News GEM moves to boost the availability of its Products and Services to a wider range of stakeholders By: Jul 25, 2020 Share Facebook LinkedIn The Products and Services Strategy was approved by the Governing Board on June 19, 2020. GEM’s strategy for development of products and services is to facilitate the merging of the interests of public and private sectors to work together to fully assess risk and incorporate risk-based decisions into planning and sustainable development; to spearhead the development of common tools and solutions; and to provide a range of products and services for the combined disaster risk management and reduction community. As part of GEM’s long-term sustainability plan, GEM intends to generate funds from a combination of the following: Sponsorships – to support GEM’s global role as an independent and trusted authority on earthquake hazard and risk issues acting in the public interest; Institutional projects – to support applications of core capability such as the development of hazard models for public benefit; and For-a-fee applications – to bring value-added products to down-stream users such as for insurance or catastrophe bonds, or for the design of buildings and infrastructure. However, Check the summary of our products . A complete list of products is coming soon and will be available on our website. In the meantime, here's a list of models that will be released in September and December this year. Caribbean & Central America (v. 2018) South America Indonesia Southeast Asia Taiwan South Africa Korea Mexico Northeastern Asia Northwestern Asia Pacific Islands UCERF3 Conterminous US Alaska Canada (v.2015) Hawaii Japan Philippines No images found. GALLERY 1/6 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News GEM releases five national and three regional earthquake models for public good application By: Jan 23, 2021 Share Facebook LinkedIn January 25th 2021, Pavia. Today, in line with GEM’s mission to support disaster risk reduction efforts toward a world that is safe from earthquakes, the GEM Foundation released 11 hazard and risk models covering five countries and three regions in Asia and the Pacific for public-good, non-commercial use. The models are for Canada , Japan , Mexico , Northeast Asia , Northwest Asia , South Pacific Islands , the Philippines , Alaska , Hawaii , California (based on UCERF3) and the rest of the conterminous United States . ( download the brochure ) The updated models, which includes hazard, exposure and vulnerability data are part of the Global Earthquake Hazard and Risk Models mosaic launched in December 2018. All of these products are available from GEM’s Products page ( https://www.globalquakemodel.org/products ), with the majority of the models available by application for a free license for non-commercial or public-good use. 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. Four of the countries in this release - United States, Japan, Mexico and the Philippines - are in the Top 15 countries globally in terms of the total number of buildings and in terms of average annual economic losses from earthquakes, which means that there are residential, commercial and industrial buildings in these countries that are concentrated in areas susceptible to mid-high probability of ground shaking due to earthquakes. However, it must be noted that even though Japan and the US have put in place some mitigation measures to lower the vulnerability of their building stock, they still appear in the top 15 list due to the higher asset valuations in the two countries; whereas Mexico and the Philippines appear in the top 15 even though the valuation of their building stock is relatively much lower because their building stocks are more vulnerable to earthquakes. “Today, the overall potential risk around the world is substantially underestimated, in part because we lack fundamental information about hazard and risk, and in part because current models do not fully capture the complexities and cascading impacts, exacerbating the effect of events at all scales. We hope that making GEM’s earthquake models available will lead to insights into how to improve models and motivate others to use them to mitigate and reduce future earthquake risk worldwide.”- John Schneider, GEM Secretary General. 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 Sendai Framework indicators. Most models were developed in collaboration with various public and private institutions, national governments, and individual experts, using GEM’s OpenQuake engine. The models being released for the US, Canada, and Japan are translations of national or subnational models developed by the USGS and FEMA, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), and the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion (HERP), respectively, which have been translated into GEM’s OpenQuake format. An earlier batch of earthquake models was released on October 13th, 2020 in the observance of UNDRR’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, and are available here . 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. ----- Editor’s Notes: For a complete list of available products, visit the GEM Products webpage . Download the brochure for the models in this release here . Interview opportunities: John Schneider, GEM Secretary General Marco Pagani, Hazard Team Leader Vitor Silva, Risk Team Leader Paul Henshaw, IT Team Leader Press contact: Jephraim Oro: jephraim.oro@globalquakemodel.org (English) Sandra Giacomini: sandra.giacomini@globalquakemodel.org (Italian/English) No images found. GALLERY 1/11 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

Publications Resilience Performance Scorecard - (RPS) Methodology Share Facebook LinkedIn Download 2017 | Report Resilience to natural hazards and disasters is often defined as “the capacity of individuals, communities, organisations, cities, and nations to respond, cope and recover from a disaster”(UNISDR, 2009). Following the axiom that “what gets measured gets managed,” the ability to measure resilience is increasingly being identified as a key step towards earthquake risk reduction. Measuring resilience is difficult, however, and existing quantitative metrics of resilience (often in the form of indicators or composite indicators) suffer from key limitations. For instance, the leading resilience metrics that are currently used in research and for practical applications are uncertain due to data limitations. Most indicator-based methods utilise a broad-brush approach using secondary source census data that may neglect the true underlying drivers (or lack thereof) of resilience within communities. Also, resilience indicators exhibit a large degree of uniformity in index construction approaches that ignore, because of ecological fallacy (Pacione, 2005), the context of the natural hazard or the communities at risk. Such uniformity may result in misleading conclusions if dimensions of resilience are ignored, or if weakly influential dimensions are overrepresented.

