scholarly journals Application of Chemical Monitoring and Public Alarm Systems to Reduce Public Vulnerability to Major Accidents Involving Dangerous Substances

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1528
Author(s):  
Zsolt Cimer ◽  
Gyula Vass ◽  
Attila Zsitnyányi ◽  
Lajos Kátai-Urbán
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Safety System ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Industrial Facilities ◽  
Chemical Monitoring ◽  
Alarm Systems ◽  
Dangerous Substances ◽  
Local Safety

As a result of economic development and an increase in the volume of industrial production, the use of dangerous substances is increasing despite the fact that most industrial facilities are committed to the principles of environmental protection and sustainable development. Protection of human health and the environment is ensured at the local level by the local safety system. Major accidents typically have an off-site impact that also affects the general public. The most significant asymmetric event is when toxic substances are release into a populated area following a major accident. Early warning systems can significantly reduce the harmful consequences of major accidents that may occur. The operation of a reliable and effective chemical monitoring and public alarm system can be used as a basic device of defence. This ultimately means restoring the symmetry of the local safety system. It was an important scientific objective in Hungary to identify the facilities endangering the population where it is necessary to install chemical monitoring and early warning external protection systems. In this context, the main objective of this study was to present dangerous plant identification methodology and to analyse and evaluate the results of the application of this methodology.

Biological Early Warning Systems for Surface Water and Industrial Effluents

1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Balk ◽  
P. C. Okkerman ◽  
C. A. M. van Helmond ◽  
F. Noppert ◽  
I. van der Putte
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Industrial Effluents ◽  
Water Quality Monitoring ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Warning Systems ◽  
Chemical Monitoring ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Action Programme

Within the framework of the International Rhine Action Programme and the EC ACE-Programme in the field of the environment (regulation EC.224/87) the sensitivity and reliability of biological early warning systems are being tested. The effectiveness of these systems for continuous water quality monitoring is being assessed, using surface water and industrial effluents. The systems tested are a fish and a waterflea early warning system. From the results it is concluded that both types of biological early warning systems in combination with physico-chemical monitoring increase the effectiveness of monitoring pollution levels in surface water. Fish early warning systems can be important tools in reducing water pollution by industries.

Multi-parametric observations of debris-flow initiation at the headwaters of the Gadria catchment (eastern Italian Alps)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Velio Coviello ◽  
Matteo Berti ◽  
Lorenzo Marchi ◽  
Francesco Comiti ◽  
Giulia Marchetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Debris Flow ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Lead Time ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Force Balance ◽  
Italian Alps ◽  
Alarm Systems ◽  
Debris Flow Initiation

<p>The complete understanding of the mechanisms controlling debris-flow initiation is still an open challenge in landslide research. Most debris-flow models assume that motion suddenly begins when a large force imbalance is imposed by slope instabilities or the substrate saturation that causes the collapse of the channel sediment cover. In the real world, the initiation of debris flows usually results from the perturbation of the static force balance that retains sediment masses in steep channels. These perturbations are primarily generated by the increasing runoff and by the progressive erosion of the deposits. Therefore, great part of regional early warning systems for debris flows are based on critical rainfall thresholds. However, these systems are affected by large spatial-temporal uncertainties due to the inadequate number and distribution of rain gauges. In addition, rainfall analysis alone does not explain the dynamics of sediment fluxes at the catchment scale: short-term variations in the sediment sources strongly influence the triggering of debris flows, even in catchments characterized by unlimited sediment supply.</p><p>In this work, we present multi-parametric observations of debris flows at the headwaters of the Gadria catchment (eastern Italian Alps). In 2018, we installed a monitoring network composed of geophones, three soil moisture probes, one tensiometer and two rain-triggered videocameras in a 30-m wide steep channel located at about 2200 m a.s.l. Most sensors lie on the lateral ridges of this channel, except for the tensiometer and the soil moisture probes that are installed in the channel bed at different depths. This network recorded four flow events in two years, two of which occurred at night. Specifically, the debris flows that occurred on 21 July 2018 and 26 July 2019 produced remarkable geomorphic changes in the monitored channel, with up to 1-m deep erosion. For all events, we measured peak values of soil water content that are far from saturation (<0.25 at -20 cm, <0.15 at -40 cm, <0.1 at -60 cm). We derived the time of occurrence and the duration of these events from the analysis of the seismic signals. Combining these pieces of information with data gathered at the monitoring station located about 2 km downstream, we could determine the flow kinematics along the main channel.</p><p>These results, although still preliminary, show the relevance of a multi-parametric detection of debris-flow initiation processes and may have valuable implications for risk management. Alarm systems for debris flows are becoming more and more attractive due the continuous development of compact and low-cost distributed sensor networks. The main challenge for operational alarm systems is the short lead-time, which is few tens of seconds for closing a transportation route or tens of minutes for evacuating settlements. Lead-time would significantly increase installing a detection system in the upper part of a catchment, where the debris flow initiates. The combination of hydro-meteorological monitoring in the source areas and seismic detection of channelized flows may be a reliable approach for developing an integrated early warning - alarm system.</p>

