Science for Social Change GEM Impact Story Series en | esp First encounter with earthquakes I think I was about four years old when I first experienced an earthquake. We lived in a residential building at the time, so we really felt it, a strong swaying motion. I can still remember the crack it created on our wall. Life before GEM, my world in balance Before joining GEM, I was a young professor, just five years into teaching. I had done some research activities related to structural behavior. At the time I worried a lot about academics more than anything else, and I didn’t know how to apply the knowledge, the research I’ve done for improving the wellbeing of our society. I didn’t feel satisfied with just doing research. Encounters that changed my situation In 2013, I was contacted by GEM to join the SARA project. I accepted the invitation because I saw an opportunity to learn about seismic risk assessment, to participate in a project that has real life applications, and where results can be used by policy makers to improve building codes and risk mitigation strategies. Training to get better to address the challenges ahead The training workshops in Medellín, Colombia in 2014, and Lima, Peru in 2015 also marked the start of a change in my knowledge and perspective of risk. During the training in 2014, we learned about the GEM building taxonomy and general concepts about seismic risk assessment. In the Peru training, we were introduced to OpenQuake. Barriers to earthquake resilience I think that the number one barrier is being in a society that does not believe that earthquakes can happen anytime, sometimes without warning. We had a devastating earthquake 20 years ago and it seems that most people have forgotten about it. I also think that earthquake resilience is a low priority for policy makers, which makes communicating earthquake risk information vital for the improvement of public safety and protection of critical infrastructures more challenging. Change can start with oneself I think change can happen anytime, but it has to start with oneself. When the SARA project was completed in 2015, my collaboration with GEM did not stop there. Since 2016, we have been improving the exposure models of Medellín, Bogotá and Cali. We have also collaborated with GEM for the development of the Colombian exposure model that was used for the Global Earthquake Risk Map of 2018. Guiding the future stewards of earthquake resilience I have been teaching seismic risk assessment at the Seismic Engineering course at EAFIT since 2017 and tutored several students in using OpenQuake for undergrad research on seismic risk assessment of electric substations, water services in Medellín, and earthquake-induced landslides in Quito, Ecuador. This has been made possible because of the experiences I gained from the GEM SARA project. No finish line, but we have to keep moving forward Though I have achieved my goal to enhance my knowledge of seismic risk assessment, and to transmit that knowledge to my students, the engineering community, and to some extent, to the public at large; I also realized that this is not a race that has a finish line. Each time I move forward, so does the finish line. But what’s important is to keep moving forward. The power of commitment and collaboration In the academia, I think many would only get involved in projects if there’s funding, but there’s a lot that can be done without the need of funding. The people at GEM are always open to answer your questions, to give you advice… and for me, that has more value than funding. Inspiring others I hope that my learning experiences with GEM would inspire students, researchers, engineers and others to advocate for better seismic risk awareness and education to make Colombia and the world more resilient to earthquakes. About the GEM Impact Stories Earthquake risk remains abstract and highly technical, and there are significant risks that due to poor or limited understanding of it, policymakers and the public at large may not be able to fully take advantage of existing and future information that can either help create better or enhance existing earthquake risk reduction and management strategies, especially at the local and national level. Specifically, the GEM Impact Stories project aims to: Collect and document stories where GEM or its partners have contributed to positive change; Encourage policy and decision makers to use science- and evidence- based information to formulate earthquake DRR strategy at the national level through positive stories of change; and Increase awareness of the public at large on earthquake risk and preparedness. A Q&A with Prof. Ana Beatriz Acevedo Ana Beatriz Acevedo is a Civil Engineer with Master and PhD degrees on Earthquake Engineering, and currently a Professor of Civil Engineering at EAFIT University in Medellin, Colombia handling earthquake engineering and earthquake risk assessment courses. Acknowledgement This story is a collaboration between the GEM Foundation, Pavia, Italy and EAFIT University, Medellin, Colombia. Our heartfelt thanks goes to: Prof. Ana Acevedo for contributing her story and valuable time with us; EAFIT staff for the photos; GEM and EUCENTRE for the support provided during the preparation of this pilot GEM Impact Story. Related Contents Science for Social Change Prof. Ana Acevedo's full interview transcript in PDF brochure format. Title: Science for Social Change Video: Prof. Ana Acevedo's interview Duration: 3mins 25secs

