The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich is the federal agency responsible for monitoring earthquakes in Switzerland and its neighboring countries and for assessing Switzerland’s seismic hazard. When an earthquake happens, the SED informs the public, authorities, and the media about the earthquake’s location, magnitude, and possible consequences. The activities of the SED are integrated in the federal program for earthquake risk reduction.
Realizing and understanding the role of meteorological services for socio-economic planning and the development of the country, the Department of Meteorology was established on 1 July 1980 as an independent office reporting to the President’s Office. The Department of Meteorology remained functioning under the Head of State’s Office until November 1993. After that, through the government’s restructuring Act, the Ministry of Planning, Human Resources and Environment was created and the Meteorological Department was brought under that Ministry.
Among the key activities of the MRD are providing geoscientific information on Fiji, developing policies on mining and providing other relevant information and assistance for investors in the mining sector. MRD furthermore facilitates the exploration and development of the mineral, petroleum and other related non-living resources of the country.
The ARGV is responsible for implementing a programme of geophysical and geochemicl studies, within the IRGM. This structure focuses on natural hazards, and structural, geodynamic, and geological prospection. Several projects have been established since 1982, that have mainly focused on the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL) and in particular, Mount Cameroon, the only active volcano on a chain which extends over 1,500 km. Activities are conducted in three laboratories: the Seismology Laboratory, the Laboratory of Applied Geophysics, and the Laboratory of Volcanology.