GeoHazards International

Please join us for a webinar about how to create and use geologic hazard scenarios that motivate mitigation action ahead of disasters. Scenarios help people envision what could happen in a plausible disaster, but what can communities do with that knowledge? Register here
Session A: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7HwTQehOSG-48ScJwhITHg
Session B: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1DXNPEV5TGKOu2AsB_25GQ

In the coastal Municipality of , , a group of students, youth and teachers decided to play an important role in conserving mangroves, a natural coastal ecosystem that nurtures and protects life. Today, they launched the Warriors, a volunteer group of next generation mangrove stewards. Their immediate goal is to raise local awareness of mangroves’ role as a protective shield against , surge, sea level rise and other coastal hazards. They are communicating through social media and school events.

GHI - Mangrove Warriors

The Post Disaster Needs Assessment of the devastating landslides and cascading events in , Kerala, India has begun. The goal is to understand how to meet the immediate and recovery needs. The PDNA team is investigating damages to community infrastructure, impact on service delivery, and recovery costs. Our South Asia Regional Coordinator, Dr. Hari Kumar, is part of the team assembled by the National Disaster Management Authority, India and the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority - KSDMA.

Students in , South enthusiastically participated in disaster education activities of our youth-focused project “Timoun an Aksyon Nip". At the project closure ceremony, August 17 in the -à-Veau public square, they summarized what they learned through theater and dance. 26 students from 9 schools received a certificate of success on their final exam. The school Inspector and local authorities participated.
Prior activities included a 13-day training on disaster risk management, first aid, psychological first aid, and opportunities for youth to lead and teach others through slam poetry and theater, and reuse of plastic bottles to reduce flooding from clogged drainage channels. The Nippes department Director of Civil Protection participated in the activities launch and gave a talk on hydrometeorological hazards.

Nicolas le Visionnaire Devilme Kerven Lafortune Devilme Mentor William

Our “Monte Cristi Ready” program in focuses on and first aid training in province, on the north coast. GHI’s Delka Espinal partnered with local leaders and the Red Cross to conduct 25 local workshops reaching 1400 people. Efforts also included door-to-door outreach and events through a women’s network. and are not front of mind because they occur infrequently. But people were eager to learn, and question sessions often lasted an hour or more!

The state of Kerala, India has experienced deadly landslides in recent weeks. How can the state proactively reduce risks? Landslides are a natural hazard, but controlling development on fragile slopes can reduce risks to people. Aizawl's efforts to manage development and reduce landslide risks, with help from GHI, are seen as a good example for Kerala and other parts of India to follow.

How Aizawl’s system could serve as a model for Kerala KOCHI: Kerala could certainly learn a thing or two from Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram. While Kerala continues to battle landslides in its hill ranges, this sma

Our team, based in their communities on the north coast and the southern peninsula, are promoting in exciting and creative ways. Haitians’ enthusiasm and incredible efforts shine through in this video, as people of all ages and abilities gain experience to make their communities safer in a challenging context. https://youtu.be/oIUWI0B4Zjk?si=H_Zr3H5LMKy1L4FK

Garmalia Mentor William Gefthe Devilme Dumercie Lubin T-Win Windy Jean Brunel Pierre

Inspiring Resilience in Haiti https://www.geohaz.org/Our Haiti team, based in their communities on the north coast and the southern peninsula, are promoting disaster resilience in excitin...

Organizing for action: the newly-formed Mangrove Warriors in municipality, , are local volunteers who will monitor and raise awareness that healthy mangroves help to protect coastal communities from tsunami, storm surge, and flooding. Recent impacts from typhoon Gaemi, monsoon rains, and widespread inundation highlight the need to maintain vulnerable mangroves as a -based, cost-effective approach to . Supporting Mangrove Warriors is one of many initiatives we are implementing under the program “Building Resilience Against Tsunami under a Changing Climate in Mangrove Communities”.

Intense rains in have set off tragic , river , and across , a hilly district in the mountains. Our hearts go out to affected families. The number of people who have died or gone missing continues to rise. Damage to roads, bridges and rail lines has stranded several communities. Landslides in 2020 made the area vulnerable to further erosion and damage. International landslide specialist Dave Petley posted initial landslide info:

Early indications of a landslide disaster in Wayanad, Kerala, India Initial reports suggest that a significant landslide disaster has occurred in Wayanad, Kerala, India, triggered by monsoon rainfall.

In -de-Paix, , on the northwest coast, our local field officer Lubin Dumercie led training of inspectors. The focus was how to identify and risk, vulnerability factors, and included discussions of how students and schools can be both psychologically and physically affected, and how to better prepare. Safe schools protect youth from future disasters .

