EUROVOLC
The European Network of Observatories and Research Infrastructures for Volcanology (EUROVOLC) will construct an integrated and harmonized European volcanological community able to fully support, exploit and build-upon existing and emerging national and pan-European research infrastructures, including eInfrastructures of the European Supersite volcanoes. The harmonization includes linking scientists and stakeholders and connecting still isolated volcanological infrastructures located at in situ volcano observatories (VO) and volcanological research institutions (VRIs).
Volcanology research is conducted by three main communities, (i) volcano observatories with responsibilities to monitor volcanic hazard, (ii) research institutes who collaborate closely with volcano observatories and (iii) a wider volcanology community with less direct contact with observatories.
NORDRESS (2015-2020)
The Nordic Centre of Excellence on Resilience and Societal Security (NORDRESS) is a research programme under the Social Security Programme of NordForsk. Its aim is to carry out multidisciplinary studies to enhance societal security and resilience to natural disasters. The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (the NCIP) is among 15 partners from all the Nordic countries.
FutureVolc – Iceland supersite project (2012 -2016)
FUTUREVOLC, a 26-partner project was funded by FP7 Environment Programme of the European Commission, addressing topic “Long-term monitoring experiment in geologically active regions of Europe prone to natural hazards: the Supersite concept”. The project started 1 October 2012 and has duration of 3.5 years. The supersite concept implies integration of space and ground based observations for improved monitoring and evaluation of volcanic hazards, and open data policy. The project was led by University Iceland together with the Icelandic Meteorological Office
and the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management was looking at risk management and best practices in risk communication, among other things:
- Report on forensic analysis of the Eyjafjallajökull and Grimsvötn
communication and risk management response across Europe - Development of standardized volcanic information, lexicon and warning messages for the EU-MIC communication hub
- Report entitled ‘Mapping best practice in the dissemination of scientific data and information from the scientific community to stakeholders’
- Report on feedback of FUTUREVOLC impact from end users across Europe
Mass Evacuation Project
Governments across Europe are preparing their emergency services and civil contingency to respond to major catastrophic incidents. Mass evacuation is one aspect that governments have to plan for, coordinate and execute. Since the need for mass evacuation is rare and unexpected (in that advanced warning is restricted), operational preparedness often centres on building predictive models to evaluate the ability of different operational configurations to meet performance targets.
The objective of this project was to survey how EU countries prepare for mass evacuation. The aim is to broadly identify good practice and share this across Europe.
This three year project was funded by the European Commission under the Directorate-General for Justice Freedom and Security.
The Ergo project had an Advisory Board of senior practitioners from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This Board met twice per year to review progress and direct the focus of activity onto practically relevant issues in mass evacuation.
Co-safe (Cooperation for Safety in sparsely populated areas) was a project to find operational service solutions for cooperation between the Northern Periphery Programme countries in management of disasters and accidents in sparsely populated areas, meeting gaps and needs towards safer rural areas.
The project addresses the need for increased safety in the rural and sparsely populated areas of the Northern Periphery Programme countries. The core of the project aimed to improve the management of major accidents and disasters in rural areas with poor transportation infrastructure, limited telecommunications, and extreme weather conditions. The project focuses on the survival and well-being of victims/patients through effective on site pre-hospital care (Emergency Medical Care) -all the way from the scene of the accident to the hospital. Another major focus is guaranteeing the safety of all rescue personnel, offering them on-site guidance and support, allowing them to fully focus on an effective rescue effort.