News GEM2021: Year in Review By: Feb 3, 2022 Share Facebook LinkedIn Despite the ongoing pandemic, the year 2021 proved to be another busy year for GEM, kicking off the year with the and celebration of . The year was capped with the , and the launch of . The USAID-supported added close to 400 risk professionals to the list of individuals trained online on seismic hazard and risk analysis using OpenQuake engine software. The project is further boosted by the to deliver a suite of National Earthquake Information Center’s (NEIC) real-time shaking, impact, and aftershock forecast products for the TREQ earthquake scenarios. After three years, , a consortium led by the British Geological Survey, has come to a successful conclusion, releasing , and delivering all the expected outputs for pilot countries Nepal and Tanzania. GEM, a member of the consortium, contributed to the structural vulnerability assessment and propagation of uncertainty to disaster risk estimates for multiple perils including earthquakes, landslides, floods, and volcanoes; and knowledge sharing and dissemination of project outputs and protocols through the use of web portals and training workshops with local partners. Four partners teamed up with GEM to work in several related but different areas of research and application: seismic risk in China and the ASEAN region; hazard, exposure and risk information for global risk and disaster management; development and promotion of better understanding of earthquake risk through research and application of science; and in improved parametric risk financing mechanisms for earthquakes. GEM launched its and new pages offering collaborative services, products and resources, and flexible mechanisms to enable potential partners to contribute to GEM’s ongoing and future work programs. GEM open is nearing its 10,000th download as of December. In addition to this milestone, GEM has released commercial earthquake loss models for on the Nasdaq Risk Modelling Solution service and the . GEM’s risk model for China will be released by the end of March. GEM has also released Global Earthquake Hazard map on and the , and the on Oasis Hub. The OpenQuake development team released versions featuring optimization and enhancement of the event-based risk and damage calculators and GMPE library plus other new performance improvements. In relation to this, a new toolkit, , was also released, integrating in a single environment all phases of seismic vulnerability assessment. On UN’s IDRR Day, effectively renewing its commitment to help implement the Sendai Framework targets till 2030. At the COP26 in Glasgow, GEM as partner, participated in the . GEM also contributed to two major publications: where GEM contributed earthquakes and exposure analysis, including seismic risk in 2020 as well as projected exposure estimates for the years 2030, 2040, and 2050; and to the (HIPs) published by UNDRR and the International Science Council, where GEM provided the HIPs for earthquakes and associated or triggered hazards. GEM hosted the TREQ project’s webinar: which attracted more than 240 participants from around the world and across various sectors. In addition to this major event, GEM scientists participated in more than 30 international conferences on loss models, earthquake risk assessment, and global challenges in earthquake risk and catastrophe modelling. No images found. GALLERY 1/10 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News Helen Crowley, GEM Secretary General Receives Prestigious Joyner Memorial Lecture Award By: Dec 14, 2023 Apr 10, 2024 Share Facebook LinkedIn Photo credit: Furkan Narlıtepe (IUSS/GEM) Seattle, Washington, USA. April 10, 2024. Helen Crowley, Secretary General of the GEM Foundation, has been honoured with the prestigious Joyner Memorial Lecture Award for her distinguished contributions to earthquake science and engineering communication at the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Annual Meeting held in Seattle, Washington, USA. "I am truly grateful to have been selected to deliver this year's Joyner Memorial Lecture. In keeping with the spirit of this award, I have endeavoured to craft a presentation that speaks to a broad audience, ranging from earthquake scientists to earthquake engineers," Helen expressed after receiving the award. Helen (R) receives the award from Prof. Ellen Rathje, EERI President-Elect and Chair of the Selection Committee. Commemoration of William B. Joyner The accolade was announced on November 1, 2023 by the awarding institutions, Seismological Society of America (SSA) and EERI to recognise the remarkable career of William B. Joyner at the U.S. Geological Survey, emphasising his commitment to bridging research findings in earthquake science with practical engineering applications. Exploration of Seismic Hazard Modeling Titled "Why seismic hazard modelling has become a risky business," Helen's lecture explored the evolving interface between probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) models and seismic design practices. Tracing the historical shift from seismic zonation maps based on observed macroseismic intensity to the prevalence of PSHA-based approaches in design codes since the landmark paper by Cornell in 1968, her lecture presented the challenges and debates surrounding the use of these models in earthquake engineering. Insights from Italy and Contribution to Global Dialogue Highlighting critiques of PSHA outputs and the recent move toward risk-targeted approaches in seismic design regulations, Helen