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Steps toward Chilean-German cooperation in research on early warning systems for natural disasters and on environmental monitoring

Meeting of the DLR delegation with representatives of Chile‘s SHOA in the German consulate on November 10, 2011

A DLR delegation led by Prof. Stefan Dech held discussions on November 9 and 10 with Chile’s disaster control authority (ONEMI) and the army’s hydrographic and oceanographic service (SHOA). Both institutions expressed interest in cooperating in the area of research on early warning systems for disaster control in cases of natural hazards. Experience gained from the tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean (GITEWS) developed by German research institutes could contribute to future German-Chilean collaboration.

Chile is threatened by numerous natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, slope collapse, forest fires and storms. As part of the activities of DLR’s Center for Satellite Based Crisis Information and its membership in the International Charter Space and Major Disasters, relevant mapping has already been carried out and made available to Chilean authorities, for example, in connection with the Puyehue volcanic eruptions.