Strengthening and Promoting Earthquake Emergency Response and Rescue Capacity in the BSB Area

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B NEXT Black Sea Basin

Date of latest update: 2026-05-13

Description

Description (EN):

The project SPEER-A will be implemented by the research institutes Natural Hazards Research Center (RO) & Assen Zlatarov University (BG) along with the local authorities Bolu Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (TR) and Municipality of Pella (GR). It aims to answer a question in active and not theoretical way: how can the local authorities and the research community of the Black Sea Basin area contribute to the better preparedness for an earthquake disaster? The project idea came up after the recent paralyzing earthquakes in Febr.2023 in Turkey. The partners agreed that the better preparedness for an earthquake in the Black Sea Basin area is a common territorial challenge that is worth working for and collaborating. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen and promote the response to earthquake emergencies and the rescue capacity in the Black Sea Basin area, with advanced preparedness and resilience against earthquakes ‘disasters by 1.Improving cooperation & knowledge exchange between stakeholders in an earthquake emergency response, and building stronger cross-border cooperation and collaboration; 2.Enhancing capacity of disaster risk management through the pilot use of new technologies. In order to achieve the 1st objective, the four partners will implement participatory activities that will contribute to the cultivation of strong bonds between them but also with the community. Training for the rescue teams, support of the volunteers network, education of children at schools will take place in the Black Sea Basin area, in the four countries. The local authorities will be the main actors, but the research institutes will also contribute to this axis. The training material will be decided jointly, part of it will be common for the partners while some training will be jointly implemented via e-technologies. In order to achieve the 2nd objective, the joint development, implementation, testing and evaluation of three pilot actions will take place. New "instruments" are going to be produced for improving readiness against earthquakes. The Natural Hazards Research Center will develop an innovative virtual reality laboratory in order to represent the hazard framework of earthquakes (including other hazards that are inevitably related to it, such as landslides, floodings etc) and provide the decision makers with an improved perception of the parameters of the phenomenon in a territorial perspective.The interaction among the conditioning factors of hazards, exposure and vulnerability will make evident the fields of action. The University of Burgas will develop an innovative mobile application that will target the general public,the rescue teams, the volunteers and the students. Its functions will be split to two: "online use" and "offline use".The "online use" will include (a) Emergency Preparedness Guides, (b) educational material for children and (c) will support the community of volunteers with the creation of a network of volunteers from the participating countries.The "offline use" will be developed like an "emergency info kit" in cases of earthquakes with no internet access.It will give the instruction of what to do within the next minutes of an earthquake and the first days. An original research will be developed by PB3, for the design of a new residential unit that has host people after an emergency situation such as an earthquake.This design will take into account the different aspects of the BSB area (climate conditions, social characteristics etc) and will properly entriched, as thematic workshops will be organized by all partners that will participate in the process.The final outcome will be an adjustable proposal for an emergency residential unit of the BSB area. These three pilot actions will be tested and evaluated by all partners. The project will result to the consitution of a network of 4 organizations in the Black Sea Basin area, along with the adoptation/scale-up of the pilot actions by insitutes of the region. The benefit will be for the total population of the four countries.The specific target groups are decision/policy makers, research insitutes,rescue teams,volunteers and school students. The transnational cooperation is needed because: -Earthquakes are a natural phenomeno that can affect two or more countries at the same time. This means that especially countries that are close to each other (neighbouring countries) should create a strong network that be be activated in cases of emergencies. -For better coordination between different countries in an issue so important like this, a common ground is needed. Time is precious and the decisions must be taken very quickly. That's why, the actors must have the same level of information and perception of the various data. The pilot actions offer a concrete solution on this. -The networking of the volunteers and joint training of the rescue teams can support the sense of a transnational community.

Expected Achievements (EN):

The overal objective of the project is to strengthen and promote the response to earthquake emergencies and the rescue capacity in the Black Sea Basin area, with advanced preparedness and resilience against earthquakes ‘ disasters. This will be achieved by: 1.Improving cooperation & knowledge exchange in an earthquake emergency and building stronger cross-border cooperation and collaboration. The four partners will form a network for better preparedness against earthquakes. Local stakeholders including rescue teams, volunteers and school students will be supported, while jointly developed trainings will take place. 2. Enhancing capacity of disaster risk management through the pilot use of new technologies. A jointly developed pilot action will (a) improve the coordination among relevant stakeholders to manage natural disaster/earthquake by harmozining and sharing data in a VR environment and (b) better prepare local population by offering an emergency/training app.

