BACKGROUND:
Considering the effects of the eruption of Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala, in 2018, the Board of Directors of ASGMI at its meeting 06/2018 held in June 2018, at the proposal of its President, Dr. Oscar Paredes, agreed to the creation of this group of experts with the general objective that ASGMI, in the face of situations of geological hazards, could provide technical, preventive and/or hazard assessment support of geological processes to the geological services members of the Association that needed it.
Following the agreement of the Board of Directors, the Group of Experts in Geological Hazards -GEAG- was formally constituted at the XXIV Ordinary General Assembly held in the city of Salta, Argentina, in August 2018, and started its activity in 2019 under the coordination of Dr. Marta Calvache, Technical Director of Geological Hazards of the Colombian Geological Survey.
Subsequently, the group was structured in two subgroups, one to attend processes related to internal geodynamics, seismicity and volcanism, and the other for external geodynamics such as mass movements.
MISSION AND VISION OF THE GROUP OF EXPERTS IN GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS:
The mission of the Group of Experts in Geological Hazards is to elaborate methodological guidelines for the characterization of hazard/risk from seismic and volcanic activity and mass movements for all ASGMI member countries, as well as to establish criteria for the creation of geological hazard maps.
The vision of the GEAG, in accordance with the objectives of its creation, is to become a group of experts providing scientific-technical support to the geological services members of ASGMI for the prevention and evaluation of the hazard/risk of geological processes susceptible to cause natural disasters.
SHORT AND MEDIUM TERM OBJECTIVES:
It is proposed to resume the objectives set in previous years in this year 2022 and, specifically, to maintain the cooperation links between the geological hazards departments of the geological services with representatives in the GEAG, especially with regard to sharing information on events likely to cause natural disasters, proposing, if necessary, the signing of the necessary agreements and, at the operational level, to carry out the inventory of mass movements in Ibero-America.
