UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

09/15/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/14/2021 23:53

UNESCO and IIEES Iran organized the first webinar on the establishment of Regional Earthquake Monitoring Systems (REMS) in Central and West Asia

On July 27, 2021, a webinar on Feasibility study on establishment of Regional Earthquake Monitoring Systems (REMS) and developing quick damage and loss assessment system in Central and West Asia, organized jointly by the new established Regional Education and Research Center on Earthquake Risk Management and Resilience for West and Central Asia under auspices of UNESCO, IIEES and UNESCO. The relevant institutions from the countries in the region were invited to take part in the meeting to discuss the potential collaborations on developing a regional plan for earthquake risk assessment based on the existing capacities. The representatives of Afghanistan, Armenia, Cyprus, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Turkey joined the webinar.

Mr. Cvetan Cvetkovski, the Officer-in-Charge of the UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office opened the meeting by emphasizing the importance of the regional cooperation on sustainable management of natural resources and disaster risk reduction. The second speaker Dr. Mohammad Tatar, IIEES Vice president introduced the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology and its mandates. The new established UNESCO Category II Center was introduced by Dr. Kambod Amini Hosseini.

The next speech was about the basic requirements and existing capacities for earthquake monitoring and quick damage and loss assessment that was presented by Dr. Anooshirvan Ansari.

The meeting continued with the presentations of the representatives of member states and discussions on the potential regional cooperation for capacity building in earthquake risk assessment and management. It was agreed that the member states cooperate in two different working groups including:

WG1- Earthquake Monitoring: To conduct gap analysis for real-time earthquake observation/recording/monitoring systems, evaluation the needs and requirements (data gathering, data transfer, processing operation, …), and to assess the existing limitations and shortages.

WG2- Quick Damage and Loss Estimation: To assess the basic elements that need to be developed for the region (Shake Maps, exposure models, databases, damage and casualty functions, …), determine necessary tools and software, and make links between QD&LE and rapid response systems.

The webinar concluded by closing remarks from Mr. Soichiro YASUKAWA, Programme Specialist on Disaster Risk Reduction at UNESCO.

The countries located in West and Central Asia have been, throughout their history exposed to devastating natural hazards with geophysical or hydro-metrological origins. Of most important perils that have affected these countries over the past decades, earthquakes could be distinguished. In order to evaluate the earthquake risk and support the governments in this region, the Regional Education and Research Center on Earthquake Risk Management and Resilience for West and Central Asia under auspices of UNESCO, was established in 2020 at International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES).

UNESCO Teheran Office and the Headquarters support the Center to develop a project with the aims to evaluate the current situation of earthquake monitoring systems and damage assessment tools in the West and Central Asia, that are key tools for earthquake risk management.