Could a Decentralized Onsite Earthquake Early Warning System Help in Mitigating Seismic Risk in Northeastern Italy? The Case of the 1976 Ms 6.5 Friuli Earthquake

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 3323-3333
Author(s):  
Stefano Parolai ◽  
Luca Moratto ◽  
Michele Bertoni ◽  
Chiara Scaini ◽  
Alessandro Rebez
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Strong Motion ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Earthquake Early Warning ◽  
Industrial Facilities ◽  
Earthquake Early Warning System ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In May 1976, a devastating earthquake of magnitude Ms 6.5 occurred in Friuli, Italy, resulting in 976 deaths, 2000 injured, and 60,000 homeless. It is notable that, at the time of the earthquake, only one station was installed in the affected region. The resulting lack of information, combined with a dearth of mitigation planning for responding to such events, lead to a clear picture of the impact of the disaster being available only after a few days. This region is now covered by nearly 100 seismological and strong-motion stations operating in real time. Furthermore, 30 average-cost strong-motion stations have been recently added, with the goals of improving the density of real-time ground-motion observations and measuring the level of shaking recorded at selected buildings. The final goal is to allow rapid impact estimations to be made to improve the response of civil protection authorities. Today, considering the higher density seismological network, new efforts in terms of the implementation and testing of earthquake early warning systems as a possible tool for mitigating seismic risk are certainly worthwhile. In this article, we show the results obtained by analyzing in playback and using an algorithm for decentralized onsite earthquake early warning, broadband synthetic strong-motion data calculated at 18 of the stations installed in the region, while considering the magnitude and location of the 1976 Friuli earthquake. The analysis shows that the anisotropy of the lead times is related not only to the finite nature of the source but also to the slip distribution. A reduction of 10% of injured persons appears to be possible if appropriate mitigating actions are employed, such as the development of efficient automatic procedures that improve the safety of strategic industrial facilities.

scholarly journals Community and Impact Based Early Warning System for Flood Risk Preparedness: The Experience of the Sirba River in Niger

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vieri Tarchiani ◽  
Giovanni Massazza ◽  
Maurizio Rosso ◽  
Maurizio Tiepolo ◽  
Alessandro Pezzoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Warning Systems ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Community Monitoring ◽  
Operational Decision Making ◽  
Set Up

Floods have recently become a major hazard in West Africa (WA) in terms of both their magnitude and frequency. They affect livelihoods, infrastructure and production systems, hence impacting on Sustainable Development (SD). Early Warning Systems (EWS) for floods that properly address all four EWS components, while also being community and impact-based, do not yet exist in WA. Existing systems address only the main rivers, are conceived in a top-down manner and are hazard-centered. This study on the Sirba river in Niger aims to demonstrate that an operational community and impact-based EWS for floods can be set up by leveraging the existing tools, local stakeholders and knowledge. The main finding of the study is that bridging the gap between top-down and bottom-up approaches is possible by directly connecting the available technical capabilities with the local level through a participatory approach. This allows the beneficiaries to define the rules that will develop the whole system, strengthening their ability to understand the information and take action. Moreover, the integration of hydrological forecasts and observations with the community monitoring and preparedness system provides a lead time suitable for operational decision-making at national and local levels. The study points out the need for the commitment of governments to the transboundary sharing of flood information for EWS and SD.

A review of the effectiveness of drought warning communication and dissemination in Malawi

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexia Calvel ◽  
Micha Werner ◽  
Marc van den Homberg ◽  
Hans van der Kwast ◽  
Andrés Cabrera Flamini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
High Dependency ◽  
Made In ◽  
Early Warnings

<p>Droughts constitute one of the major and complex natural hazards that may lead to food insecurity due to its long-term and cumulative impact, compounded by the difficulty of drought being predicted. Efforts to improve early warning systems are being conducted to help reduce the impacts caused by drought events, and although significant advances have been made in the forecasting of drought, provision of actionable warning that leads to effective response is challenging due to a range of factors.  In this study we aim to improve our understanding of how people-centred warning communication and dissemination is being carried out for drought warning in Malawi.  Our methodology is based on five focus group discussions with farmers and 25 semi-structured interviews with various government officials, as well as with representatives from UNDP, WFP and NGOs. The analysis of these interviews and discussions is based on a qualitative approach using the concept of grounded theory and content analysis; to better understand the organisational structure, communication processes and the ability of warnings triggering actions by farmers and NGOs.</p><p>Our results identified that both within the farming communities as with the NGO’s and working at the local level there is a different perception than expected of what constitutes drought. Droughts are considered to be events that cause the failure of crops, which relates primarily to the occurrence of prolonged dry spells following the planting season, fall army worms and even the occurrence of floods. Consistently, drought warnings that are disseminated at the local level have been found to focus on these aspects. Moreover, it was found that although these warnings do trigger actions, they do so only to a certain extent. Daily weather forecast are not being used by farmers due to the high uncertainty associated with these predictions. For NGOs, drought early warnings are used in combination with the famine early warnings to trigger early actions.</p><p>Communication channels and processes were found to be well adapted to local conditions and to disseminate the consistent drought warnings and guidance to end-users. This has led to improved trust towards drought early warnings received. However, the high level of illiteracy and lack of understanding of the link between impacts and weather information render the seasonal forecast and text-messages unusable to farmers, with agricultural extension officers and the community-radios the preferred channels of communication. Organisational structures and processes appear to be relatively clear. Nevertheless, feedback mechanisms were found to be only scantily implemented due to the lack documentation on local perceptions and indigenous knowledge. Overall our results show that progress has been made in meeting the requirements for a people-centred early warning. However, external challenges such as a lack of local funds which has led to a high dependency on donors or the frequent changes of government officials affect the well-development of such an approach.  </p>

