News Aon Joins the Global Earthquake Model Foundation as Governor Sponsor to Advance Collaborative Risk Analysis By: Dec 6, 2022 Share Facebook LinkedIn LONDON, 8 December 2022 - Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, today announced that it has joined the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation – a non-profit public-private partnership that develops and distributes models and data for a transparent assessment of earthquake risk worldwide - as Governor Sponsor. Comprising public, private, academic and non-government organizations, GEM delivers state-of-the-art earthquake risk reduction solutions through relevant data, tools and information as well as hazard and risk assessments that are designed to improve understanding of earthquake hazard and risk globally. Economic losses from catastrophic events are projected to increase exponentially by 2030 due to the increasing global population, rapid urbanisation and extreme weather events. Earthquakes, which made up only 8 percent of all disasters in the past 20 years, are the deadliest of all sudden disaster events. The peril constitutes one of the top causes of economic disruption and of disaster deaths, due to building collapse. In its new role as Governor Sponsor, Aon and its Impact Forecasting catastrophe model development team will lead the firm’s collaboration with GEM scientific teams in developing advanced tools to analyze the financial impacts of earthquakes for effective reinsurance, underwriting and exposure management strategies. Furthermore, Aon will work with GEM to bring together a range of collaborations to enhance earthquake risk understanding globally, further drive the usage and adoption of earthquake models and expand the domain of potential scientific collaborators to assist and inform model development. The collaboration will assist Aon’s clients and the wider re/insurance industry and stakeholders to make better risk decisions while navigating volatility and building operational resilience. In addition , GEM’s own earthquake modelling platform, the OpenQuake Engine , provides an opportunity for the development of standardized approaches in seismic hazard analyses, and to share the same technology within the rapidly growing society of users from across the re/insurance industry. John Schneider, GEM secretary general, said: “We welcome Aon to the GEM Governing Board as a voting member. GEM and Aon, through its Impact Forecasting team, have been collaborating for several years now on the development of earthquake loss models, and Aon’s new three-year sponsorship of GEM will allow us to work together across a broader range of topics and to share high-quality open risk information for improving risk reduction strategies worldwide.” Adam Podlaha, head of Impact Forecasting at Aon, said: “We are excited to continue our close collaboration in developing new Impact Forecasting earthquake models, as well as enabling users to access GEM-developed models in our ELEMENTS platform. Our recently released Canada Earthquake model shows the collaborative power of our community – combining the sixth-generation seismic hazard model for Canada implemented by Natural Resources Canada natively in GEM’s OpenQuake platform, with Impact Forecasting enhancements for secondary perils, including liquefaction landslides, tsunami and fire.” GEM’s collaborative efforts have been an important contributor to Impact Forecasting’s own earthquake model development, helping the firm to assist clients in their understanding and analysis of the peril and navigate associated volatility. The GEM collaboration has helped the team improve its model development processes, strengthening the local and global credibility of Impact Forecasting models and increasing the domain of potential scientific collaborators for client-based projects. For more information about Aon’s Impact Forecasting models, visit https://www.aon.com/reinsurance/impact-forecasting/default . ----- About Aon Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business. Follow Aon on Twitter and LinkedIn . Visit the Aon Newsroom and sign up for News Alerts . ----- About GEM GEM was formed in 2009 as a non-profit foundation in Pavia, Italy, funded through a public-private sponsorship with the vision to create a world that is resilient to earthquakes. GEM is funded by public and private institutions globally, and is advised by many international organizations ( https://www.globalquakemodel.org/partners ). GEM is also recognized by the UN as an NGO, operating under UN guidelines for a humanitarian organization. GEM’s mission is to become one of the world’s most complete sources of risk resources and a globally accepted standard for earthquake risk assessment. Further, GEM aims to ensure that its products are applied broadly in disaster risk management/reduction and its services are available and accessible to public, private and academic institutions worldwide. ----- Media Contact Andrew Wragg +44 07595 217168 andrew.wragg@aon.com Aon UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the provision of regulated products and services in the UK. Aon GEM Governor Sponsor - media advisory final 071222 .pdf Download PDF • 75KB No images found. GALLERY 1/0 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News GEM's IDDRR Event Recap - Unveiling Global Earthquake Hazard and Risk Products By: Dec 14, 2023 Oct 13, 2023 Share Facebook LinkedIn October 13, 2023. In a time when disaster