Project outputs: Joint Planning, Risk Management and Capacity Building Report(EN)
A Virtual Reality Laboratory for the Earthquake hazard framework (EN)
An App for mitigation of an earthquakes's results (EN)
A study for a unit for temporary living in emergencies adjustable in the conditions of all the BSB countries (EN)

Thematic information

Managing natural and man-made threats, risk management Cooperation between emergency services Knowledge and technology transfer

Priority: (VI-B_BSB_P2) Clean and Green Region

Priority specific objective: RSO2.4. Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention and resilience, taking into account eco-system based approaches

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO2 A greener, low-carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe by promoting clean and fair energy transition, green and blue investment, the circular economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, risk prevention and management, and sustainable urban mobility

Type of intervention: 061 Risk prevention and management of non-climate related natural risks (for example earthquakes) and risks linked to human activities (for example technological accidents), including awareness raising, civil protection and disaster management systems, infrastructures and ecosystem based approaches

Partners (4)

Lead Partner: Institutul de Geografie

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 998360085

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 4283864

Department: Natural Hazards Research Center, Patarlagele, Buzau County

Address: Dimitrie Racovita, 023993 București, Romania

Department address: Alexandru Ioan Cuza, 127430 Patarlagele, Romania

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: http://www.geoinst.ro/research_center.html

Total budget: EUR 194 654.40

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 175 188.96

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 90.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 19 465.44

БУРГАСКИ ДЪРЖАВЕН УНИВЕРСИТЕТ „ПРОФ. Д-Р АСЕН ЗЛАТАРОВ“

Name: БУРГАСКИ ДЪРЖАВЕН УНИВЕРСИТЕТ „ПРОФ. Д-Р АСЕН ЗЛАТАРОВ“

Department: Burgas, region - Yugoiztochen

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 986554506

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 000044541 | state university (EN)

Address: Prof. Yakimov , 8010 Burgas, Bulgaria

Department address: Prof. Yakimov , 8010 Burgas, Bulgaria

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Higher education and research organisations

Website: https://uniburgas.bg/index.php/bg/

Total budget: EUR 152 282.40

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 137 054.16

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 90.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 15 228.24

Δήμος Πέλλας

Name: Δήμος Πέλλας

Department: Municipality of Pella

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 997232159

Partner’s ID if not PIC: EL998010099

Address: Chatzidimitriou & Antistaseos, 58100 Giannitsa, Greece

Department address: Chatzidimitriou & Antistaseos, 58100 Giannitsa, Greece

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Local public authority

Website: http://www.giannitsa.gr

Total budget: EUR 235 200.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 211 680.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 90.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 23 520.00

T.C. Bolu Valiligi Il Afet ve Acil Durum Müdürlüğü

Name: T.C. Bolu Valiligi Il Afet ve Acil Durum Müdürlüğü

Department: Disaster and Emergency Management

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 929746262

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 1791131812

Address: Bahçelievler, Nergiz Sk., 14100 Bolu, Turkey

Department address: Bahçelievler, Nergiz Sk., 14100 Bolu, Turkey

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Local public authority

Website: https://bolu.afad.gov.tr

Total budget: EUR 182 354.96

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 164 119.46

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 90.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 18 235.50

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Burgas State University Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov

Strengthening and Promoting Earthquake Emergency Response and Rescue Capacity in the BSB Area

Partners and Projects info

Municipality of Pella

Strengthening and Promoting Earthquake Emergency Response and Rescue Capacity in the BSB Area

Partners and Projects info

Bolu Governorate Provincial Directorate of Disaster and Emergency

Strengthening and Promoting Earthquake Emergency Response and Rescue Capacity in the BSB Area

Partners and Projects info

Institute of Geography

Strengthening and Promoting Earthquake Emergency Response and Rescue Capacity in the BSB Area

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Strengthening and Promoting Earthquake Emergency Response and Rescue Capacity in the BSB Area

Project acronym: SPEER-A

Project ID: BSB01197

Project start date: 2025-09-16

Project end date: 2028-01-15

Project status: ongoing

Relevant linked projects:

