CERIDES participated effectively in the implementation of the Final Planning Conference and the Table Top Exercise of the emblematic project ΔΗΜΩΝΑΞ / DEMONAX – Cyprus Earthquake Full-Scale Exercise. Both events took place from the 25th until the 27th of April 2026 in Larnaka, Cyprus, at the premises of the District Administration of Cyprus Civil Defence. The events were organised and implemented by the Cyprus Civil Defence in an exemplary manner.
CERIDES provided a strong contribution to both events through its team of researchers leading the DEMONAX Exercise Evaluation and Exercise Dissemination activities. In particular, during the Final Planning Conference, DEMONAX Head Evaluator Dr. Christos Dimopoulos presented the final plan of the application of the innovative ‘FAIM’ Exercise Evaluation Framework during the implementation of the DEMONAX Full-Scale Exercise. Detailed information about the provisions of the ‘FAIM’ Exercise Evaluation Framework can be found in the following publication:
Dimopoulos C. (2025). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Disaster Preparedness Exercises: The FAIM Exercise Evaluation Framework. Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Civil Protection & New Technologies, SafeHeraklion 2025, pp. October 2025, Heraklion, Greece, pp. 153-156. Part of ISSN 2654-1823. Available at: https://shorturl.at/wNky2
In addition, Dr. Christos Dimopoulos, assisted by EUC / CERIDES researchers Mr. Evangelos Katsaros and Dr. Demetris Hadjiloucas, observed the implementation of the DEMONAX Table – Top Exercise, and elicited evaluation information which will be analysed and subsequently exploited for the benefit of improving the capabilities of the Cyprus Local Emergency Management Authority during the activation of the ‘Egkelados’ Cyprus National Earthquake Preparedness Plan.
The aim of ΔΗΜΩΝΑΞ / DEMONAX is to strengthen the capacity of the Republic of Cyprus to effectively prepare for, and respond to the statistically very likely occurrence of a large-scale earthquake event on the island, one which can severely disrupt the implementation of all societal functions and result in substantial human and financial losses. The aim of DEMONAX is also to test and improve the Republic’s ability to activate the UCPM and to effectively carry out the Host Nation Support (HNS) guidelines of the European Union for incoming international support teams.
The CERIDES Team responsible for the implementation of the DEMONAX project tasks comprises of the following scientists:
Dr. Christos Dimopoulos (Scientific Manager)
Mr. Evangelos Katsaros (Researcher)
Dr. Demetris Hadjiloucas (Researcher)
Professor George Boustras (Scientific Advisor)
The DEMONAX consortium consists of the following organisations:
Cyprus Civil Defence 🇨🇾
European University Cyprus / CERIDES – Center of Excellence in Risk and Decision Sciences 🇨🇾
Ministry of Interior of Montenegro 🇲🇪
Direction générale de la Sécurité civile et de la gestion des crises 🇫🇷
General Secretariat of Civil Protection 🇬🇷
DIPARTIMENTO DELLA PROTEZIONE CIVILE 🇮🇹
National Observatory of Athens 🇬🇷
Ministero dell’Interno 🇮🇹