risks are inextricably linked with inequalities, the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation continues to make strides in addressing this critical issue. GEM’s global earthquake hazard and risk products, introduced on International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2023, are expected to contribute to disaster risk management efforts globally, helping reduce vulnerabilities, and promoting equity. Highlighting Inequality and Disaster Risk The UN’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) for 2023 focused on the nexus between disaster risks and inequality. It emphasised how unequal access to resources and insurance often leaves the most vulnerable communities exposed to catastrophe. Additionally, disasters tend to exacerbate disparities, plunging marginalised communities further into poverty. GEM's Contribution to Risk Reduction GEM's newly released global earthquake hazard and risk products are key contributors to addressing this challenge. They provide vital insights into the world's varying risk landscape. This, in turn, equips risk managers, insurers, engineers, building regulators, and community planners with the data they need to formulate effective risk reduction strategies. These strategies encompass improving building safety and land use, enhancing earthquake preparedness, and incentivising risk transfer mechanisms such as insurance. IDDRR 2023 Event Highlights The GEM event featured several presentations from the secretariat team with Helen Crowley, GEM's Secretary General, leading the event and providing an introductory address, setting the stage for discussions on global earthquake hazard and risk. Innovative global flagship products were unveiled, including global seismic hazard and risk mosaics; over 200 updated national exposure and vulnerability models, and country seismic profiles; interactive geoviewers, and downloadable high-resolution image files of the global maps, promising to transform disaster risk management on a global scale. About 250 attendees from 52 countries were guided through accessing and effectively utilising GEM's new and improved products page. Link to the event page . Towards a more equitable future GEM's IDDRR 2023 event celebrated the release of its new global earthquake hazard and risk products. These data and tools are poised to make a difference in disaster risk management, empowering a more equitable and resilient world. GEM remains at the forefront of disaster risk reduction, bringing us one step closer to a safer, more equitable future. Q&A and Discussion The event was interactive, featuring a lively question-and-answer session led by John Schneider, former Secretary General and currently Senior Advisor at GEM. The engaging interactions between the GEM presenters and participants encouraged an insightful exchange of ideas and perspectives. The summary of these discussions, along with the comprehensive list of questions and answers, are now available below. Hazard The following slides feature questions and answers regarding hazards discussed during the launch of GEM's global products, which took place on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023. Fragility & Vulnerability The following slides feature questions and answers regarding fragility and vulnerability discussed during the launch of GEM's global products, which took place on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023. Exposure The following slides feature questions and answers regarding exposure discussed during the launch of GEM's global products, which took place on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023. Risk Assessment The following slides feature questions and answers regarding risk assessment discussed during the launch of GEM's global products, which took place on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023. Future Activities The following slides feature questions and answers regarding GEM’s future activities discussed during the launch of GEM's global products, which took place on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023. Resources The following slides feature questions and answers regarding the availability of various resources discussed during the launch of GEM's global products, which took place on the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023. No images found. GALLERY 1/0 VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS

News GEM: helping reduce earthquake infrastructure damage through science #BuildToLast By: Oct 7, 2019 Share Facebook LinkedIn Earthquakes are the number one cause of fatalities due to natural hazards from 1998-2017 -- with the majority caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2010 Haiti earthquakes -- and the number two cause in terms of economic losses, second only to storms. (CRED-UNISDR 2018) During that period, earthquakes caused more than half (56%) of the 1.3 million fatalities and cost USD 661 billion or 23% of the USD 2.9 trillion reported economic losses. (CRED-UNISDR 2018) Majority of the fatalities and injuries from earthquakes are due to building collapse attributed to poorly constructed buildings, lack of adherence to land-use zoning and building codes. The limited knowledge and understanding of citizens regarding the risks and mitigation measures around disasters could have also contributed to less demand for accountability. (Why Do People Die in Earthquakes? - Kenny, 2009) We cannot build a sustainable