News December 2020 Governing Board meeting highlights By: Jan 23, 2021 Share Facebook LinkedIn More than 60 individuals were in attendance in the virtual meeting held on November 27, 2020 – Secretariat reporting, and December 3-4, 2020 – core meeting. The attendees included almost all of the voting members, non-voting members, associate members, advisory board, guests and GEM Secretariat. Sponsor feedback and priorities Representatives from sponsors and partners AIR, Eucentre, PartnerRe, MunichRe, Guy Carpenter, SwissRe, Italy-DPC, USAID, Nepal-NSET, Japan-NIED and TEM gave short presentations on their priorities and feedback mainly focusing on technical support for hazard and risk modelling tasks. The Secretariat is set to incorporate the comprehensive sponsor input into the 2021 work plan and strategy development. Products and services In terms of products and services, discussions focused on the release of the social vulnerability and resilience maps, the release of the models from the global mosaic, and the release of commercial models on Nasdaq and Touchstone platforms. The Secretariat will follow up on the release of social vulnerability and resilience (SVR) maps with a virtual workshop to develop collaboration networks and potential funding for current and future SVR work. User demand for GEM products will be assessed in order to guide further development and promotion, and a schedule to release the remaining hazard and risk models from global mosaic is set for 25 January. A planning workshop will be held to assess the need and approach for financial risk model development is scheduled for 4-5 and 11 February 2021. Long term strategy The final session of the meeting focused on long-term strategy where the discussion focused on sponsor and partner perspectives on earthquake model development, inclusion of other perils and organizational sustainability. The Secretariat will convene a strategy task force to develop the long-term GEM strategy in the second quarter of 2021. New representatives The Secretariat presented the following new Sponsors and representatives, and were subsequently approved by the Board: new voting representative for Taiwan Earthquake Model (TEM), Bruce Shyu of NTU, Taiwan; new voting representative for New Zealand, Gary Wilson of GNS; new Small Business (Startup) Advisor Sponsor SafeHub with Andy Thompson as non-voting representative; and renewed sponsorship of Partner Re as Advisor Sponsor with Paul Della-Marta as non-voting representative. No images found. GALLERY 1/1 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

Publications Global Geodetic strain rate model Share Facebook LinkedIn Download 2014 | Report ThisisthefinalreportproducedinthecontextoftheGEMStrainRateProject,oneoftheglobalcomponents of the GEM Foundation. The project was charged to analyse and synthesize all available geodetic data in order tocreateaglobaldatasetofgeodeticvelocities thatcanbeused tomodelplatemotionsandstrain ratesinplateboundaryzones.To thisend,weestimated6533velocities fromposition time-series thatwe derived fromtheanalysisofRINEXdatathatwaseither freelyavailableormadeavailabletousspecifically forthisproject.Allbut 15ofthesevelocitieswereusedinthemodelling.Inaseparateanalysis,wealsoreanalysed all RINEX data in China and effectively added 1143 velocities to the data set. Finally, we added 13,318velocitiesfrom216studiesinthepublishedliterature(orfrompersonalcommunications)toachievea grandtotalof20,979velocitiesat17,491uniquelocationsusedinthemodelling.Ofallvelocities, 16,325are inplateboundaryzones(asdefinedbyus)andtheremaining4654velocitiesareforpointson,predefined, rigidtectonicplatesorblocks.Wecreatedaglobalmeshthathas144,827deformingcellsof0.2°(latitudinal) by 0.25° (longitudinal) dimension covering the plate boundary zones,with the remaining cells covering 50 rigidplatesandblocks.For36oftheseplates,weestimatedtherigid-bodyrotation fromourdataset,and the rotations of the remaining plates are taken from the literature. The rigid-body rotations are used as boundaryconditionsinthestrainratecalculations.ThestrainratefieldismodelledusingtheHainesandHolt method,whichusessplinestoobtainaninterpolatedvelocitygradienttensorfield,fromwhichstrainrates, vorticityrates,andexpectedvelocitiesarederived.Wealsoestimatedmodeluncertainties,specificforthis high-resolution mesh, which indicates that there still are many areas with large strain rate uncertainties where the data spacing is often much larger than the cell dimensions. Nevertheless, the model and data input are a tremendous improvement to the previous global strain rate model from 2004. All results are transferred to GEM and are also archived and displayed by a dedicated server hosted by UNAVCO (gsrm2.unavco.org), one of the project's partners. In addition, we created a kmz-layer of contour's of the secondinvariantofthemodelstrainrates,andwecreatedanonlinetoolthatwouldallowausertoupload hisownvelocitiesandplotthemwiththevelocitiesintheGEMdatasetin53differentreferenceframes.