The Initiative "New European Bauhaus" (EN) | The New European Bauhaus Initiative is an interdisciplinary framework launched by the European Commission that aims to combine sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusivity in the design and development of the built environment. It seeks to promote innovative projects that address challenges and contribute to the goals of the European Green Deal.
The project includes the research for the development of a pilot unit that can be used for temporary living in emergencies, taking into account the contemporary circumstances. This research aligns with the Initiative's goals and principles, promoting a holistic approach to the design and development of the built environment. Additionally, it can integrate sustainable technologies and practices, such as renewable energy sources, energy-efficient systems, and eco-friendly materials. By prioritizing sustainability, the project can align with the New European Bauhaus's focus on minimizing environmental impact.
Lastly, the New European Bauhaus Initiative emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and ensuring everyone’s accessibility. The project addresses this aspect by considering the needs of diverse communities, including those affected by emergencies, and designing the pilot unit to be inclusive, adaptable, and accessible for people of different abilities and backgrounds.
The project will target the people that are interested in the Initiative by presenting its results in the New European Bauhaus Network and submitting a proposal for the New European Bauhaus Prizes 2025. (EN), ARISTOTLE-eENHSP “enhanced European Natural Hazard Scientific Partnership”
It is a long-term operational, research, and cooperation project financed by the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
The partnership consists of plenty of European countries, including Greece, Turkey and Romania. (EN) | It is a cross border, transnational cooperation project for natural disasters (including earthquakes) with major impact in the EU area. The project SPEER-A will create an active sunergy with it and its partners, in order to promote its results and learn for previous experience.
The European network which was created within ARISTOTLE-ENHSP gathers both scientific and operative experts, working with a multi-risk view to enhance prevention and forecasting tools and to improve the response to disasters. Within this context, the project aims to ensure scientific exchange, cooperation between partners, and to establish a dialogue with nationally mandated civil protection authorities.
The programme also deals with the issue of climate change adaptation processes, with the aim of identifying innovative governance pathways that can increase the resilience of communities to natural hazards and improve decision-making capacity in a context of increasing uncertainty and large time scales. A challenge in this field is the need to improve the processes of defining adaptation strategies through a better dialogue between scientific knowledge and local territories’ development priorities, identifying solutions to bring out the specific knowledge, skills and needs of the communities we will be working with in the near future.
The aim of the SPEER project is intersecting in this context of the ARISTOTLE-eENHSP. The partner countries will develop the adaptation strategies between scientific knowledge and the local public, especially the school pupils' priorities, and also will identify required solutions to reveal the specific knowledge, skills and needs of the communities. (EN), "A Scientific Network for Earthquake, Landslide and Flood Hazard Prevention", (SciNetHazPrev), Project funded by the "Black Sea Basin 2007-2013" (EN) | The project was implemented with the collaboration with research institutions for Greece, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania. The global goal of the project was to achieve strong regional partnership and cooperation by developing a scientific network to establish scientific consensus to create common strategies and methods for natural disaster prevention. The project developed a Web GIS platform to support decision-making and also to provide data and information to the scientific community interested in Earthquake, Landslide and Flood Hazards (ELFH) that promote research and innovation regarding prevention and preparedness for natural disasters in the Black Sea area. The SPEER-A project will create a synergy with this project capitalizing the experience gained. (EN), Alignment with EU Initiatives (EN) | The project will actively align its activities and objectives with existing EU initiatives
related to earthquakes and climate resilience. This includes leveraging the
expertise and resources available through initiatives such as the EU Climate Adaptation
Platform, the European Environment Agency, and the European Union Civil Protection
Mechanism to ensure consistency and complementarity. (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 764 491.76

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 688 042.58

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 90.00%

Co-financing sources:

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Contribution to wider strategies and policies:

