The National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala (in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorología e Hidrología (INSIVUMEH)) is a scientific agency of the Guatemalan government. The agency was created to study and monitor atmospheric, geophysical and hydrological phenomena and events, their

hazards A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probabi ...

to Guatemalan society, and to provide recommendations to the government and the private sector in the occurrence of natural disasters. The agency has four major scientific disciplines, concerning

Seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

Vulcanology Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin word '' vulcan''. Vulcan was the anci ...

Meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

and

Hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

The INSIVUMEH was created in March 1976, shortly after the major

1976 Guatemala earthquake The 1976 Guatemala earthquake struck on February 4 at with a moment magnitude of 7.5. The shock was centered on the Motagua Fault, about 160 km northeast of Guatemala City at a depth of near the town of Los Amates in the department of Iza ...

and is part of the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Instituto Nacional De Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia E Hidrologia Government agencies of Guatemala Seismological observatories, organisations and projects Volcanology Governmental meteorological agencies in North America Hydrology organizations Research institutes in Guatemala