Earlier this week, the Department of Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) signed a strategic cooperation framework with the Shenzhen Emergency Command Information Support Center. Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Municipal Emergency Management Bureau Yang Jie and ESS Director Chan Xiaofei spoke at the ceremony. They were accompanied by senior officials from the Shenzhen Municipal Emergency Management Bureau and SUSTech.

Shenzhen Municipal Emergency Management Bureau Deputy Director Yang Jie pointed out that the cooperation represents a concrete action to maintain the safest of cities. It also seeks to promote earthquake prevention and disaster reduction work in Shenzhen in the new era. The agreement aims to enhance Shenzhen’s disaster management across its earthquake monitoring and forecasting systems, while bringing the city’s emergency management prevention systems to a new level.

ESS Director Chen Xiaofei said that his department is committed to providing a scientific basis to natural disaster response and cultivating talents. ESS also has excellent research teams dedicated to earthquake prevention and disaster reduction, dealing with a wide range of fields. The cooperation agreement will provide mutually beneficial advantages by enhancing knowledge of earthquake prevention and disaster reduction in Shenzhen and across the Greater Bay Area.

ESS Director Chen Xiaofei and Shenzhen Emergency Command Information Support Center Director Zhang Desong signed the agreement, which outlined the areas of cooperation. These include seismic observation data sharing, the development of a research base, the popularization of earth sciences and the transformation of research achievements. Both sides also committed to improving Shenzhen’s seismic monitoring capabilities and earthquake defenses.

The Shenzhen Emergency Command Information Support Center is the only directly affiliated unit of the Shenzhen Municipal Emergency Management Bureau. It is responsible for earthquake & tsunami monitoring and forecasting work of the city. The Bureau looks after the monitoring network for earthquakes and tsunamis, and effectively safeguards people’s lives and property.