drew insights from the Italian context, where despite commendable efforts made to evaluate spatial variations of risk in buildings designed to the latest standards, PSHA models have continued to encounter criticism. Helen said, “The focal point of my lecture is Italy, a country where I have resided and worked for more than two decades, exploring the progression of seismic actions in design codes from 1908 to the present day. Additionally, I address the questions and concerns that arise from evolving seismic hazard models." Emphasising the global relevance of her lecture, Helen further added, “Following my participation in the USGS's National Seismic Hazard Modelling workshop, held concurrently with the EERI Annual meeting, it became evident that the themes addressed in my lecture also hold relevance for the United States - I hope, therefore, that my presentation can contribute to the global dialogue on these critical subjects.” Looking ahead The lecture represents an opportunity to examine seismic design's future trajectory and the imperative of incorporating resilience into codes amid advances in earthquake science. Helen's extensive expertise in earthquake engineering and her commitment to advancing seismic risk understanding align perfectly with the spirit of the Joyner Memorial Lecture Award. On May 2nd at 6:00 PM, Helen will be presenting at the SSA Annual meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. For more updates, check Helen's LinkedIn post here: Why seismic hazard modelling has become a risky business | LinkedIn Related articles: https://www.seismosoc.org/news/helen-crowley-selected-as-2024-joyner-lecturer/ https://www.eeri.org/about-eeri/news/18853-helen-crowley-receives-2024-william-b-joyner-lecture-award Photo credits: Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) No images found. GALLERY Conference 189.jpg helen award_Conference 192.jpg Conference 188.jpg Conference 189.jpg 1/6 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

Publications Working together to assess risk from global to local: lessons from the Global Earthquake Model Share Facebook LinkedIn Download 2015 | Peer-reviewed Reliable, high-quality risk assessment is the basis for an objective understanding of risk; priority for action 1 of the Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction 2015-2030. It is the foundation of decisions and actions that effectively build resilience. Earthquake risk continues to rise, yet reliable data, risk information, and assessment tools are out of reach or under-utilised in many areas of the world. The Global Earthquake Model (GEM Foundation) was created to bridge these critical gaps. Through authentic collaboration across public and private stakeholders, the GEM community supports risk management and awareness by developing and implementing open risk assessment tools, compiling and generating risk information. GEM influences risk reduction by promoting technology transfer and developing risk assessment capacity. All GEM risk assessment resources are made freely available through its web-based OpenQuake platform. As input to the Sendai framework, this paper provides an overview of GEM's achievements to date, lessons learnt - emphasizing effective modes of collaboration and capacity development -, and presents opportunities and challenges in going forward. This paper is from the Global Risk Forum Davos Planet@Risk Journal, which is no longer available.

News Comprensión del riesgo sísmico mediante el desarrollo de capacidades y el intercambio de conocimientos By: Jul 6, 2021 Share Facebook LinkedIn El Proyecto TREQ de la Fundación Global Earthquake Model (GEM), con el apoyo de USAID, presentará el progreso en la evaluación de la amenaza y riesgo urbano por terremotos, así como las actividades de capacitación y transferencia del conocimiento en Quito (Ecuador), Cali (Colombia) y Santiago de los Caballeros (República Dominicana) el 9 de julio de 2021 a través de Zoom. El evento también contará con la presentación de escenarios sísmicos considerando diferentes niveles de amenaza e impacto a la población, por parte del USGS para las ciudades piloto. Igualmente se presentará el avance de los talleres usando el software OpenQuake para la evaluación de amenaza y riesgos, así como el desarrollo de materiales educativos y de capacitación en los cursos universitarios. Muchas personas interesadas de organizaciones públicas, privadas y académicas de las ciudades piloto trabajaron juntas desde finales de 2019 para actualizar los modelos de amenaza y riesgos de las ciudades. Se espera que los resultados del proyecto establezcan las bases para mejorar la evaluación de amenaza y riesgo sísmico en otras ciudades y áreas urbanas de la región. Sobre la base del éxito de los proyectos Evaluación de Riesgos de América del Sur (SARA) en 2013 y Centro América y El Caribe (CCARA) en 2017, el equipo de TREQ, en colaboración con expertos locales de Quito, Cali y Santiago de los Caballeros, están actualizando los modelos de amenaza y riesgo sísmico de las ciudades piloto utilizando información más detallada. Los datos detrás de estos resultados actualizados se almacenan de forma centralizada en la plataforma en línea de GEM, la cual es abierta y accesible para una amplia gama de usuarios - desde analistas de riesgo, planificadores, administradores, así como para investigadores, modeladores y el público en general. Desde 2020, el equipo de TREQ ha capacitado a más de 400 personas de 56 países, principalmente de las ciudades piloto, y ha