Dumercie Lubin

July 26 is International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, designated by , because more than ¾ of the world’s mangroves are estimated to be under threat. Mangroves support biodiversity and provide breeding grounds for fish, crustaceans and shellfish. They protect coastal communities against storm surges, tsunamis, rising sea levels and erosion. We are working on a mangrove and coastal community disaster resilience program in the Philippines, in collaboration with Calatagan Municipality, Barangay Quilitisan, community partner PALITAKAN, development specialist Ms. Rach Morala, marine ecologist Dr. Mario Cudiamat, and geologist Mr. Hillel Cabria.

Summer is increasingly getting longer and hotter in the state of , India. Increasing heat will impact health, urban planning, agriculture, and social equity. To help Kerala prepare for , we partnered with Kerala State Disaster Management Authority - KSDMA, Society, and Climate Research Center to inform local decision makers and stakeholders as they revise the state’s Heat Action Plan. Woodwell conducted a heat analysis, described here: https://www.woodwellclimate.org/heat-analysis-kerala-india/

Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance Network (StEER) has released its Data Set for the August 21, 2021 M7.2 , . GeoHazards International contributed to the data collection effort. Here’s the citation:
Kijewski-Correa,T., J. Rodgers, L. Presuma, G. Dévilmé, A. Mbabazi, E. Canales, M. Lochhead. (2024) "M7.2 Nippes Earthquake, Haiti Field Assessment Structural Team Dataset: (FAST-3269)", in StEER - 14 August 2021, M7.2 Nippes Earthquake, Haiti. DesignSafe-CI. https://doi.org/10.17603/ds2-6ptj-4c37.

This monsoon season in is already especially wet. Our local staff members report heavy rainfall throughout the country, with numerous instances of flooding, landslides and soil erosion. Alerts were issued for major rivers. Our staff member based in reports flooding. Our staff member based in the western part of Nepal reports flooding in his own home, loss of all utilities, precipitation-induced landslides and major highways being washed away.

Photo credit: Virat Neupane/RSS, Nabin Lamichhane / Rss, Bijayakumar Mahato / Rss, onlinekhabar.com

At in Milan, CEO Veronica Cedillos had a happy reunion with longtime friends from Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET), including NSET founder Amod Mani Dixit. GeoHazards International began working with NSET more than 30 years ago. Our rich partnership continues today.

We are excited that our team connected with colleagues and partners from organizations around the world at in Milan. President Veronica Cedillos gave a presentation on using to promote risk reduction, with examples from low-income communities. COO Dr. Janise Rodgers gave 2 presentations: Next-generation geologic hazard event to support decision-making for community resilience; and customizing tools to reflect a country’s building typologies, environment, and cultural context. Here is the link to download https://drive.google.com/.../1BGhshXkLfZEpgw0eMoUQ5i.../view

Join us if you are there at in Milan!!

Join our technical session talks at the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, in Milan, Italy:
* COO Dr. Janise Rodgers on customizing tools to reflect a country’s building typologies, environment, and cultural context. Session RES10, Thurs. July 4, Amber 3, 9:10-9:20. https://program.wcee2024.it/?mode=session&id=RES10
* President Veronica Cedillos on using to promote risk reduction, with examples from low-income communities where GeoHazards International works. Session SHR1, Thurs. July 4, Monitor 23, 10:57-11:09. https://program.wcee2024.it/?mode=session&id=SHR1
* COO Dr. Rodgers on Next-generation geologic hazard event to support decision-making for community resilience. We just launched new guidance. Session RES6, Fri. July 5, Amber 4, 9:40-9:50. https://program.wcee2024.it/?mode=session&id=RES6

Just published by our partners: “A Hybrid Model for Post-Earthquake Assessments in Challenging Contexts.” Tracy Kijewski-Correa, et al., describes collecting damage data after the August 2021 M7.2 in southern . Over 40 newly trained local people conducted rapid using a mobile app to classify and assign damage ratings. Then dozens of remote engineers reviewed the imagery and conducted detailed component-level evaluations. Such hybrid assessments can inform and recovery efforts following major earthquakes in remote or crisis contexts. Our on-the-ground staff in , Haiti collected data that was analyzed by on this effort supported by , , , and private funders. Open access paper https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10518-024-01927-8

Join our technical session talks at the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, in Milan, Italy:
* COO Dr. Janise Rodgers on customizing tools to reflect a country’s building typologies, environment, and cultural context. Session RES10, Thurs. July 4, Amber 3, 9:10-9:20. https://program.wcee2024.it/?mode=session&id=RES10
* President Veronica Cedillos on using to promote risk reduction, with examples from low-income communities where GeoHazards International works. Session SHR1, Thurs. July 4, Monitor 23, 10:57-11:09. https://program.wcee2024.it/?mode=session&id=SHR1
* COO Dr. Rodgers on Next-generation geologic hazard event to support decision-making for community resilience. We just launched new guidance. Session RES6, Fri. July 5, Amber 4, 9:40-9:50. https://program.wcee2024.it/?mode=session&id=RES6

Excited by the session "Can 'seeing' the future help us change it? A discussion on future directions for disaster scenarios" organized by GeoHazards International COO Janise Rodgers. Participants engaged about new directions for scenarios--working across multiple hazards, better understanding of social and economic impacts, expanding inclusivity. And challenges–how to evaluate social impacts despite modeling and data limitations, how to ensure that local government decision-makers have the tools and support they need to reduce risk. We shared our new guidance on how to develop more effective “next generation” . . Many thanks to panelists: Anne Wein, USGS; Laurie Johnson; Ramesh Guragain, NSET; Norio Maki, Kyoto University; Helen Crowley, GEM.