SeaBasinStrategyBlackSea The project aims at the mitigation of disasters from earthquakes. It vividly contributes to the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea in several ways.
Firstly, it enhances regional resilience. By implementing earthquake mitigation measures, such as promoting the improvement of infrastructures’ stability, early warning systems, and public awareness campaigns, the project increases the region's resilience to seismic events. This resilience extends to both coastal areas and maritime activities in the Black Sea.
Secondly, it protects the coastal communities and maritime infrastructure. Earthquakes may have devastating effects on coastal communities, including loss of lives. A project focused on earthquake mitigation aims to protect these communities with several measures. This protection aligns with the objectives of the Common Maritime Agenda, which seeks to ensure the safety and well-being of coastal populations. Additionally, the project protects the various maritime infrastructures, including ports, shipping routes, and offshore facilities, that the Black Sea region relies on. Earthquakes can pose risks to these critical assets, and the mitigation of its results can safeguard the important economic and transportation links in the region.
The project can also address environmental concerns. Earthquakes can lead to secondary hazards, such as landslides and coastal erosion, which can have significant environmental impacts. By mitigating the risks associated with earthquakes, the project contributes to the protection and preservation of the Black Sea's unique marine ecosystems, as well as the sustainable use of its resources. This aligns with the environmental objectives of the Common Maritime Agenda.
EUStrategyDanubeRegion The project contributes to the EU Strategy for the Danube Region by focusing on earthquake disaster mitigation, the project helps improve the overall resilience of the Danube region. Earthquakes can have wide-ranging effects, including damage to infrastructure, loss of lives, and disruption of economic activities. By implementing measures to mitigate the impact of earthquakes, the project contributes to the region's ability to withstand and recover from such events, thereby enhancing regional resilience.
Additionally, the project involves the risk assessment that can mitigate the potential consequences of seismic events, identify areas of high vulnerability and enable the authorities to take proactive measures to mitigate the impact of earthquakes. This methodology is applicable in the Danube region, contributing to the stability of the area and its socio-economic development, which is a priority of the EUSDR.
EUStrategyAdriaticIonianRegion The project contributes to the EUSAIR by its contribution to (a) Environmental Protection, (b) the region's economy and (c) cross border cooperation.
(a) The strategy of the mitigation of the earthquake's disasters involve environmental factors. By incorporating environmental protection measures and minimizing the ecological impact of infrastructure damage, the project supports EUSAIR's goal of preserving and protecting the natural and cultural heritage of the region.
(b) By investing in earthquake mitigation measures, the project contributes to the stability and sustainability of the region's economy. This is consistent with EUSAIR's aim to foster economic growth, innovation, and job creation.
(c) Earthquakes and their consequences do not respect national boundaries. The project focused on earthquake mitigation through cross-border cooperation, sharing of expertise, and coordination among countries. This collaboration promotes regional cohesion and integration, which is a core principle of EUSAIR.
Other The EU Green Deal
The EU Green Deal aims to enhance the EU's resilience to climate change impacts. While earthquakes are not directly related to climate change, their effects can exacerbate climate-related challenges. By mitigating the impact of earthquakes, the project contributes to climate resilience by preventing secondary disasters such as landslides, infrastructure damage, and disruptions to critical services like water and energy supply.
Additionally, the EU Green Deal emphasizes the need for sustainable and resilient infrastructure. The project focuses on the promotion of the development of earthquake-resistant buildings, bridges, and other critical infrastructure. This approach aligns with the Green Deal's objective of reducing the environmental impact of infrastructure projects and ensuring their long-term sustainability.
Another objective of the EU Green Deal is the transition to a circular economy that minimizes waste and maximizes resource efficiency. In the context of earthquake mitigation, the project incorporates principles of the circular economy by utilizing recycled or reclaimed materials, promoting modular construction techniques, and encouraging the reuse or repurposing of damaged structures. This approach reduces waste generation, conserves resources, and aligns with the circular economy objectives.
Other The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
SPEER-A project will contribute to a macro-regional strategy for build and consolidate the risk culture to earthquake in Black Sea region, based on The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Risk culture is recognized to be a component of risk management. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030) prioritizes it in understanding risk and mentions risk culture as a direction to follow through the organization of campaigns for raising awareness of its importance (e.g. through education, sharing experiences, by encouraging the public and private stakeholders to be pro-active in crisis situations), as a tool for sustainable disaster management. Worldwide, exist numerous published scientific studies on the importance of risk culture for increasing community resilience to natural risks, the earthquake risk included (e.g. Dasanayaka and Matsuda, 2022, Nguyen-Trung et al., 2020, Panday et al., 2021, Amare, 2018) but in Romania, for example, the risk culture is addressed only in a very few scientific studies (e.g. Mărgarint et al, 2017, 2018, 2021) and, more than that, in the official documents that aim at risks and their management at national level, the risk culture is missing (e.g. the cases of the Synthesis on disaster risk management 2020, IGSU, National Strategy for Seismic Risk Reduction, MNDLPA (2022).
Other The Eastern Partnership of the European Neighbourhood
The Eastern Partnership of the European Neighbourhood governs the EU’s relations with 16 of the EU’s closest Eastern neighbours. The aim of the partnership is to strengthen and deepens the political and economic relations between the European Union, its Member States and six Eastern European and South Caucasus partner countries, namely: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Considering the objectives of the Eastern Partnership, namely (i) together for resilient, sustainable and integrated economies; (ii) together for accountable institutions, the rule of law and security; (iii) together towards environmental and climate resilience; (iv) together for a resilient digital transformation; (iiv) together for resilient, gender-equal, fair and inclusive societies, the cross-border cooperation between EU countries and Neighbourhood countries sharing a land border or sea crossing is vital due to the fact that cross-border cooperation also covers trans-national cooperation, over larger trans-national territories or around sea basins, and interregional cooperation. The aim to cross-border cooperation to support sustainable development along the EU’s external borders, reduce differences in living standards and address common challenges across these borders, the natural risks (such as the earthquake) being included. The strength of the earthquake emergency response and rescue capacity at local, regional and trans-regional basis will represent one of the main contributions of the SPEER project, based on the promotion of cooperation at all territorial and organizational levels, within and between the EU member state and those of the Eastern European and South Caucasus partner countries.

Programme Common Output Indicator:

RCO 084 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects, Measurement unit:
RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions, Measurement unit:
RCO 087 - Organisations cooperating across borders, Measurement unit:

Programme Common Result Indicator:

RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:
RCR 084 - Organisations cooperating across borders after project completion, Measurement unit:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSDR

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSAIR

EUSAIR Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSAIR Degree of compliance:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-B NEXT Black Sea Basin

Latest month of project-partner-call data publication

2026-05

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

82 / 82 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

367 / 372 (98.66%)

Notes on the data

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Strengthening and Promoting Earthquake Emergency Response and Rescue Capacity in the BSB Area

Description

Thematic information

Partners (4)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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