producido materiales de capacitación y educación que se está adaptando para cursos universitarios a través del componente "Capacitación a profesores" del proyecto. A continuación se muestran algunos de los comentarios de las partes interesadas. "Me gustó mucho la experiencia y me gustaría llevar este taller a mis alumnos del Máster en Ingeniería Sísmica para que podamos hacer proyectos de investigación". - Maribel Guzman, PUCMM, República Dominicana "Encantado con la información presentada y el material es excelente, incluido el software de modelado" - Hernán Suárez, Unidad de Gestión de Riesgos - Municipio de Quito, Ecuador "¡Felicitaciones por el desarrollo de la herramienta y su capacitación! Muy, muy interesante y útil ". - Srahyrlandy Rocío Díaz, Secretaría de gestión de riesgos , Cali, Colombia Más de 300 personas de todo el mundo se han registrado hasta ahora en el seminario el 9 de julio de 2021. El evento estará disponible en Inglés y Español, y se realizará de 15:00 a 17:00 CEST, de 08:00 a 10:00 en Bogotá y de 21:00 a 23:00 en Singapur. Las personas interesadas también pueden unirse a nosotros a través de la transmisión en vivo de Facebook y las redes sociales. Visita la página del evento para obtener más información en . No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

Publications Probabilistic seismic hazard model for the Dominican Republic Share Facebook LinkedIn Download 2022 | Report Description of the probabilistic seismic hazard model developed for the Dominican Republic

News Seismic Risk Models in Focus at MASE Symposium By: Oct 6, 2025 Sep 27, 2025 Share Facebook LinkedIn The Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation took part in the 21st International Symposium of the Macedonian Association of Structural Engineers (MASE), held on 24-27 September 2025 in Ohrid, North Macedonia. Helen Crowley, GEM’s Secretary General, delivered a keynote lecture titled “Engineering the Future: How Seismic Risk Models Can Build More Resilient Societies.” With the theme “Structural Engineering – Limitless”, this year’s MASE Symposium explored how emerging technologies are reshaping the design, construction, and maintenance of structures. Sessions addressed advances in data-driven concepts, sensor technology, and sustainability in construction materials, alongside developments in smart buildings, digital twins, and artificial intelligence in the AEC sector. The event brought together experts to discuss how these innovations are opening new avenues for collaboration, problem-solving, and growth. Distinguished invited speakers and exhibitors demonstrated how structural engineering is moving beyond traditional boundaries to embrace more efficient, sustainable, and intelligent practices. GEM’s Contribution In her keynote address, Helen outlined how seismic risk models can support both engineers and policymakers in making informed decisions about the built environment. Drawing on more than 15 years of GEM’s collaborative work, she highlighted the OpenQuake Engine and its applications in advancing scientific knowledge and translating it into tools that benefit society. Looking Ahead The Symposium provided GEM with an opportunity to connect with structural engineers from across the region and beyond, strengthening ties between research, practice, and policy. By sharing its global experience, GEM contributed to discussions on how engineering can meet the challenges of seismic risk while supporting broader goals of sustainability and innovation. For more information on the 21st MASE Symposium, visit the official event page. http://mase.gf.ukim.edu.mk/symposium-MAIN.html No images found. GALLERY 64e9924d-b1fc-4d19-9d48-a567e5a74d43.jpg 31bd8c48-d92d-459d-aa3b-85e7d968136f.jpg b6106c2e-2baa-4c06-9ba0-8240c606d07b.jpg 64e9924d-b1fc-4d19-9d48-a567e5a74d43.jpg 1/6 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News METIS Summer School on Seismic Hazard Analysis By: Sep 15, 2022 Share Facebook LinkedIn GEM Foundation and Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori, Pavia successfully completed the METIS project seismic hazard summer school for 20 PhD students and postdocs from various parts of the world held from June 20th – 23rd in Pavia, Italy. The event was aimed at introducing the participants to the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) and to recent methodologies developed in the framework of the Methods and Tools Innovation for Seismic Risk Assessment (METIS) project. The summer school, which consisted of a series of lectures and hands-on laboratories, was organised in the context of the METIS project. GEM and IUSS jointly offered lectures on the main functionalities of the OpenQuake Engine and GEM’s tools for building components of a hazard input model, aftershock PSHA, vector-valued PSHA and the conditional spectrum approach, and time-histories selection for engineering applications. GEM contributes to the METIS project on seismic hazard assessment and on probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) Tools and Methodology. GEM’s contribution to the PSA Tools and Methodology will concentrate on testing risk results. The major goal of the METIS project is to propose innovations in tools and methodologies for seismic safety assessment of nuclear reactors and to develop new state-of-the-art approaches, as well as promote good practices for conducting seismic PSAs, in particular by supporting technology transfer from the research community to the industry. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS