Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction
Mission
The Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association is a volunteer organisation of geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, and earth scientists from academia, industry, government organisations, and non-profit organisations. GEER responds to geotechnical extreme events, conducting detailed reconnaissance and documenting its observations, to obtain valuable perishable information that can be used to advance research and improve engineering practice.
GEER was formed as an outgrowth of grassroots efforts to investigate and document the geotechnical impacts of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1994 Northridge Earthquake, and 1995 Kobe Earthquake.
Following these earthquakes, members of the geotechnical earthquake engineering community responded with ad hoc reconnaissance teams that relied on past personal and professional relationships. The National Science Foundation awarded a grant to GEER to help formalise post-disaster geotechnical engineering reconnaissance efforts.