Seismic Possibilities for ITaly-Mexico Tech Cooperation

On Nov. 4, 1966, Florence, with its palaces and works of art, was hit by water and mud from the flooding of the Arno River. 

The disaster covered the city, damaged and put at risk thousands of art pieces and historic buildings. The pictures and audiovisual materials that were published in the news of the time tell us a different reality of the disaster, showing thousands of volunteers from around the world coming to the city to help in the relief work and preservation of the historical heritage. 

Those young people would be called in Italian “the angels of the mud” and demonstrate how society manages to organize itself in solidarity, as was also the case  with the earthquakes in Friuli (1976) and Irpinia (1980). Those were social mobilizations that succeeded in showing politicians the need to structure a National Civil Defense System, which became  a reality in 1982. 

The system has a regional structure and relies on intervention mechanisms throughout the Italian headquarters whose central operational roles pivot on the National Fire Department.

The National Civil Defense System was subsequently reformed with further legislative interventions and today represents the excellence of Italy as a country. 

In this context, the Italian Trade Agency has since 2018 initiated a collaboration program with  Mexico’s National Coordination of Civil Protection (CNPC) and the National Disaster Prevention Center (CENAPRED). 

Italy and Mexico share, in fact, an area sensitive to the impact of natural phenomena and with a view to industrial collaboration and the interchange of experiences and technologies between our two countries, agreements are active between their respective national civil protection departments. 

Among the joint initiatives carried out was a seminar/workshop on Mitigation of the Effects of Natural Disasters in 2018 and a mission of Mexican experts to Italy in 2019 in collaboration with the National Fire Department. Finally, after pausing initiatives for two years due to the COVID pandemic, a workshop was held in July 2022 at CENAPRED with participation on the Italian side of the National Fire Department, the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) and private companies as well as specialized Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from the two countries. 

Mexico is a country that in the face of exposure to natural events has developed over the years a civil protection system that covers the three spheres of territorial, municipal, state and federal government. 

The efforts that the Mexican government faces, in the short and medium term, are substantial and in this context, Italian technologies applied to the prevention of seismic risks and solutions related to the prevention and management of natural phenomena suggest  there are interesting areas of collaboration with Italian institutions and companies. 

Based on the experiences acquired, the Italian Trade Agency in close collaboration with local authorities has structured a specific intervention aimed at involving the Italian and local corporate and institutional reality operating in the sector on: 

1) Emergency management in collapsed structures and current urban risks

2) Use of techniques and technologies related to USAR methodologies in Italy

3) Technologies for search and rescue operations in collapsed structures 

4) Organization and technological management of command-and-control centers

5) Technologies for fire control

6) Technologies for monitoring natural phenomena and early warning for the civilian population

7) Methodologies and technologies to prepare the civilian population for emergency management, including through the use of the metaverse and virtual reality

8) Landslide and landslide monitoring

Italy, through its system of companies and research centers, is already collaborating on several fronts with Mexican authorities in the civil defense sector. 

We can mention in this regard the collaboration between INAH and several Italian universities for the restoration of some convents damaged in the 2017 earthquakes, as well as the use of the COPERNICUS satellite system during several emergencies.

During the seminar in July, the possibility of using an innovative methodology of particular interest with regard to training the population in civil defense matters emerged: the use of gaming and virtual reality. To give an example: the development in the metaverse of disaster scenarios in which the population interacts with rescue teams, learning not to hinder, unintentionally and often driven by the sacrosanct desire to help, rescue work and to organize themselves in ancillary support activities. 

Another front in which Italy has much to offer is the use of artificial intelligence in emergency prevention, monitoring and resolution systems as well as the use of innovative communication systems to ensure that critical infrastructure and emergency coordination and operations are secured.

In the coming months, the Italian Trade Agency will continue the dissemination of Italian technologies in the sector and in organizing innovative moments of comparison that allow the exchange of technologies and experiences in emergency management.