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News RMS Joins the Global Earthquake Model Foundation By: Mar 16, 2022 Share Facebook LinkedIn Pavia, Italy. March 21st. – RMS , a world leading risk modeling and solutions company, has joined the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation , an international public-private partnership that develops and disseminates open-source earthquake hazard and risk assessment software, models and data. The GEM Foundation collaborates worldwide, building local and organizational capacity toward understanding and managing earthquake risk on a local to global scale. The combination of RMS’ latest scientific research and applications, and comprehensive coverage of seismically active regions across the globe; and GEM’s array of open earthquake hazard and risk models and OpenQuake software tools will further enable insurers, reinsurers, financial services organizations, and the public sector with the most informed view of earthquake risk available today. In the last 12 years, GEM has contributed substantially to the broader objectives of the disaster risk reduction community through public-private partnership, research, technical cooperation, training and distribution of open tools that have been used to build a global mosaic of earthquake hazard models and to develop a global risk model centered on the physical and financial risk to the built environment and human population. John Schneider, GEM Secretary General, said: “GEM has become widely known for its work and its contribution to improving the state of knowledge of earthquake risk. Working with RMS to advance earthquake science and open data can further strengthen our scientific insights and commitment to understand, evaluate, and manage earthquake risk especially in underserved regions of the world.” Mohsen Rahnama, Chief Risk Modeling Officer, RMS, said: “RMS started at Stanford University by developing earthquake models for California. The science around earthquakes continues to grow and develop, as does the technology that helps support even greater analysis and understanding of these catastrophic events. RMS has long admired the work of GEM and we are pleased to now be part of this prestigious foundation. We look forward to working with the other members of GEM as we move towards advancing global earthquake understanding and knowledge.” ----- About RMS Risk Management Solutions, Inc. (RMS) shapes the world’s view of risk for insurers, reinsurers, financial services organizations, and the public sector. We empower organizations to evaluate and manage global risk from natural and man-made catastrophes, including hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, climate change, cyber, and pandemics. RMS models underlie the nearly US$2 trillion Property & Casualty industry and many insurers, reinsurers, and brokers around the world rely on RMS model science. RMS helped pioneer the catastrophe risk industry, and continues to lead in innovation by offering unmatched science, technology, and 300+ catastrophe risk models. Leaders across multiple industries can address the risks of tomorrow with the RMS Intelligent Risk Platform™, the only open cloud with collaborative applications and unified analytics that can power risk management excellence across organizations and industries. Further supporting the industry's transition to modern risk management, RMS spearheaded the Risk Data Open Standard (RDOS), a modern, open-standard data schema designed to be an extensible and flexible asset within modeling/analysis systems. RMS is a trusted solutions partner, enabling effective risk management for better business decision-making across risk identification and selection, mitigation, underwriting, and portfolio management. © 2022 Risk Management Solutions, Inc. RMS, the RMS logo, and RMS Risk Intelligence are trademarks of Risk Management Solutions, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Visit RMS.com to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter . RMS is a subsidiary of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) and operates as part of the Moody’s Analytics business segment. Moody’s Analytics is operationally and legally separate from the Moody’s Investors Service credit rating agency. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

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News National seismic hazard workshop identifies common challenges By: Jul 15, 2026 Jun 24, 2026 Share Facebook LinkedIn The National Seismic Hazard Modelling Workshop, facilitated by GEM’s Marco Pagani, Head of Seismic Hazards, was held on 24–25 June during the GEM Conference in Zagreb, showed that producing a national hazard map is only one part of the work. The data, modelling choices, review process and intended use all determine whether the model can be trusted and kept up to date. Presentations from Australia, France, New Zealand, Japan, the United States, Switzerland, Taiwan, Italy and Canada covered different tectonic settings, but many of the problems were similar. The programme also included seismic hazard assessment in data-scarce parts of the East African Rift. Earthquake catalogues remain incomplete or