GEM TOPIQS Newsletter July-September 2018

GEM TOPIQS Newsletter Issue No.9 July-September 2018

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Dear partners,

First of all, thank you for confirming your subscription with us. We are very delighted to have you back. We hope that you all had a great summer!

In this issue, GEM would like to share a variety of topics and GEM activities over the past three months, highlighted by our partnerships with Willis Watson Towers (WTW) and The 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation (100RC). These new partnerships are very welcome and important for GEM as we move to the completion of the current program and plan for the next three years.

As you might be aware by now, GEM is gearing up for the launch of the Global Earthquake Model on the 5th of December in Pavia, Italy. We are happy to report that our scientific and technical teams have taken one step closer towards its completion. Visit our event page to find out how you can join the event online.

We are also featuring two testimonials from our current sponsors - Hannover Re and GNS New Zealand. In addition, GEM has also successfully engaged with a wide range of stakeholders through our participation in the Oasis Conference and METEOR project meeting in London, and the 36th General Assembly of the European Seismology Commission in Malta.

GEM’s OpenQuake development team also released the latest versions of the engine (3.2) and the plugin (QGIS IRMT 3.2.7).

Lastly, we’ve rounded up some interesting topics from the Internet under our Viewpoints and From the Press sections for your reading pleasure.

We value your opinion so please send us your suggestions and feedback to help us improve our next issues. If you like the contents, please forward to your friends and colleagues.

Happy reading!

John Schneider
Secretary General, GEM Foundation
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LATEST FROM GEM

GEM Updates

GLOBAL EARTHQUAKE MODEL 2018

Join the live streaming of the Global Earthquake Model launch on the 5th of December 2018 in Pavia, Italy. Visit the event page regularly to find out how you can join the event online.

GEM takes another step towards the completion of the Global Earthquake Model

Several risk model experts from well-known institutions including GFZ Potsdam, Eucentre, ETH Zurich, MunichRe met in Pavia...
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PARTNERSHIPS

GEM - Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Partnership: Applying science to better understand and manage earthquake risk worldwide

GEM is very pleased to announce that WTW has signed a new partnership agreement with GEM. The agreement is a commitment to work together to develop and promote better...
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GEM and 100RC partnership to boost earthquake resilience

Cities at risk to earthquakes are expected to directly benefit from the partnership between GEM and 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC), which is dedicated to helping cities around the world become...

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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

The ESC 36th General Assembly: Reaching outside "pure" seismology

About 700 seismologists, geologists and engineers from more than 60 countries across the world met in Malta for the 36th General Assembly of the European Seismological Commission...

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OASIS Conference 2018: GEM status, perspectives and use cases

John Schneider, Secretary General (GEM) presented an update on the development of GEM's global earthquake hazard and risk model and other applications during this year’s edition of the...

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METEOR Project: Aiming to create impact in Tanzania and Nepal pilot countries

Some 20 individuals from implementing and funding institutions as well as representatives from Tanzania and Nepal pilot countries, participated in the METEOR project meeting held...

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WHY SUPPORT GEM - PARTNERS' PERSPECTIVES

Perfect time for partnerships and collaboration: Hannover Re

Hannover Re, a top reinsurer in the world and a long-time Global Earthquake Model (GEM) sponsor believes now is the perfect time for partnerships and collaboration to adapt to the rapid technological changes and shifting risk management approaches in the reinsurance sector.

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GEM delivers 21st century solutions for seismic risk assessment: GNS Science NZ

Since GEM’s founding in 2009, Governing Board representative, Kelvin Berryman of GNS Science, New Zealand, has actively advocated GNS’ interests in earthquake secondary perils and modeling of indirect socio-economic impacts, both motivated by the goal to increase New Zealand’s earthquake resilience in line with the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals..

