Natural Disaster Preparedness & Response – A Project for Italy

In October 2019, Meridian International Center welcomed a group of eight geoscientists, civil protection officers, and fire safety experts for the International Visitor Leadership Program, “Natural Disaster Preparedness and Response.”  The program focused on geological and natural disaster risk, including floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions.

The group began their program in San Francisco, California, where they met with seismology researchers and local government agencies that manage emergency events in the Bay Area. The group then traveled to Sacramento, California, to meet with state-level emergency managers, including the California Office of Emergency Services, where they visited the CalOES command center during the outbreak of wildfires. Further north they traveled to Paradise, California, to visit the site of the deadly Camp Fire the previous year.

In Portland, Oregon, the group met with experts at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program, which monitors and studies active volcanoes around the world. Over the weekend the group took a short road trip to visit Mount St. Helens, site of the 1980 volcanic eruption.

The program ended in Washington, DC, with roundtable discussions from federal government agencies tasked with analyzing geological risk, communicating risk to the public, and responding in case of natural disasters.

Italian visitors visit the Sacramento City Fire Department (Station 19) to talk firefighting and experiences of emergency preparation, response and recovery.

During some well-deserved free time in San Francisco.

The California Office of Emergency Management Control Center.

During their time at Berkeley the group visited the Berkeley Seismology Laboratory and the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER).

FEMA Oakland Region IX hosted the Italian group for meetings for an overview of FEMA’s work and the role of regional offices in coordinating disaster response.

Sharing session with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, which manages cleanup of hazardous materials in case of disasters like flood, earthquake, or tsunami. (Photo Credit: CalDTSC)

Sponsors and Partners