inconsistent, strong-motion records are uneven, and fault behaviour is often poorly constrained. Some decisions, including how models are combined and weighted, cannot be settled by observations alone. Australia and mainland France showed the difficulty of estimating hazard in areas with relatively low seismicity. New Zealand examined earthquake clustering and non-stationarity, challenging the common assumption that rates remain stable through time. Japan, Taiwan and Canada showed how new offshore faults, revised subduction sources, basin effects and updated ground-motion models can change hazard estimates, particularly for long-period shaking and rare events. How the models are organised was another part of the discussion. Italy has separate teams for seismicity, ground motion, calculations and testing, supported by an international advisory panel and a Strategic Stakeholders Group. Switzerland is developing its 2029 model through a linked, reproducible workflow. In the United States, model updates are coordinated with building-code cycles and reviewed by scientific, engineering and user groups. These experiences informed the draft guidelines for national seismic hazard programmes. The guidelines cover objectives, responsibilities, technical implementation, documentation, quality assurance and future updates, rather than prescribing one modelling method. Other presentations focused on use and data. India is developing hazard information for dams, where national zones do not replace site-specific assessment. Moody’s showed how connected faults offshore Portugal can change estimates of rare, high-loss events. Work in South America and Algeria showed why local fault and strong-motion data are needed to improve source models, test ground-motion models and identify site effects. Work will continue on the national model updates already under way and on the guidelines themselves. The main tasks remain improving catalogues and fault databases, expanding strong-motion datasets, testing model components against observations and documenting the decisions behind the final results. ## No images found. GALLERY 5H2A1788.jpg 5H2A1820.jpg 1I9A1832.jpg 5H2A1788.jpg 1/96 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

OpenQuake engine input model to perform hazard calculations for the Middle East Products Middle East Hazard OpenQuake engine input model to perform hazard calculations for the Middle East Share Facebook LinkedIn Description The v2026.0.0 model for the Middle East has been developed within a project led by ETH Zurich with the collaboration of GEM and various scientists from the region. This previous model (v2016.1.0) was developed within the 2014 Earthquake Model of the Middle East (EMME) Project. The model was natively developed for the OpenQuake (OQ) engine. EMME products, data and results are available and documented through the web-platform of the European Facilities for Earthquake Hazard and Risk (http://hazard.efehr.org/en/Documentation/specific-hazard-models/middle-east/overview/). How to cite this work L. Danciu, R. Styron, R. Basili, K. Bayliss, A. Rovida, D. DiGiacomo, S. Ceylan, B. Güryuva, O. Kale, A.Sandıkkaya, C. Brooks, M. Stucchi (2026). Earthquake Model of the Middle East (EMME2). Available Versions The model can be requested by clicking on the "License Request", where a specific license will be provided, depending on the use case. Previous versions of this model are listed in the table at the bottom of this page. License information Currently, the v2026 model is only available under a restricted license that has to be tailored for each specific use case. Please click on "License Request". Facebook LinkedIn Share Latest Version v2026.0.0 License Custom license Available resources Documentation License Request text Map View Search Popup title Close Country/Region Available Resources Afghanistan Exposure Africa Exposure Alaska Exposure Country/Region Available Resources Afghanistan Vulnerability Africa Vulnerability Alaska Vulnerability Country/Region Resource Url Afghanistan Risk Profile Africa Risk Profile Alaska Risk Profile Search Found Country/Region Resource Url Afghanistan Exposure Africa Exposure Alaska Exposure Preview Preview is not available. Search Found Country/Region Resource Url Afghanistan Vulnerability Africa Vulnerability Alaska Vulnerability Preview Preview is not available. Search Found Country/Region Resource Url Afghanistan Risk Profile Africa Risk Profile Alaska Risk Profile Preview Preview is not available. Previous Product Versions Product Version License Documentation Access Request / Open Repository v2016.1.0 CC BY-SA 4.0 Read https://cloud.openquake.org/s/BLErLEQ3kZifJTy Related products Global Liquefaction Hazard Global Exposure Model Global Vulnerability Model Global Seismic Embodied Carbon Risk Global Seismic Risk Map Country-Territory Seismic Risk Profiles Model Builder's Toolkit (oq-mbtk) Global Seismic Hazard Map Related publications Development of a Probabilistic Earthquake Loss Model for Iran Read More For downloading or accessing detailed product information like PNG/PDF maps, datasets, license request, shapefiles and more, please switch to a desktop or laptop computer. Thank you for your understanding.

