (which is mandated under the Sendai Framework for DRR), experiences with recent disasters and the development of disaster management plans. Despite these developments, most of governments represented are not insured for disasters, lack quantitative understanding of risks at the national level, and, as a result, are not well prepared for emergencies outside their recent historical knowledge. Insurance companies on the other hand, spoke at length about various types of insurance schemes available, particularly the increasing use of parametric insurance for disaster relief, which has the benefit of providing rapid payments on simple parametric triggers (e.g., occurrence of an earthquake above a particular threshold), but also carry basis risk which is particularly problematic if the financial impact of the event is greater than expected. Insurers also acknowledged that while insurance could reduce the financial impact, it was not a substitute for other disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities. There is thus a clear need and opportunity to improve risk awareness and understanding of governments, as well as a need to develop risk models that inform the broader spectrum of disaster risk reduction activities. GEM is developing risk indicators that are helping to improve this situation (e.g., estimates of displaced persons), as well as other tools to inform DRR activities (e.g., cost-benefit ratio of building retrofit) and is thus well placed to bridge the gap between DRR and financial management of risk. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News Development of local capacities for risk assessment and management, key to sustainable and effective risk solutions By: Aug 30, 2021 Share Facebook LinkedIn GEM’s John Schneider, Vitor Silva, Alejandro Calderon and more than 30 other experts, practitioners and authorities from around the world remotely joined the International Seminar on Risk Management & Sustainable Development held in Quito, Ecuador in June. The event, organized by the University of the Armed Forces (ESPE) - one of the top universities in Ecuador, was held to establish the Center of Excellence for Risk Assessment and Management and Climate Change for Ecuador (CERAM-Ecuador). The aim of CERAM-Ecuador is to develop sustainable and effective solutions for the development of local capacities for risk assessment and management. Carlos Villacis, former Regional Program Manager and Strategy Coordinator for GEM, is the principal driver behind the creation of CERAM. Carlos said, “I am very pleased to be working again with GEM for the generation of knowledge products and the provision of integrated support to risk assessment and management at all levels, not only in Ecuador, but globally. I am convinced that, to be truly global, GEM needs to have a stronger presence in the regions. CERAM will promote the standardization of GEM tools and methodologies through an adaptation process that makes them better aligned with the realities, needs and priorities in Ecuador as well as other regions.” [00:42:40 - 01:24:00] discussing the full spectrum of GEM’s approach to global earthquake hazard and risk modelling, while [3:33:00 - 4:24:00], providing detailed insights on GEM’s urban hazard and risk modelling approach. On June 24th, the final day of the event, John Schneider joined the round table discussion on the future of disaster risk management in Ecuador and the role of CERAM. John expressed GEM’s commitment to the regional initiative at the recently concluded international seminar in Quito, Ecuador saying, “We are looking forward to working together in capacity development and training, exposure database development for all hazards not only for today’s built-environment and population but also for future growth and future risks, and in the use of model results for input to decision making to reduce and manage risk.” GEM and CERAM-Ecuador share the same vision and principles: an open platform to share knowledge and skills in risk assessment and modelling through training, capacity development, technical and student exchange. Watch John’s full message at from 3:39:00 - 3:44:00. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News With GEM’s OpenQuake platform, EAFIT experts measure seismic risks and suggest measures for their reduction By: Jul 2, 2018 Share Facebook LinkedIn The OpenQuake training, facilitated by GEM, was held in Medellin, Colombia from June 6-7. The event composed of a seminar and training, provided a venue for updating and discussing recent advances in seismic risk assessment and its applications in decision making, seeking to improve resilience to earthquakes. Several exhibitors presented advances related to seismic risk and its evaluation in Colombia during the seminar, which was primarily aimed at the leaders of the different sectors related to risk: government entities, private sector and engineering guilds. GEM seismic risk engineers trained EAFIT experts in integrated assessment of seismic risk using OpenQuake. Participants experienced first hand exploring the databases and tools developed by GEM to assess seismic risk, and learned to carry out step-by-step assessment of seismic risk in specific scenarios or probabilistic analysis. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News News Briefs - July to September 2025 By: Oct 6, 2025 Sep 30, 2025 Share Facebook LinkedIn GEM Holds Annual Staff Retreat in Ceratello 20-21 September 2025 – Ceratello, Bergamo, Italy The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation held its annual staff retreat in the mountain village of Ceratello, Bergamo. The gathering provided space for reflection, exchange, and team-building ahead of an active year of projects and collaborations. Against the backdrop of Ceratello’s quiet mountain setting, the retreat offered staff an opportunity to reconnect outside daily routines and align around GEM’s mission. The event concluded with renewed energy and shared determination to translate ideas into action in support of global disaster risk reduction. Strengthening Partnerships with PHIVOLCS 29 August 2025 – Quezon City, Philippines Helen, representing GEM, met with Director Teresito Bacolcol of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) to discuss partnership opportunities in hazard and risk modelling, training, and collaborative research. The meeting also covered offshore modelling, potential updates to the 2018 Philippine Hazard Model, and interest in OpenQuake training. In a separate meeting on 14 August, Jephraim Oro, GEM’s Communications Coordinator, met with Jeffrey Perez, Officer-in-Charge of the Geologic Disaster Awareness & Preparedness Division, to discuss GEM’s Learning Centre country page for the Philippines. These exchanges reinforced the importance of collaboration in advancing science-based resilience and strengthening national capacity. Exploring Collaboration at the Asian Development Bank 27 August 2025 – Manila, Philippines GEM, represented by Helen, met with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila to explore opportunities for collaboration. In discussions with the Climate Change, Resilience, and Environment Cluster’s Disaster Risk Management Team, topics included risk platforms, multi-hazard approaches, data accessibility, and capacity development, with GEM presenting its experience in seismic hazard and risk modelling and open-source tools such as the OpenQuake Engine. Later that day, Helen delivered the invited lecture “Engineering the Future: How Seismic Models Can Build More Resilient Societies”, which generated strong interest among ADB staff. The exchanges underscored the potential for applying GEM’s models to resilience planning across Asia. Earthquake Modelling at Zurich’s Advisory Council for Catastrophes August 2025 – Zurich, Switzerland Al Mouayed Bellah Nafeh, Physical Vulnerability Lead, and Lana Todorović, Liquefaction and Landslide Modeller, represented GEM at Zurich’s Advisory Council for Catastrophes (ACC) Meeting 2025. They were joined online by Marco Pagani, Head of Seismic Hazards, and Vitor Silva, Head of Risk Engineering. GEM presented its collaboration with Zurich on earthquake models covering ground shaking, liquefaction, and landslides, developed with open data, models, and scientific expertise. The ACC brings together academia and industry to examine multi-peril scenarios and their implications for risk management. GEM’s contribution highlighted how earthquake risk research can inform practical applications, supporting stronger strategies for resilience. GEM Presents at Aon CAT Analytics Workshop in Milan 2 October 2025 – Milan, Italy GEM contributed to the 1st Aon CAT Analytics Workshop, “Beyond Models: Advanced Catastrophe Analytics for Natural Hazards”, held at Aon’s offices in Milan. GEM Secretary General Helen Crowley presented “The Path to the 2026 Global Release”, outlining progress toward GEM’s upcoming global seismic risk model. Marco Pagani, Head of Seismic Hazard, spoke on GEM’s new global stochastic event set and recent advances in hazard modelling. The workshop gathered experts from Aon and Impact Forecasting to discuss next-generation catastrophe models, automated event response, and data innovation. GEM’s participation highlighted the importance of open, science-based hazard and risk models in strengthening catastrophe analytics for the insurance and reinsurance sectors. Seismic Risk in Islands Highlighted at IDRiM 2025 28 September-1 October 2025 – Samos, Greece GEM took part in the 15th International Conference of the Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM) Society, held in Samos under the theme “Advancing disaster risk reduction in islands and remote areas.” Catalina Yepes-Estrada, GEM’s Exposure Development Lead, presented “Understanding Seismic Hazard and Risk in Islands and Remote Areas,” addressing the distinct vulnerabilities of geographically isolated regions. The conference examined how accessibility – physical, social, and institutional – shapes disaster preparedness and response. GEM’s participation underscored the value of open models, shared knowledge, and collaborative approaches in strengthening resilience, particularly in contexts where resources and access remain limited. Multi-Risk Perspectives Shared at RETURN Autumn School 22-26 September 2025 – Sestri Levante, Italy Vitor Silva, Head of Risk Engineering at GEM, took part in the PhD Autumn School organised under the RETURN (Multi-Risk Science for Resilient Communities under a Changing Climate) project. The event, hosted at the former Convent of the Annunziata, brought together early-career researchers working on seismic and flood risk in urban settings, emphasising cross-cutting lectures, hands-on workshops, and a “3-Minute Flash Talk” competition. Participants explored interactions among hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and climate effects in the context of multi-risk modelling. GEM’s involvement highlighted the value of integrating earthquake risk techniques within broader climate resilience research. Photo credit: Vitor Silva Global Forecasting Dialogue in Shenyang 8-11 July 2025 – Shenyang, Liaoning, China Marco Pagani, Head of Seismic Hazards, represented GEM at the International Symposium on Earthquake Forecasting, held in Shenyang to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Haicheng M7.3 earthquake. The symposium convened over 300 experts from 38 countries to discuss advances in earthquake predictability, scientific innovation in forecasting, and their role in disaster risk reduction. Organised by the China Earthquake Administration’s Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, the event aimed to bridge past successes with new technologies and global cooperation in forecasting science. GEM Participates in Oasis Insight Conference 2025 25 September 2025 – Paris, France GEM joined experts from the insurance, modelling, and risk sectors at the Oasis Loss Modelling Framework Ltd. Insight Conference at the SCOR offices in Paris. GEM was represented by Product Manager, Pratim Kalita, who engaged in discussions on natural catastrophe risk in Europe, including perils ranging from windstorms and hailstorms to earthquakes. The one-day event provided a platform for knowledge exchange on emerging challenges and opportunities in catastrophe modelling. GEM’s participation highlighted its role in connecting scientific models with practical risk applications, contributing to stronger collaboration between research and industry to inform risk management and resilience strategies. Future Earthquake Loss Scenarios at Asia NAT CAT & Climate Change Conference 25-26 August 2025 – Bangkok, Thailand Helen Crowley, Secretary General of the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation, delivered a keynote address at the 21st Asia NAT CAT & Climate Change Conference, organised by Asia Insurance Review. Her presentation, “Projecting Earthquake Risk to 2065: Exposure, Losses, and the Carbon Cost of Disasters,” examined future earthquake loss scenarios in the Asia-Pacific under different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). The analysis highlighted how exposure, policy choices, and development patterns will shape both human and economic losses, as well as the carbon footprint of damaged infrastructure. GEM’s contribution underscored the role of open, collaborative science in guiding risk-informed investment and long-term resilience strategies across the region. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News The Global Earthquake Model: Achievements and Future Directions By: Mar 16, 2022 Share Facebook LinkedIn Geoscience Australia (GA), a long-time supporter and public sponsor of GEM, recently held its Public Talks Series 2022 where GEM Secretary General, John Schneider was invited to discuss GEM's contribution to improving the state of knowledge of earthquake risk and the broader objectives of the disaster risk reduction community through its global collaboration network and development of open, global databases and software for application to earthquake and multi-hazard risk assessment. John highlighted GEM’s key achievements particularly its two flagship products: the hazard and risk calculation software - the OpenQuake engine, and the global mosaic of earthquake hazard and risk maps released in 2018, where Australia’s national hazard and risk model was prepared by Geoscience Australia. To date, these flagship products have accumulated combined downloads of close to 4000 times since GEM started tracking this metric in late 2019. On the topic of the GEM-Geoscience Australia partnership since 2010, John said that the impact was on the complementation of GEM’s tools and software with GA’s need to focus more on earthquake science and data analysis instead of software development. The result, he added, was a great improvement in the earthquake hazard model development for Australia, and OpenQuake engine’s hazard and risk calculators. As part of GEM’s roadmap to 2030, John reiterated that GEM will continue to strive to maintain its leadership in earthquake risk assessment and knowledge dissemination, and at the same time further develop into a global leader in integrated, multi-hazard risk assessment and resilience planning. Presenting the evolutionary process from hazard data to integrated risk solutions, John pointed out that GEM’s research and applications are gradually moving toward the assessment of systemic risks, integrated risk assessments and risk reduction solutions. He added that GEM’s substantial contribution to the broader objectives of the disaster risk reduction community was through the acceleration of the merging of the public and private sectors to work together to fully assess risk and incorporate risk-based decisions into planning and sustainable development. He said that to this end, GEM spearheaded the development of common tools and solutions, and provided a range of products and services for the disaster risk management and reduction community. The webinar - joined by about 70 online and on-site individuals - was held on March 2 and organized by Geoscience Australia - a GEM supporter and public sponsor since 2010. Watch John’s presentation at . No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News GEM at EERI Webinars 2020 By: Nov 25, 2020 Share Facebook LinkedIn The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) organized several webinars in October and November, two of which highlighted GEM’s work on the global earthquake model and a study on the potential impact of earthquakes during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On October 23rd, EERI’s e-Meet the Leaders event featured GEM’s Vitor Silva as a special guest where he shared his experience in structural vulnerability and probabilistic seismic risk assessment in Europe, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. He also talked about the development of the first comprehensive global seismic risk model released in December 2018. On November 19th, GEM, represented by Vitor Silva and Nicole Paul, participated in the EERI’s webinar on Earthquakes in Pandemics: Experiences from Earthquakes in Europe. The webinar focused on the potential impact of earthquakes on infection rates and disaster response, based on case studies in Europe (Portugal and Croatia). Vitor and Nicole presented their recent article in Earthquake Spectra titled, “Potential Impact of Earthquakes during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.” Joining them were two other panelists who were in Zagreb during the March 2020 earthquake (M5.5) and were heavily involved with the impact assessment following the earthquake. The juxtaposition of a theoretical analysis with empirical observation of the coincident pandemic and earthquake impact in Zagreb demonstrated the importance of understanding the combined impact of natural disasters during the pandemic, or other events that can easily overwhelm local capacity to respond effectively. Founded in 1948, EERI's mission is to reduce earthquake risk by (1) advancing the science and practice of earthquake engineering, (2) improving understanding of the impact of earthquakes on the physical, social, economic, political, and cultural environment, and (3) advocating comprehensive and realistic measures for reducing the harmful effects of earthquakes. No images found. GALLERY 1/4 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

GEM Online news GEM Online News Coverage Search Reset Resilience Performance Scorecard Workshop in Yangon Dr. Carlos Villacis and Dr. Christopher Burton of the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation introduced the Resilience Performance Scorecard, a self-evaluation tool for cities based on the “Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient”... https://ggsurbanresilience.org/ GEM featured on OASIS website Oasis Loss Modelling Framework and GEM have been working closely for many years. OASIS and GEM approaches and offerings are complementary, which opens interesting possibilities... https://oasislmf.org Application of Statistical Learning Models for Efficient Seismic Risk Assessment of Large Property... In this paper, AIG researchers introdcue surrogate models to significantly reduce the computational requirements in exchange for manageable errors in predicting the portfolio losses using OQ… https://ascelibrary.org 1 2 3 4 5 1 ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ... 12