future with these monumental numbers. But as daunting as they might seem, they are not insurmountable and solutions are available. What can we do to address this? This year’s International Day for DRR theme is ‘Build to Last’, which is Target D of the Sendai Framework: to reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services. GEM believes that by better understanding earthquake risk, and developing the capacity of disaster risk reduction stakeholders, we can significantly reduce fatalities, injuries and economic losses from disaster damage through open risk data sharing; the use and promotion of transparent risk assessment tools; adherence to scientific methodologies; inclusiveness and participation; and putting the interest of the public to the fore. John Schneider, GEM Secretary General explains, “Earthquakes might be few and far in between, but when they strike the consequences are of epic proportions.” He adds that since 2009, GEM has been at the forefront of developing open analysis tools, global databases, models at various scales, and capacities of DRR scholars and practitioners to combat the damaging effects of earthquakes to human lives, infrastructure and economy. The importance of understanding seismic hazard The first global seismic hazard model was created within the Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program (GSHAP) at the end of the 1990's (Giardini et al., 1999). It represented a substantial improvement in our understanding of earthquake hazard globally and offered essential information for the design of buildings and land-use planning to many countries. (GAR, 2019) Almost twenty years later, GEM in collaboration with several organisations and projects released a new compilation of probabilistic seismic hazard models called the GEM earthquake hazard mosaic of earthquake hazard models created either at national or regional (i.e. continental) scale. (GAR, 2019) Marco Pagani, GEM Hazard Team Coordinator explains how GEM’s Global Earthquake Hazard model can be used to help improve resilience to earthquakes. “Many of the models contained in this collection are already used at national level to update building codes and compute risk at national level. Overall, this compilation of models provides a summary of the best science currently applied to the assessment of seismic hazard across the world at national and regional levels.” The importance of understanding seismic risk The calculation of earthquake risk requires a robust earthquake hazard model that defines where, how often and how severely earthquakes will strike in the future; an exposure model (building stock); and vulnerability and fragility functions (likelihood of damage to buildings). Vitor Silva, GEM Risk Team Coordinator says, "GEM’s Global Earthquake Risk model can be used to support decision-makers in the identification of regions that are prone to higher and more frequent earthquake-induced hazards and losses, to distinguish construction types that have high vulnerability, and to devise strategies for effective risk mitigation." To further complicate the problem, in terms of risk reduction, earthquakes pose a particular set of problems for countries in seismically active areas. ‘Return periods’ are long and unpredictable, so low mortality in the recent past is not an indicator of future earthquake risk. (Economic Losses, Poverty and Disasters 1998-2017 - CRED-UNISDR, 2018) A sustainable future This is the reason why risk-informed development planning in earthquake-prone areas cannot be overemphasized. The unpredictability of earthquakes combined with their damaging and deadly effects hinder sustainable development, creation of jobs and availability of funds for poverty reduction initiatives. Understanding risk is a prerequisite for a sustainable future. Mami Mizutori, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction says, “If it’s not risk informed, it’s not sustainable; and if it’s not sustainable it has a human cost.” To help achieve this year’s DRR Day theme, GEM has compiled in the Related Content sidebar several links to GEM’s products useful for developing disaster risk reduction management strategies. No images found. GALLERY 1/8 #BuildToLast quote cards from UNDRR VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS #BuildToLast useful resources (links) For the general public Global Maps (Hazard, Risk and Exposure) Africa Maps (Hazard, Risk and Exposure) Country Risk Profiles For scientists, researchers and modelers OpenQuake (entire suite) - engine, platform, toolkits, user guides Africa Model (datasets) Glossary for GEM Taxonomy website Building Classification Survey website Publications GAR Global Earthquake Model paper/article Guidelines for Analytical Vulnerability Assessment Low/Mid Rise Guidelines for component-based analytical vulnerability assessment of buildings and non-structural elements Guidelines for empirical vulnerability assessment Introduction to GEM earthquake consequences database OpenQuake Platform (vulnerability, fragility, exposure databases)