News GEM releases a new toolkit, an open‑source platform for vulnerability analysis By: Aug 30, 2021 Share Facebook LinkedIn GEM recently released a new toolkit for vulnerability analysis, an open‑source platform compatible with commonly used earthquake engineering software such as OpenQuake and OpenSees. Implemented in the Python programming language, it is freely accessible through a public GitHub repository. The toolkit which comes with a graphical user interface (GUI), is divided into seven modules designed to guide users through the different stages of analytical vulnerability modelling from the selection of ground motion records to the validation and verification of the models. A unique feature of the toolkit is the integration in a single environment of all phases of seismic vulnerability assessment, including critical issues in vulnerability modelling related with the propagation of sources of uncertainty, verification of the resulting functions through risk metrics, and assessment of the performance of the chosen intensity measures in terms of sufficiency and efficiency. Vulnerability functions describe the expected loss for a given ground shaking intensity level and are an essential component in probabilistic seismic risk assessment. However, these functions are usually developed using scripts created by the authors, which in the vast majority of the cases are not released along with the associated fragility and vulnerability functions. This lack of transparency can prevent users from fully comprehending the modelling options and assumptions involved in the development of the models, which could be fundamental in understanding the range of applicability of the results. Luis Martins, GEM’s principal author and developer of the toolkit said that “It is thus important to improve the transparency in vulnerability modelling, through the employment of open-source tools whose methodologies and assumptions can be reviewed, and even adapted, by the users.” “The toolkit and are intended to provide earthquake engineers with a comprehensive platform to develop vulnerability models, while allowing a wide flexibility in terms of seismic demand, structural capacity, damage criteria and damage-to-loss conversion,” Luis added. The paper provides a description of the capabilities of both the source code and the GUI. The complete toolkit, including source code and GUI, is currently hosted publicly at: No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News News Briefs for January to March 2026 By: Apr 24, 2026 Apr 29, 2026 Share Facebook LinkedIn Annual TREAD meeting brings doctoral researchers and senior scientists to Pavia 1. Science, tools and technical development New study examines the environmental impact of earthquakes in Europe GEM highlighted a new study examining the embodied carbon associated with earthquake damage across Europe. The research estimates that repair, debris management and reconstruction generate an average of 6.6 million tonnes of CO2e each year, adding an environmental dimension to conventional measures of seismic risk. The work broadens how earthquake impacts are evaluated and supports growing links between risk reduction and sustainability analysis. Paper: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-68120-6 Platform: https://embodiedcarbon.builtenvdata.eu/ Data/code: https://github.com/gem/global_embodied_carbon_model Early action session highlights seismic impact workflow in GDACS At Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week 2026, Catarina Costa contributed to a session led by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre on strengthening regional early action systems. The contribution highlighted GEM’s work with JRC on an automated seismic impact workflow integrated into GDACS - Global Disaster Awareness and Coordination System and built on the OpenQuake Engine, supporting faster impact estimation and stronger links between scientific modelling and operational humanitarian response. Link: https://vosocc.unocha.org/Report.aspx?page=o0t9pExuBwMwml9Wkc49cgxxxequalxxxequal PAPERS platform featured at FABRE 2026 At the III FABRE Conference, GEM presented recent work on the PAPERS project and its operational WebGIS platform for scenario-based seismic hazard and risk assessment. Presented by Martina Caruso and Paul Henshaw, the contribution showed how modelling tools developed through PAPERS can support more practical infrastructure assessment and long-term resilience planning, linking seismic risk science with infrastructure management and engineering decision-making. PAPERS Project: https://www.globalquakemodel.org/proj/papers-gem Conference: https://eventi.consorziofabre.it/eventi/a683b607-5057-47ed-afc6-f332193102f4 Tsunami preparedness workshop links hazard maps with local action As part of the EU co-funded NEAM-COMMITMENT project, workshops in Athens and Methoni advanced tsunami preparedness by connecting national inundation mapping with local evacuation planning. GEM contributed to the Methoni workshop, where Marco Baiguera presented a methodology for considering prior earthquake damage in tsunami evacuation analysis. The discussions highlighted how science-based tools and local coordination can strengthen coastal preparedness and implementation. Link: https://www.globalquakemodel.org/proj/neam-commitment Open lecture explores earthquake risk in the age of new technology On 21 April, Vitor Silva contributed to the Open Lectures hosted by the Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology, IZIIS, in North Macedonia, with a talk on how advances in modelling, data integration and computation are reshaping seismic risk assessment. The session highlighted how new technologies are expanding the way earthquake risk is analysed and applied, while supporting more effective decisions on the built environment. Link: https://www.iziis.ukim.edu.mk/en/ Webinar highlights OpenQuake applications for earthquake-triggered hazards A webinar organised by the Costa Rican Geotechnical Association examined how OpenQuake can be applied to earthquake-triggered hazards such as liquefaction and landslides. Presented by Vitor Silva and Lana Todorović, the session outlined GEM’s integrated risk framework and ongoing developments in secondary hazard modelling, helping extend risk assessment beyond ground shaking and support more comprehensive analysis in different regional contexts. Overture Summit discussions connect mapping data with exposure modelling needs In April, Paul Henshaw and Marco Baiguera represented GEM at the Overture Summit in Florence, where participants explored the development of open, interoperable geospatial data for global applications. The event was relevant to GEM’s ongoing work in exposure modelling, where consistent building and mapping data are increasingly important for strengthening global risk assessment tools and supporting more detailed, comparable analyses across regions. Photo Credit: Overture Maps Foundation (except for the 3rd photo, top row) Link: https://overturemaps.org/event/overture-member-summit-2026/ 2. Events, speaking engagements and visibility From Data to Inclusion: GEM at ESCAP 82 On 24 April, GEM Secretary General Helen Crowley contributed remotely to a side event organised by APDIM (GEM Associate Partner) at the 82nd session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok. Her presentation highlighted how GEM’s open-source models and software, the OpenQuake Engine, and AI can help accelerate model development under a rapidly changing urban environment, which will lead to more accessible and actionable public goods, supporting inclusive disaster risk decision-making across Asia and the Pacific. Link: https://www.unescap.org/events/commission82 Uncertainty and collaboration in focus at EPOS Days 2026 At EPOS Days March 2026 in Cagliari, Helen Crowley presented on rapid earthquake impact assessment, focusing on how uncertainty affects early estimates of damage and losses. She also joined a discussion with Finn Løvholt of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute on collaboration between the Global Earthquake Model and the Global Tsunami Model, highlighting shared approaches that can strengthen the use of scientific services in research and operational settings. Link: https://events.epos-eu.org/event/30/ Earthquake risk perspective featured at Exponential Risk London 2026 At InsTech’s Exponential Risk London 2026, Helen Crowley joined discussions on catastrophe modelling, transparency and risk insight in a changing analytics landscape. She contributed to the Owning Your View of Risk session organised by Zurich to discuss the role GEM played in supporting their in-house cat modelling development, and was on the main stage for a fireside chat with Goran Trendafiloski (Aon Impact Forecasting) to discuss the continued importance of seismic risk, even as climate-related hazards dominate much of the global conversation. The event provided a platform for engagement with insurance and analytics leaders on evolving risk priorities. Link: https://www.instech.co/past-events/exponential-risk-london-26/ Insurance seminar reviews catastrophe losses and earthquake implications At the Willis Natural Catastrophe Review Seminar on 28 January, Vitor Silva contributed to a panel discussion on major 2025 disaster events and what they mean for the insurance sector. His participation brought an earthquake risk perspective to a wider catastrophe review, helping connect recent losses with ongoing questions around model interpretation, portfolio understanding and the role of risk science in insurance decision-making. Link: https://www.wtwco.com/en-gb/insights/2026/01/natural-catastrophe-review-january-2026 Research-to-practice