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GEM in the News

reliefweb.int
Armenia takes important steps toward a disaster resilient future
GEM participated in an in-depth national seismic hazard assessment for Armenia to provide the government with a comprehensive understanding of seismic risks throughout the country. The approach brought modern analysis methods together with the latest scientific data and research, in order to develop Armenia’s seismic zoning maps.

This initiative was funded by the World Bank and brought GEM together with leading seismic risk institutions AIR Worldwide and local technical agencies, and can serve as an exemple for future projects with the World Bank and development partners. Its findings are expected to inform updates to national building codes – ensuring a more resilient built environment and safer infrastructure. Read more

temblor.net
Dead Sea Fault awakens in earthquake swarm
A small swarm of earthquakes occurred early this month in the Sea of Galilee, which resulted in minor shaking felt around Israel. While there was no major damage from the quakes, the largest of which was a M=4.7, according to the USGS, it did provide a wakeup call to a region that could experience moderate magnitude quakes, which could have a significant impact on the area. Read more

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Featured Publications

unisdr.org

Strategic approach to capacity development for implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: a vision of risk-informed sustainable development by 2030

This Strategic Approach to Capacity Development for Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction seeks to establish among all stakeholders a common understanding of capacity development within the disaster risk reduction (DRR) context. Download
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OpenQuake Updates

globalquakemodel.org
Download OQ engine (3.2 version, Mucciarelli)

GEM dedicates each version to scientists and engineers for their significant contributions to understanding earthquakes and earthquake hazard and risk.

The OpenQuake engine Version 3.2 is dedicated to the late Professor Marco Mucciarelli, Director of the Section for Seismological Research at the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS). Mucciarelli was a renowned geophysicist and seismologist who served as vice president of the European Seismological Commission from 2014 until his passing in November 2016.
Download OQ 3.2

globalquakemodel.org
Download QGIS OpenQuake Integrated Risk Modelling Toolkit (3.2.7 version)
Download

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Events

To further advance the science and application of earthquake risk mitigation and resilience, GEM organizes and participates in various international events. Below is a list of events in the succeeding months where GEM will be actively participating.

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September

H2020 SERA Vulnerability Assessment Workshop
Event type: Workshop
Date: 27-28 September 2018
Location: Porto, Portugal
Organizer: UPORTO

October

Hazard and Risk workshop (TBC)
Event type: Training
Date: 1-5 October 2018
Location: Pavia, Italy
Organizer: GEM

2nd Symposium of SIGMA-2 Project
Event type: Symposium
Date: 9 October 2018
Location: Paris, France
Organizer: EDF
Event page

November

2nd Meeting of ISDR Expert Group to develop a Global Risk Assessment Framework
Event type: Meeting
Date: 8-9 November 2018
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Organizer: UNISDR

2018 European Forum on Disaster Risk Reduction
Event type: Conference
Date: 21-23 November 2018
Location: Rome, Italy
Organizer: UNISDR, EFDRR, EU, DPC, Europa
Event page

FROM THE PRESS

phys.org
Research into deadly 2016 Italian earthquakes could improve future seismic forecasts

The timing and size of three deadly earthquakes that struck Italy in 2016 may have been pre-determined, according to new research that could improve future earthquake forecasts.

A joint British-Italian team of geologists and seismologists have shown that the clustering of the three quakes might have been caused by the arrangement of a cross-cutting network of underground faults.

Read more

rdmag.com
Researchers Use Supercomputers to Assess Earthquake Risk

David McCallen, a senior scientist in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area at Berkeley Lab, said in an interview with R&D Magazine that using high performance computers gives researchers a much more accurate and detailed way to assess how likely it is that a major earthquake will occur at given location.

Read more

today.oregonstate.edu
Research finds quakes can systematically trigger other ones on opposite side of Earth

New research shows that a big earthquake can not only cause other quakes, but large ones, and on the opposite side of the Earth.

The findings, published Aug. 2 in Nature Scientific Reports, are an important step toward improved short-term earthquake forecasting and risk assessment.