NEAM-COMMITMENT Capacity Building Training Workshop Rome, 28-29 May, 2025

Within the framework of the NEAM-COMMITMENT project, a technical capacity-building workshop on tsunami inundation mapping was held at the headquarters of ISPRA in Rome, Italy, from May 28 to 29, focused on training the workshop participants from CNRS, GSD, IHCantabria and NOA in using GIS-based tools for tsunami hazard mapping. Project partners ISPRA, INGV and DPC, who have developed and applied the methodology to produce national tsunami inundation maps in Italy, transferred their valuable knowledge through a series of presentations covering the tsunami hazard inputs, the decision-making process, input data, GIS-based tools and resulting inundation maps used to develop the inundation maps for Italy.

The GIS-based tools harvest the probabilistic tsunami hazard curves from the NEAM Tsunami Hazard Model 2018 (NEAMTHM18), which evaluates seismic tsunami hazard in the NEAM region, providing crucial data for coastal hazard assessment. Participants were trained to utilize the GIS-based tools developed by ISPRA and INGV to convert the offshore tsunami hazard curves into actionable inundation maps after incorporating safety factors. Through the installation, demonstration, and application of the QGIS tools, the workshop participants received on-the-job training by applying the methodology in selected coastal areas of Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, and Spain. 

The technical training received will allow the project partners GSD, IHCantabria and NOA, as well as CNRS of Lebanon who was invited to the workshop, to develop preliminary national tsunami inundation maps for their respective countries. These maps will be presented in the national workshops that will be held in year 2026 to make a choice of the design parameters that will be used to translate the offshore probabilistic tsunami hazard to inundation zones. 

Stay tuned as more news will be periodically shared on NEAM-COMMITMENT project activities!