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The EU Center of Excellence for Exascale in Solid Earth (ChEESE) develops exascale transition capabilities in the domain of Solid Earth, an area of geophysics rich in computational challenges embracing different approaches to exascale (capability, capacity, and urgent computing). The first implementation phase of the project (ChEESE-1P; 2018–2022) addressed scientific and technical computational challenges in seismology, tsunami science, volcanology, and magnetohydrodynamics, in order to understand the phenomena, anticipate the impact of natural disasters, and contribute to risk management. The project initiated the optimisation of 10 community flagship codes for the upcoming exascale systems and implemented 12 Pilot Demonstrators that combine the flagship codes with dedicated workflows in order to address the underlying capability and capacity computational challenges. Pilot Demonstrators reaching more mature Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) were further enabled in operational service environments on critical aspects of geohazards such as long-term and short-term probabilistic hazard assessment, urgent computing, and early warning and probabilistic forecasting. Partnership and service co-design with members of the project Industry and User Board (IUB) leveraged the uptake of results across multiple research institutions, academia, industry, and public governance bodies (e.g. civil protection agencies). This article summarises the implementation strategy and the results from ChEESE-1P, outlining also the underpinning concepts and the roadmap for the on-going second project implementation phase (ChEESE-2P; 2023–2026)., Future Generation Computer Systems, 146, ISSN:0167-739X, ISSN:1872-7115

We present a source solution for the tsunami generated by the Mw 6.6 earthquake that occurred on 2 May 2020, about 80 km offshore south of Crete, in the Cretan Passage, on the shallow portion of the Hellenic Arc subduction zone (HASZ). The tide gauges recorded this local tsunami on the southern coast of Crete and Kasos island. We used Crete tsunami observations to constrain the geometry and orientation of the causative fault, the rupture mechanism, and the slip amount. We first modelled an ensemble of synthetic tsunami waveforms at the tide gauge locations, produced for a range of earthquake parameter values as constrained by some of the available moment tensor solutions. We allow for both a splay and a back-thrust fault, corresponding to the two nodal planes of the moment tensor solution. We then measured the misfit between the synthetic and the Ierapetra observed marigram for each source parameter set. Our results identify the shallow, steeply dipping back-thrust fault as the one producing the lowest misfit to the tsunami data. However, a rupture on a lower angle fault, possibly a splay fault, with a sinistral component due to the oblique convergence on this segment of the HASZ, cannot be completely ruled out. This earthquake reminds us that the uncertainty regarding potential earthquake mechanisms at a specific location remains quite significant. In this case, for example, it is not possible to anticipate if the next event will be one occurring on the subduction interface, on a splay fault, or on a back-thrust, which seems the most likely for the event under investigation. This circumstance bears important consequences because back-thrust and splay faults might enhance the tsunamigenic potential with respect to the subduction interface due to their steeper dip. Then, these results are relevant for tsunami forecasting in the framework of both the long-term hazard assessment and the early warning systems.

Special issue EPOS a Research Infrastructure in solid Earth: open science and innovation .-- 21 pages, 8 figures, Tsunamis constitute a significant hazard for European coastal populations, and the impact of tsunami events worldwide can extend well beyond the coastal regions directly affected. Understanding the complex mechanisms of tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation, as well as managing the tsunami risk, requires multidisciplinary research and infrastructures that cross national boundaries. Recent decades have seen both great advances in tsunami science and consolidation of the European tsunami research community. A recurring theme has been the need for a sustainable platform for coordinated tsunami community activities and a hub for tsunami services. Following about three years of preparation, in July 2021, the European tsunami community attained the status of Candidate Thematic Core Service (cTCS) within the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) Research Infrastructure. Within a transition period of three years, the Tsunami candidate TCS is anticipated to develop into a fully operational EPOS TCS. We here outline the path taken to reach this point, and the envisaged form of the future EPOS TCS Tsunami. Our cTCS is planned to be organised within four thematic pillars: (1) Support to Tsunami Service Providers, (2) Tsunami Data, (3) Numerical Models, and (4) Hazard and Risk Products. We outline how identified needs in tsunami science and tsunami risk mitigation will be addressed within this structure and how participation within EPOS will become an integration point for community development, With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)

The family possesses an essential function in the training of the future generations, because the foundations for values education reside in it so that they will contribute to the development of the healthy and virtuous society that it is needed. Reason why it is inevitable to improve the theoretical and methodological bases that guide their performance, as well as to achieve effective tools to motivate and train in the display of its educational rector role to build quality generations, which constitutes an indispensable challenge. In this respect, this work is aimed at revitalizing and enriching those principles without obviating the current context that we are living, and some tools are also offered that facilitate a better family performance in the educational work of values.

Destructive tsunamis are most often generated by large earthquakes occurring at subduction interfaces, but also other “atypical” sources—defined as crustal earthquakes and non-seismic sources altogether—may cause significant tsunami threats. Tsunamis may indeed be generated by different sources, such as earthquakes, submarine or coastal landslides, volcano-related phenomena, and atmospheric perturbations. The consideration of atypical sources is important worldwide, but it is especially prominent in complex tectonic settings such as the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, or the Indonesian archipelago. The recent disasters in Indonesia in 2018, caused by the Palu-Sulawesi magnitude Mw 7.5 crustal earthquake and by the collapse of the Anak-Krakatau volcano, recall the importance of such sources. Dealing with atypical sources represents a scientific, technical, and computational challenge, which depends on the capability of quantifying and managing uncertainty efficiently and of reducing it with accurate physical modelling. Here, we first introduce the general framework in which tsunami threats are treated, and then we review the current status and the expected future development of tsunami hazard quantifications and of the tsunami warning systems in Italy, with a specific focus on the treatment of atypical sources. In Italy, where the memory of historical atypical events like the 1908 Messina earthquake or the relatively recent 2002 Stromboli tsunami is still vivid, specific attention has been indeed dedicated to the progressive development of innovative strategies to deal with such atypical sources. More specifically, we review the (national) hazard analyses and their application for coastal planning, as well as the two operating tsunami warning systems: the national warning system for seismically generated tsunamis (SiAM), whose upstream component—the CAT-INGV—is also a Tsunami Service Provider of the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas Tsunami Warning System (NEAMTWS) coordinated by the Intergovernmental Coordination Group established by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, and the local warning system for tsunamis generated by volcanic slides along the Sciara del Fuoco of Stromboli volcano. Finally, we review the state of knowledge about other potential tsunami sources that may generate significant tsunamis for the Italian coasts, but that are not presently considered in existing tsunami warning systems. This may be considered the first step towards their inclusion in the national tsunami hazard and warning programs.

Site-specific seismic probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (SPTHA) is a computationally demanding task, as it requires, in principle, a huge number of high-resolution numerical simulations for producing probabilistic inundation maps. We implemented an efficient and robust methodology using a filtering procedure to reduce the number of numerical simulations needed while still allowing for a full treatment of aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. Moreover, to avoid biases in tsunami hazard assessment, we developed a strategy to identify and separately treat tsunamis generated by near-field earthquakes. Indeed, the coseismic deformation produced by local earthquakes necessarily affects tsunami intensity, depending on the scenario size, mechanism and position, as coastal uplift or subsidence tends to diminish or increase the tsunami hazard, respectively. Therefore, we proposed two parallel filtering schemes in the far- and the near-field, based on the similarity of offshore tsunamis and hazard curves and on the similarity of the coseismic fields, respectively. This becomes mandatory as offshore tsunami amplitudes can not represent a proxy for the coastal inundation in the case of near-field sources. We applied the method to an illustrative use case at the Milazzo oil refinery (Sicily, Italy). We demonstrate that a blind filtering procedure can not properly account for local sources and would lead to a nonrepresentative selection of important scenarios. For the specific source–target configuration, this results in an overestimation of the tsunami hazard, which turns out to be correlated to dominant coastal uplift. Different settings could produce either the opposite or a mixed behavior along the coastline. However, we show that the effects of the coseismic deformation due to local sources can not be neglected and a suitable correction has to be employed when assessing local-scale SPTHA, irrespective of the specific signs of coastal displacement.

Regional and global tsunami hazard analysis requires simplified and efficient methods for estimating the tsunami inundation height and its related uncertainty. One such approach is the amplification factor (AF) method. Amplification factors describe the relation between offshore wave height and the maximum inundation height, as predicted by linearized plane wave models employed for incident waves with different wave characteristics. In this study, a new amplification factor method is developed that takes into account the offshore bathymetry proximal to the coastal site. The present AFs cover the North-Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (NEAM) region. The model is the first general approximate model that quantifies inundation height uncertainty. Uncertainty quantification is carried out by analyzing the inundation height variability in more than 500 high-resolution inundation simulations at six different coastal sites. The inundation simulations are undertaken with different earthquake sources in order to produce different wave period and polarity. We show that the probability density of the maximum inundation height can be modeled with a log-normal distribution, whose median is quite well predicted by the AF. It is further demonstrated that the associated maximum inundation height uncertainties are significant and must be accounted for in tsunami hazard analysis. The application to the recently developed TSUMAPS-NEAM probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (PTHA) is presented as a use case.

We present a source solution for the tsunami generated by the Mw 6.6 earthquake that occurred on May 2, 2020, about 807thinsp;km offshore south of Crete, in the Cretan Passage, on the shallow portion of the Hellenic Arc Subduction Zone (HASZ). The tide-gauges recorded this local tsunami on the southern coast of Crete island and Kasos island. We used these tsunami observations to constrain the geometry and orientation of the causative fault, the rupture mechanism and the slip amount. We first modelled an ensemble of synthetic tsunami waveforms at the tide-gauge locations, produced for a range of earthquake parameter values as constrained by some of the available moment tensor solutions. We allow for both a splay and a back-thrust fault, corresponding to the two nodal planes of the moment tensor solution. We then measured the misfit between the synthetic and the observed marigrams for each source parameter set. Our results identify the shallow steeply-dipping back-thrust fault as the one producing the lowest misfit to the tsunami data. However, a rupture on a lower angle fault, possibly a splay fault, with a sinistral component due to the oblique convergence on this segment of the HASZ, cannot be completely ruled out. This earthquake reminds us that the uncertainty regarding potential earthquake mechanisms at a specific location remains quite significant. In this case, for example, it is not possible to anticipate if the next event will be one occurring on the subduction interface, on a splay fault, or on a back-thrust which seems the most likely for the event under investigation. This circumstance bears important consequences because back-thrust and splay faults might enhance the tsunamigenic potential with respect to the subduction interface due to their steeper dip. Then, these results are relevant for tsunami forecasting both in the framework of the long-term hazard assessment and of the early warning systems.

Inundation maps are a fundamental tool for coastal risk management and in particular for designing evacuation maps and evacuation planning. These in turn are a necessary component of the tsunami warning systems’ last-mile. In Italy inundation maps are informed by a probabilistic tsunami hazard model. Based on a given level of acceptable risk, Italian authorities in charge for this task recommended to consider, as design hazard intensity, the average return period of 2500 years and the 84th percentile of the hazard model uncertainty. An available, regional-scale tsunami hazard model was used that covers the entire Italian coastline. Safety factors based on analysis of run-up variability and an empirical coastal dissipation law on a digital terrain model (DTM) were applied to convert the regional hazard into the design run-up and the corresponding evacuation maps with a GIS-based approach. Since the regional hazard cannot fully capture the local-scale variability, this simplified and conservative approach is considered a viable and feasible practice to inform local coastal risk management in the absence of high-resolution hazard models. The present work is a first attempt to quantify the uncertainty stemming from such procedure. We compare the GIS-based inundation maps informed by a regional model with those obtained from a local high-resolution hazard model. Two locations on the coast of eastern Sicily were considered, and the local hazard was addressed with the same seismic model as the regional one, but using a higher-resolution DTM and massive numerical inundation calculations with the GPU-based Tsunami-HySEA nonlinear shallow water code. This study shows that the GIS-based inundation maps used for planning deal conservatively with potential hazard underestimation at the local scale, stemming from typically unmodeled uncertainties in the numerical source and tsunami evolution models. The GIS-based maps used for planning fall within the estimated “error-bar” due to such uncertainties. The analysis also demonstrates the need to develop local assessments to serve very specific risk mitigation actions to reduce the uncertainty. More in general, the presented case-studies highlight the importance to explore ways of dealing with uncertainty hidden within the high-resolution numerical inundation models, e.g., related to the crude parameterization of the bottom friction, or the inaccuracy of the DTM.

Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (PTHA) quantifies the probability of exceeding a specified inundation intensity at a given location within a given time interval. PTHA provides scientific guidance for tsunami risk analysis and risk management, including coastal planning and early warning. Explicit computation of site-specific PTHA, with an adequate discretization of source scenarios combined with high-resolution numerical inundation modelling, has been out of reach with existing models and computing capabilities, with tens to hundreds of thousands of moderately intensive numerical simulations being required for exhaustive uncertainty quantification. In recent years, more efficient GPU-based High-Performance Computing (HPC) facilities, together with efficient GPU-optimized shallow water type models for simulating tsunami inundation, have now made local long-term hazard assessment feasible. A workflow has been developed with three main stages: 1) Site-specific source selection and discretization, 2) Efficient numerical inundation simulation for each scenario using the GPU-based Tsunami-HySEA numerical tsunami propagation and inundation model using a system of nested topo-bathymetric grids, and 3) Hazard aggregation. We apply this site-specific PTHA workflow here to Catania, Sicily, for tsunamigenic earthquake sources in the Mediterranean. We illustrate the workflows of the PTHA as implemented for High-Performance Computing applications, including preliminary simulations carried out on intermediate scale GPU clusters. We show how the local hazard analysis conducted here produces a more fine-grained assessment than is possible with a regional assessment. However, the new local PTHA indicates somewhat lower probabilities of exceedance for higher maximum inundation heights than the available regional PTHA. The local hazard analysis takes into account small-scale tsunami inundation features and non-linearity which the regional-scale assessment does not incorporate. However, the deterministic inundation simulations neglect some uncertainties stemming from the simplified source treatment and tsunami modelling that are embedded in the regional stochastic approach to inundation height estimation. Further research is needed to quantify the uncertainty associated with numerical inundation modelling and to properly propagate it onto the hazard results, to fully exploit the potential of site-specific hazard assessment based on massive simulations.

The NEAM Tsunami Hazard Model 2018 (NEAMTHM18) is a probabilistic hazard model for tsunamis generated by earthquakes. It covers the coastlines of the North-East Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and connected Seas (NEAM). In this online data product, the hazard results are provided by hazard curves calculated at 2,343 Points of Interest (POI), distributed in the North-East Atlantic (1,076 POIs), the Mediterranean Sea (1,130 POIs), and the Black Sea (137 POIs) at an average spacing of ~20 km. For each POI, hazard curves are given for the mean, 2nd, 16th, 50th, 84th, and 98th percentiles. Maps derived from hazard curves are Probability maps for Maximum Inundation Heights (MIH) of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 meters; Hazard maps for Average Return Periods (ARP) of 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000 years. For each map, precalculated displays are provided for the mean, the 16th percentile, and the 84th percentile. All data are also made accessible through an interactive web mapper and through Open Geospatial Consortium standard protocols. The model was prepared in the framework of the European Project TSUMAPS-NEAM (http://www.tsumaps-neam.eu/) funded by the mechanism of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (grant no. ECHO/SUB/2015/718568/PREV26)., Co-financed by the European-Union Civil Protection Mechanism Agreement Number: ECHO/SUB/2015/718568/PREV26

Co-auteur étranger; International audience; A probabilistic hazard analysis of tsunami generated by subaqueous volcanic explosion is applied to the Campi Flegrei caldera (Campania, Italy). An event tree is developed to quantify the tsunami hazard due to the submarine explosions by: i) defining potential size classes of explosion magnitude on the basis of past volcanic activity in the Campi Flegrei caldera and sites in the underwater part of the caldera; ii) simulating the generation and propagation of the consequent tsunami waves able to reach the coasts of the Campania region for all combinations of tsunami-generating vents and sizes; and iii) quantifying the tsunami probability and relative uncertainty, conditional upon the occurrence of an underwater eruption at Campi Flegrei. Tsunami hazard generated by subaqueous volcanic explosions is considered crucial because of its potential high impact on the densely populated coastal areas of the Pozzuoli Bay and Gulf of Naples even if the probability for eruptions in the submarine part of the caldera is certainly low. The tsunami hazard analysis is presented using conditional hazard curves and maps, that is calculating the probability (and relative uncertainties) of exceeding given tsunami intensity thresholds (wave amplitudes at the coast), given the occurrence of a subaqueous eruption. The results indicate that a significant tsunami hazard exists in many areas of the Bay of Naples.

Site-specific Seismic Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (SPTHA) is computationally demanding, as it requires in principle a huge number of high-resolution numerical simulations for producing probabilistic inundation maps. We implemented an efficient and robust methodology that, based on the similarity of offshore tsunamis and hazard curves in front of a target site, uses a filtering procedure to reduce the number of numerical simulations needed, while still allowing full treatment of aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. Moreover, near-field sources are identified, on the basis of the tsunami coseismic initial conditions, and treated separately to avoid biases in the tsunami hazard assessment. In fact, coastal coseismic deformation necessarily affects the tsunami intensity, depending on the scenario size, mechanism, and position. Therefore, we developed two parallel filtering schemes in the far- and the near-field, respectively. For near-field sources, offshore tsunami amplitude can not represent a proxy for the coastal inundation, and filtering is based on coseismic field. By comparison of the results obtained with and without the correction for the near-field sources, for a use-case at the Milazzo oil refinery (Sicily, Italy), we demonstrated that special treatment of local sources plays a fundamental role and is applicable in local scale SPTHA.

Se presenta el caso clínico de un infante de 2 años de edad, cuya progenitora lo llevó a consulta por presentar orinas oscuras y dolor abdominal en algunas ocasiones. Al examen físico se encontró hepatomegalia no dolorosa, que rebasaba en 2 cm el reborde costal derecho. En la ecografía abdominal se observaron múltiples calcificaciones hepáticas y la técnica de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa resultó positiva a citomegalovirus tanto en suero como en sangre. Los resultados de estos exámenes, así como los antecedentes de la madre y el niño permitieron diagnosticar una infección congénita por citomegalovirus. El paciente evolucionó favorablemente y hasta el momento de efectuado este artículo se mantenía asintomático.

The 24 August 2016 earthquake very heavily struck the central sector of the Apennines among the Lazio,Umbria, Marche and Abruzzi regions, devastating the town of Amatrice, the nearby villages and other localities along the Tronto valley. In this paper we present the results of the macroseismic field survey carried out using the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS) to take the heterogeneity of the building stock into account. We focused on the epicentral area, where geological conditions may also have contributed to the severity of damage. On the whole, we investigated 143 localities; the maximum intensity 10 EMS has been estimated for Amatrice, Pescara del Tronto and some villages in between. The severely damaged area (8-9 EMS) covers a strip trending broadly N-S and extending 15 km in length and 5 km in width; minor damage occurred over an area up to 35 km northward from the epicenter.

After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami catastrophe, UNESCO through the IOC (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission) sponsored the establishment of Intergovernmental Coordination Groups (ICG) with the aim to devise and implement Tsunami Warning Systems (TWSs) in all the oceans exposed to tsunamis, in addition to the one already in operation in the Pacific (PTWS). In this context, since 2005, efforts have begun for the establishment of TWSs in the Indian Ocean (IOTWS), in the Caribbean area (CARIBE EWS) and in the North Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAMTWS). In this paper, we focus on a specific tool that was first introduced in the PTWS routine operations, i.e., the Decision Matrix (DM). This is an easy-to-use table establishing a link between the main parameters of an earthquake and the possible ensuing tsunami in order to make quick decision on the type of alert bulletins that a Tsunami Warning Center launches to its recipients. In the process of implementation of a regional TWS for the NEAM area, two distinct DMs were recently proposed by the ICG/NEAMTWS, one for the Atlantic and the other for the entire Mediterranean area. This work applies the Mediterranean NEAMTWS DM to the earthquakes recorded in Italy and compares the action predicted by the DM vs. the action that should be appropriate in view of the observed tsunami characteristics with the aim to establish how good the performance of the Italian TWS will be when it uses the DM for future events. To this purpose, we make use of the parametric catalogue of the Italian earthquakes (CPTI04) compiled in 2004 and the most recent compilation of the Italian tsunami, based on the Italian Tsunami Catalogue of 2004 and the subsequent revisions. In order to better compare the TWS actions, we have identified four different kinds of action coding them from 0 to 3 according to the tsunami severity and have further considered three different distance ranges where these actions apply, that is local, regional and basin-wide, that refer to the distance of the message recipients from the tsunami source. The result of our analysis is that the actions prescribed by the DM are adequate only in 45%–55% of the cases, overestimations are about 37% and underestimations are the rest. As a whole, the predictive ability of the DM is not satisfactory, which implies that recipients have the difficult task in managing bulletins carrying a great deal of uncertainty and on the other hand also suggests that strategies to improve the DM or to go beyond the DM need to be found.

Se realizó un estudio cualitativo y descriptivo para analizar la evolución histórica tendencial del proceso formativo del médico a partir de 1959 hasta 2011, que posibilite perfeccionar su preparación profesional como general integral básico. Para ello se revisaron documentos, normativas, indicaciones y resoluciones del Viceministerio de Docencia Médica Superior y el Ministerio de Educación Superior, respectivamente, así como todo lo relacionado con la organización del sistema de salud cubano; de igual manera se entrevistó a profesores con más de 20 años en la docencia -- incluidos aquí los criterios de la autora --, al personal directivo de diferentes generaciones de graduados y a estudiantes de medicina que se forman actualmente. El análisis y la interpretación de la información obtenida revelaron que el proceso formativo del médico en Cuba ha evolucionado favorablemente en todas las provincias, tanto en calidad como cantidad, con una tendencia ascendente del desarrollo del sistema sanitario en el país.A qualitative and descriptive study was carried out to analyze the historical development of medical training from 1959 to 2011, which allows to improve vocational training as basic comprehensive general physician. With this purpose documents, regulations, and indications and resolutions of the Vice Ministry of Higher Medical Education and the Ministry of Higher Education respectively were reviewed, as well as all the related to the organization of the Cuban health system. In same way professors with more than 20 years in teaching -- including here the criteria of the author -- management staff of different generations of graduates and medical students that are training now were interviewed. The analysis and interpretation of obtained data revealed that medical training in Cuba has been developed favorably in all provinces, in both quality and quantity, with an upward tendency of the development of the health system in the country.

Se realizó una investigación cualitativa de intervención, a fin de implementar una estrategia para el trabajo educativo y desarrollo de valores en los estudiantes de cuarto año de medicina, que posibilite perfeccionar la formación del médico general integral básico en el Hospital Infantil Sur de Santiago de Cuba. Para ello se utilizaron técnicas de intervención-acción, intervención-acción-participación, guía estructurada de observación, así como normativas, indicaciones y resoluciones ministeriales a los efectos, entre otros documentos sobre el tema, además de entrevistas con profesores, personal directivo y educandos en diferentes áreas docentes. La mencionada estrategia garantiza una mejor integración del estudiantado, preparación metodológica adecuada de los profesores y marcada intencionalidad en el desarrollo de valores, lo cual contribuye a perfeccionar la formación del alumnado para ejercer en la atención primaria de salud con mayor protagonismo.A qualitative intervention research was carried out in order to implement a strategy for the educational work and value formation in medical students of fourth year, which allows improving the general physician's training in the Southern Children Hospital from Santiago de Cuba. For this reason, some techniques such as intervention-action, intervention-action-participation, observational structured guide, as well as some regulations, indications, and ministerial resolutions to these effects, among other documents about this topic, including interviews to professors, management staff, and students from the different teaching areas, were used. The aforementioned strategy guarantees a better student integration, an appropriate methodological training of professors, and a markedly intentionality in the value formation, which contribute to improve the student training to practice medicine in primary health care showing a great performance.

The volcanic archipelago of the Aeolian Islands (Sicily, Italy) is included on the UNESCO World Heritage list and is visited by more than 200 000 tourists per year. Due to its geological characteristics, the risk related to volcanic and seismic activity is particularly high. Since 1916 the archipelago has been hit by eight local tsunamis. The most recent and intense of these events happened on 30 December 2002. It was triggered by two successive landslides along the north-western side of the Stromboli volcano (Sciara del Fuoco), which poured approximately 2–3×107 m3 of rocks and debris into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The waves impacted across the whole archipelago, but most of the damage to buildings and infrastructures occurred on the islands of Stromboli (maximum run-up 11 m) and Panarea. The aim of this study is to assess the vulnerability of buildings to damage from tsunamis located within the same area inundated by the 2002 event. The assessment is carried out by using the PTVA-3 Model (Papathoma Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment, version 3). The PTVA-3 Model calculates a Relative Vulnerability Index (RVI) for every building, based on a set of selected physical and structural attributes. Run-up values within the area inundated by the 2002 tsunami were measured and mapped by the Istituto Italiano di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) and the University of Bologna during field surveys in January 2003. Results of the assessment show that if the same tsunami were to occur today, 54 buildings would be affected in Stromboli, and 5 in Panarea. The overall vulnerability level obtained in this analysis for Stromboli and Panarea are "average"/"low" and "very low", respectively. Nonetheless, 14 buildings in Stromboli are classified as having a "high" or "average" vulnerability. For some buildings, we were able to validate the RVI scores calculated by the PTVA-3 Model through a qualitative comparison with photographs taken by INGV and the University of Bologna during the post-tsunami survey. With the exception of a single structure, which is partially covered by a coastal dune on the seaward side, we found a good degree of accuracy between the PTVA-3 Model forecast assessments and the actual degree of damage experienced by buildings. This validation of the model increases our confidence in its predictive capability. Given the high tsunami risk for the archipelago, our results provide a framework for prioritising investments in prevention measures and addressing the most relevant vulnerability issues of the built environment, particularly on the island of Stromboli.

On May 20, 2012, at 4:03 local time (2:03 UTC), a large part of the Po Valley between the cities of Ferrara, Modena and Mantova was struck by a damaging earthquake (Ml 5.9). The epicenter was located by the Istituto Nazionale di Geo-fisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) seismic network [ISIDe 2010] at 44.889 ˚N and 11.228 ˚E, approximately 30 km west of Ferrara (Figure 1). The event was preceded by a foreshock that occurred at 01:13 local time, with a magnitude of Ml 4. The mainshock started an intense seismic sequence that lasted for weeks, counting more than 2,000 events, six of which had Ml >5. The strongest earthquakes of this sequence occurred on May 29, 2012, with Ml 5.8 and Ml 5.3, recorded at 9:00 and 12:55 local time, respectively. The epicenters of the May 29, 2012, events were located at the westernmost part of the rupture zone of the May 20, 2012, earthquake (Figure 2). The May 20 and 29, 2012, earthquakes were felt through the whole of northern and central Italy, and as far as Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, south-eastern France and southern Germany. Historical information reveals that the seismic activity in the Po Valley is moderate […]

F. Dall’Osso1,2,4, A. Maramai3, L. Graziani3, B. Brizuela3, A. Cavalletti2,4, M. Gonella2,4, and S. Tinti5 1CIRSA, Interdepartmental Centre for Environmental Sciences Research, University of Bologna, via S. Alberto 163, 48100 Ravenna, Italy 2IDRA, Environmental Research Institute, via Kennedy 37, 44100 Ferrara, Italy 3INGV, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy 4Med Ingegneria S.r.l., Environmental Engineering, via P. Zangheri 16, 48124 Ravenna, Italy 5University of Bologna, Department of Physics, Viale Carlo Berti Pichat 8, 40127 Bologna, Italy