Back to El Salvador Outcomes El Salvador FORCE Project Key Findings for El Salvador Resumen Ejecutivo Proyecto FORCE - Pronóstico y Comunicación de la Amenaza y el Riesgo Sísmico Objetivo Evaluar el riesgo sísmico de El Salvador en sus condiciones actuales, y en los próximos 30 años bajo dos escenarios: manteniendo las prácticas constructivas actuales y adoptando plenamente un código sísmico moderno. Vulnerabilidad Sísmica Actual en El Salvador 40 de cada 100 estructuras expuestas no cumple a cabalidad con normativas sísmicas. $35 de cada $100 dólares invertidos están en estructuras con vulnerabilidad alta o muy alta. 39 de cada 100 personas se encuentran en algún momento del día en edificaciones con vulnerabilidad alta o muy alta. Riesgo Sísmico Actual en El Salvador: ¿Cuánto podemos perder debido a un largo periodo de sismicidad? 128 de cada 1,000 estructuras del inventario nacional se pierden en un promedio anual. $4 millones de cada $1,000 millones invertidos en construcción se pierden en un promedio anual. 2 de cada 100,000 habitantes se pierden en un promedio anual. Crecimiento del Sector Vivienda en El Salvador En los últimos 20 años el número de viviendas ocupadas ha crecido entre un 2% y un 3% anual. Esto implica entre 50 mil y 60 mil viviendas nuevas adicionales en el inventario nacional cada año. Escenario A: ¿Cuál sería nuestro riesgo sísmico en el 2055 si seguimos construyendo de la misma manera? Asumiendo una tasa promedio de crecimiento del sector residencial del 2.5% anual y precios constructivos constantes, en 30 años El Salvador tendría 1.6 millones de edificaciones residenciales nuevas y $165 mil millones adicionales invertidos en el inventario nacional. Siguiendo las mismas prácticas constructivas actuales, esto resultaría en un incremento en el riesgo humano y económico del 22% y 9% respectivamente, en el año 2055. Escenario B: ¿Cuál sería nuestro riesgo sísmico en el 2055 si todos usáramos el código sísmico? Asumiendo una tasa promedio de crecimiento del sector residencial del 2.1% anual y precios constructivos constantes, en 30 años El Salvador tendría 1.1 millones de edificaciones residenciales nuevas y $117 mil millones adicionales invertidos en el inventario nacional. Siguiendo un código sísmico moderno a cabalidad en todas las estructuras nuevas, esto resultaría en una reducción del riesgo cercana a 22% y 38% en términos humanos y económicos respectivamente, en el año 2055. Si desea profundizar en los detalles del proyecto, le invitamos a consultar la página de MARN www.snet.gob.sv/informacion/?area=sismologia

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Publications The hazard component of OpenQuake: The calculation engine of the Global Earthquake Model Share Facebook LinkedIn Download 2012 | Peer-reviewed We present OpenQuake-Hazard: the seismic hazard calculator of the OpenQuake engine, the seismic risk platform promoted and developed by the Global Earthquake Model initiative. OpenQuake-Hazard is designed to be an open, transparent, and community driven tool for seismic hazard analysis. The source code is hosted on public repositories that allow for distributed development and it’s implemented following modern software design principles like test driven development and continuous integration. It uses an XML-based data exchange format (called NRML, ‘Natural hazard’ Risk Markup Language) and its design reflects the analysis of seismic hazard models produced for different regions of the world (it’s therefore not tight to the needs of a particular geographical/tectonic region).

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News Urban hazard assessment of selected cities in Latin America By: Jun 6, 2022 Share Facebook LinkedIn Latin America is no stranger to earthquakes and records reveal seismic activity in Quito (Ecuador) dating back to the 1587 Guayllabamba earthquake. The urban centres built on deep alluvial basins have the potential to amplify the seismic waves thereby increasing the intensity of ground shaking. The rapid urbanisation in these cities only adds to the seismic risk of the built environment and human casualties. One of the objectives of this project was to build seismic hazard and risk models incorporating the local site effects that can be useful for engineers and policymakers in making an informed decision. GEM scientists developed site response models for three urban centres, namely, Cali, Colombia; Quito, Ecuador; and Santiago, Dominican Republic, based on geotechnical data provided by local experts. GEM used the available methods to combine in a probabilistic framework, the seismic sources (such as faults), ground motion models and the local site response models to compute the intensity of ground shaking at the surface. The end product includes 1) hazard maps - showing the level of ground motion at a certain probability of exceedance in the given time frame, 2) hazard curves and 3) uniform hazard spectra. The results of site response analyses show in some cases (e.g. in Cali) the de-amplification of motion, whereas in others - like in Quito and Santiago - increased levels of shaking. In some zones in each of these cities, soil softening and hardening, as well as resonance was captured in the site response models. At some locations, the use of site-specific information in hazard calculation produces estimates that are nearly twice that of ground motion values at bedrock. Further, the study highlights the prominent non-linear behaviour in soft soils at high levels of ground shaking which can be captured only through site specific amplification models and their impact on seismic hazard and risk. No images found. GALLERY Hazard map for the Hispaniola island considering local site effects. The map shows peak ground acceleration values corresponding to 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years. 1/2 Gallery VIDEO RELATED CONTENTS