dialogue at the 2BESAFE final conference At the final conference of the 2BESAFE project in Zagreb, GEM contributed to discussions on how seismic vulnerability modelling can better support urban risk assessment and retrofit strategies. Contributions from Helen Crowley, Vitor Silva and Alejandro Calderón connected advances in hazard, exposure and vulnerability modelling with efforts to support seismic risk assessment in Croatia and across Europe. Link: https://2besafe.grad.hr/final-conference/ 3. Training, education and exchange Annual TREAD meeting brings doctoral researchers and senior scientists to Pavia Hosted at GEM headquarters in Pavia, the annual meeting of the TREAD project brought together doctoral researchers and senior scientists working across earthquake observation, physics, hazard and risk. The meeting provided space to review progress, exchange perspectives across disciplines and coordinate next research steps, reinforcing GEM’s role in supporting scientific collaboration and training at the interface of earthquake science and risk modelling. Link: https://www.globalquakemodel.org/proj/tread Doctoral course examines sustainable retrofit design beyond seismic safety GEM contributed to the IUSS Pavia doctoral course Beyond Seismic Safety: Sustainable Retrofit Design, co-hosted by GEM Seismic Risk Modeller Martina Caruso and Assistant Professor Gianrocco Mucedero, IUSS Pavia. Held from 23 February to 6 March, the course examined retrofit approaches that integrate seismic safety with environmental impact, life-cycle sustainability and energy efficiency. The programme reflects GEM’s growing engagement in linking risk reduction with broader performance and sustainability objectives in the built environment. Link: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7422220675718987777/ Colorado visit supports exchange on earthquake risk tools A visit by Anirudh Rao, Seismic Risk Modelling Lead, and Al Mouayed Bellah Nafeh, Physical Vulnerability Lead, to the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, provided an opportunity for technical exchange on earthquake hazard and risk modelling, including areas of shared interest between GEM and USGS. Photo credit: Kishor Jaiswal, USGS. Discussions focused mainly on the use of GEM’s exposure and vulnerability models within the U.S. Geological Survey’s PAGER 2.0 framework, and also covered the dissemination of the International Macroseismic Scale, a pilot cost-benefit study for El Salvador on risk-informed seismic design actions, and implementation of the latest seismic risk model for the United States and its territories into the OpenQuake Engine for incorporation into GEM’s global seismic risk map. Anirudh and Moe also presented GEM’s work on exposure, vulnerability and scenario-based verification for the 2026 global model at a USGS Geological Hazards Science Cent re Engineering and Risk Brown Bag Seminar. The visit was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey under Cooperative Agreement No. G26AC00056-00. 4. Institutional and community updates ATLAS 2.0: facilitated access to global seismic hazard curves GEM has introduced a more streamlined online procurement system for ATLAS 2.0, its hazard data service providing access to global probabilistic seismic hazard curves launched in 2024. The update is intended to support users seeking consistent, high-resolution hazard information across countries and regions for commercial applications, while GEM continues to make the data underlying the Global Seismic Hazard Map available for free, upon request, for public-good use. Link: https://www.globalquakemodel.org/products/atlas Subscription plans: https://www.globalquakemodel.org/atlas-subscription-plans Seventeen years of advancing earthquake risk science In March, GEM marked its 17th anniversary, reflecting on nearly two decades of work to advance earthquake hazard and risk understanding through models, data and analytical tools. The milestone also pointed ahead to the next phase of GEM’s work, including new global products, integrated risk assessment and continued collaboration across its international community of partners, sponsors and technical contributors. Marking women’s participation and equality in science and practice During the first quarter, GEM marked both the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and International Women’s Day, highlighting how inclusive knowledge systems strengthen research, modelling, software development and decision support. The foundation also noted that the gender pay gap among its scientific staff reached 0% in 2024, linking equality in practice with broader efforts to ensure opportunity, participation and leadership remain open and accessible. Link: https://www.globalquakemodel.org/gempublications/gem-foundation-gender-equality-plan No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS