A training and research project in the Universities of Latin America. "An Italian and international collaborative effort to develop an activity in studying seismic, tsunami and volcanic activity's precursors and a contribute of psychology to population before and after a natural event".

Earthquake, volcanic and tsunami natural events determine areas with emergency situations in our planet that are often accompanied not only by the destruction of civilian and industrial infrastructure but also psychological consequences and sometimes have as a consequence thousand deaths. as well as being often followed by thousands of deaths. Until now the scientific communities around the world, even progress has been made over the last decade, are not able to determine with sufficient accuracy, when, where and what intensity of a seismic activity will take place. More options are into volcanic activity of which we are often able to determine the possibility of an eruption, most often known in its magnitude and its peculiarities. The purpose of this project, to be developed in the pilot area of Latin America, is to carry out training courses at universities that could lead to carry out the study and monitoring of pilot areas to determine the detection of important and widespread abnormal activity before a natural event and act on the psychological level of populations before and after a disaster. The purpose of the studies and monitoring is to verify the existence of common parameters that may indicate the possibility that in time a natural event can occur and to predict the magnitude, in order to avoid the loss of human life, as well as to minimize the impact on the environment and the cultural and historical heritage through the training of students. At the same time there is a psychological training, held in the competent departments at the Universities of Latin America, in complex emergencies as important intervention in assisting people affected by natural events and as an aid in prevention. The aim is to reduce the psychological damage created, in order to better deal with serious situations from the psychological point of view. The project's philosophy is simple, as it provides through training (master or specialization) the opportunity to develop your search by using the most important parameters, geochemistry and geophysics in different geological contexts: at the same time the involvement of the psychological dimension in this project is out the culmination of a long process of acknowledging the social and psychological support to populations at risk of natural disasters and as an aid in prevention. The multidisciplinary nature of the project makes it complex, but determines a large impact to the society as a whole, involving research institutes, universities, public and populations. The choice of Latin America as a place "pilot" is due to the close relationship that the Italian National Research Council had for years in this area with local universities and research institutes. The CNR (National Research Council of Italy) and IGRS (International Geo-hazard Research Society) from several years work on these issues, through the exchange of information. This project aims to create a network of research centres and universities may, with the scientific contribution of the Italian, Greek, German and international institutions, carry out research that converge on the study of the precursors of natural phenomena described above. The existing contacts with universities and research institutions in Latin America will be increased to build an international network which may, for a reasonable period to implement strategies for the study of precursors and training students to get to determine any anticipatory of natural events related to seismic, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis in close contact with local communities. Activities will be developed regarding the impact of natural hazards on the psychology of the people. The disasters cause large-scale destruction of infrastructure and economic resources together with the loss of human lives. The local communities are often not able to cope with the emergency alone. These issues are of primary importance for the trauma and suffering that can be caused by natural events. Poverty that often characterizes the populations affected by natural disasters is often accompanied by a lack of information, which is necessary as a measure of prevention of natural event in itself. The poorest sometimes seems natural to accept it as "fate" and this leads to consequences on the relationship between people and relationships with institutions from the community. Students trained will be able to continue autonomous in research in the development of methodologies for the study of precursors and to ensure psychological support to local populations, both before and after the natural disaster.