Wonderful for our COO Dr. Janise Rodgers to be at with our Founding Corporate Sponsor 応用地質株式会社 and longtime partner National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET).

Happening on June 19th! Join us if you will be at

Our COO Dr. Janise Rodgers is organizing a session at the Understanding Risk Forum 2024, a conference held by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) in Japan. Her session title: Can ‘Seeing’ the Future Help Us Change it? A Discussion on Future Directions for Disaster Scenarios, June 19 at 9:30 JST. Scenarios can help people “see” risk and motivate action to reduce it. The focus is on how practitioners can better engage local stakeholders in developing a disaster scenario as well as a mitigation action plan and timeline. If you will be at UR24, please join the discussion! ,

Our hearts go out to the people of Aizawl. The remnants of cyclone Remal in May created conditions that triggered more than 60 landslides across Aizawl district and tragic loss–34 confirmed deaths, 4 still missing. Homes and cemeteries had severe damage. We supported a small team to investigate major landslides in urban areas where we have worked. As monsoon season begins, there is a high chance of more landslides. We admire the Aizawl Municipal Corporation’s long-term risk management commitment and have offered to assist with ongoing resilience efforts.

1st photo credit: Zonet Cable TV Pvt Ltd
Photos: Melthum landslide where 16 people died.

As hurricane season begins in the Caribbean, our team in -de-Paix, on the northern coast of , conducted training in schools and held a conference about risk at local . Our -funded outreach covered how to prepare for and take action in , , and . School emergency committees formulated an emergency plan for their school. Students, teachers and principals also learned and practiced emergency first aid.

Civil Protection Dumercie Lubin

‘Consultation Workshop on Disaster Scenarios for Risk Mitigation’ was organized by GeoHazards International and GeoHazards Society in New Delhi, India. We launched new guidance, Advancing Scenario Practice to Build Resilience to Geologic Hazards supported by USAID and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BGhshXkLfZEpgw0eMoUQ5iAFXejX7BAj/view
Our COO Dr. Janise Rodgers, South Asia Regional Coordinator Dr. Hari Kumar, and Mitigation Officer Lalrinpuii Tlau presented our work on disaster scenarios, how scenarios can work as tools for planning, and how to orient the process toward mitigation. Disaster management professionals engaged in rich discussions about GHI’s work in India and Nepal that has led to risk-informed policy and action.

Can Disaster Scenarios Shape a Safer Future? Join Us at UR24!
Disaster scenarios aren't just about visualising risk – they can be powerful tools for driving change! As Janise Rodgers, COO of GeoHazards International, says:

“Disaster scenarios are powerful tools for helping communities envision the potential consequences of future events. GeoHazards International's recent research shows scenarios can also be effective in supporting risk mitigation. Our session at UR24 will consider how we can co-produce even more impactful scenarios with stakeholders and community members, by connecting technical understanding of the risk with a locally sustainable course of action, including new policy, mitigation, and preparedness. This interactive discussion is a chance to share experiences and learn from one another. We hope you will join us!”

-- Janise Rodgers, COO, GeoHazards International

This practitioner-focused session, led by Janise Rodgers and featuring Helen Crowley, GEM Secretary General; Laurie Johnson, CEO, Laurie Johnson Consulting; Anne Wein, Principal investigator, U.S. Geological Survey; Ramesh Guragain, Deputy Executive Director, National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET); and Norio Maki, Professor, Kyoto University will explore the future of co-producing disaster scenarios. Here's what you can expect:

– Effective co-creation: How to work alongside communities to develop impactful scenarios.
– Research insights: Leveraging recent findings to strengthen scenario planning.
– Actionable outcomes: Turning scenarios into locally sustainable mitigation strategies.

For more details, visit GEM’s event website:
https://www.globalquakemodel.org/gemevents/gem-ur2024-japan

Just launched: Advancing Scenario Practice to Build Resilience to Geologic Hazards. It’s a guide for how to develop credible disaster scenarios that result in efforts to change policy and mitigate risk, and how to engage stakeholders at every step. These are powerful approaches to reduce risks from earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions.
The methods support locally owned, locally led, locally sustained resilience, especially in low-resource contexts. The guidance, supported by USAID and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), is based on extensive interviews with 150 practitioners in Nepal, Ecuador, New Zealand, and California, USA. Read - https://www.geohaz.org/post/new-scenario-methods-to-motivate-action-ahead-of-disasters
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