On October 17, 2017 in the conference hall of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan (AST) there was a Turkmen-Japanese seminar on the exchange of experience in reducing the risks of natural disasters. The forum, which was attended by specialists from Japan, was organized within the framework of the joint project "Improving the System of Seismological Observations in and around the City of Ashgabat", which united the Institute of Seismology and Atmospheric Physics of the AST and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In addition to representatives of the joint project, the seminar was attended by about 300 specialists representing various state and international structures: the UN Office, the National Red Crescent Society, the Ashgabat city administration, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Education, Construction and Architecture, Health and Medical industry, the Main State Service "Turkmenstandartlary", the State Concern "Turkmengaz", the Main Emergency and Rescue Division of the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan, Institute of Earthquake Engineering, International University of Oil and Gas, Engineering and Technology University named after Oguz Khan, the “Ashgabatgaz” administration and other departments.
The purpose of the meeting was to get acquainted with the world's leading developments and Japanese experience in disaster risk reduction and with the tasks of the project, establishing direct contacts between scientific departments, related industry structures working in the field of seismology, construction and liquidation of emergencies.
One of the key topics of discussion was the choice of effective communication channels to inform about the potential threat the organizations responsible for disaster prevention, and emergency response. To create a target observation network, it is important to intensify the cooperation of various sectoral structures at each stage of observations, including the processing and transmission of data, as well as their use. The project is focused on the rapid transmission of information on earthquakes, which will flow to all interested organizations.
It is planned that the JICA agency will transfer to Turkmenistan modern seismological equipment for registration of strong movements, digital seismic stations, and software tools for data processing. Specialists of the Institute will undergo training in modern seismic information processing technologies in Japan.
