NZ scientists working on disaster preparedness in the Pacific

Geologists from GNS Science will spend the next six months collecting information on buildings and other infrastructure in Pacific Island countries to measure vulnerability and risk from earthquakes and cyclones in the southwest Pacific. Project leader, Phil Glassey of GNS Science said, data would be collected in a form that could be used in any GIS to ensure it had maximum utility for the project and for the countries involved. Scientists from GNS Science will work closely with Pacific regional organisations and government officials in the collection of the information. The Asian Development Bank has contracted GNS Science to carry out the work over the next two years in association with the Pacific Disaster Centre and the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), based in Fiji. The work will be carried out in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

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