Risk assessment and early warning systems for industrial facilities in seismic zones

2009 ◽  
Vol 94 (10) ◽  
pp. 1577-1584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto Salzano ◽  
Anita Garcia Agreda ◽  
Antonio Di Carluccio ◽  
Giovanni Fabbrocino
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Warning Systems ◽  
Industrial Facilities ◽  
Seismic Zones

scholarly journals Setting-up an hydrometeorological early warning service in Niger: lessons learnt on the co-development approach 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vieri Tarchiani ◽  
Giovanni Massazza ◽  
Maurizio Rosso ◽  
Alessandro Pezzoli ◽  
Mohamed Housseini Ibrahim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Climate Services ◽  
Sendai Framework ◽  
Lessons Learnt

<p>During the last 20 years, floods have become a major hazard in West Africa, particularly in the Sahelian belt, affecting livelihoods, infrastructure and production systems, and hence heavily impacting on sustainable development. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 recognized Climate Services (CS) as a powerful tool for more effective disaster preparedness. The European research and innovation Roadmap for CS expands their contribution, particularly “hydrometeorological services”, to the Sendai Framework. From this convergence, Hydrometeorological Early Warning Systems (EWS) become a strategic target and a building block of preparedness to hydrometeorological risks in developed and developing countries. In West Africa, EWS for floods are in place only for the main rivers and are conceived mainly top-down and hazard centered, lacking links with exposed communities and expected impacts. These gaps reduce the effectiveness of a flood EWS, while engaging local communities since de beginning through a co-production process can improve the effectiveness and ensure better response in case of alert.</p><p>Our study aims to present the lessons learnt from the set-up of a Community and Impact Based Flood EWS on the Sirba River in Niger. The service was developed with stakeholders at different levels, leveraging on existing resources and knowledge, using simple but effective approaches and integrating state-of-the-art hydro-meteorological science in a decisional scheme of Sahelian rural areas. This mechanism can be replicable in different contexts characterized by knowledge and structural deficits, by creating a better capacity to exchange data and information and by directly connecting available technical capabilities with the local level. The participatory approach allowed the beneficiaries to define the rules of the system, which, in any case, needed to be consistent with the national legislation and internationally recognized best practices.</p><p>The study suggests that it is not necessary to develop complex forecasting tools, while it can be preferable to enhance those already operating and calibrate them on the local scale through risk thresholds, field observations and potential impacts using flood scenarios. The strength of simplicity also lies in not having to spread complex messages, but simply the reference risk scenario, and finally its color-code (according to the international standards of ISO 22324:2015), which already embeds all other information including potential impacts. The simple and integrated approach illustrated in this case study, bridging the gap between top-down and bottom-up approaches, can inspire Governments, local administrations and development partners to invest in the improvement of existing tools and knowledge and in strengthening cooperation, collaboration and coordination to reduce hazards’ impacts and sustain the development of rural and urban areas.</p>

scholarly journals The role of universities in Indonesia multi-hazard early warning system

2018 ◽  
Vol 229 ◽  
pp. 02018
Author(s):  
Mujiburrahman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning System ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Indonesia is a disaster-prone region facing multiple hazards. The impact has cost human casualties, injuries, damages to assets, environment and regional development. In order to protect the people and assets, the government has increased the capacity to face and anticipate disaster which is through a multi-hazard early warning system (MHEWS). The academic sector in Indonesia, especially prominent universities such as Institut Teknologi Bandung and Universitas Gajah Mada has contributed positively to the development of MHEWS and the Land Slide Early Warning System. This research aims to examine the role of universities in Indonesia related to the establishment of an MHEWS in Indonesia by answering what are the roles and the challenges. The research methodology is through a desk study and document review of government and organizations reports using qualitative and descriptive analysis. The findings of the research indicate the role of universities in the MHEWS is in line with the concept of tri dharma of universities which research, higher education and outreach. This means the role of universities to conduct research related to early warning systems, higher education through having program studies related to disaster management and outreach the role to train the community, organizations, and government through professional networks. Unfortunately, the involvement of the eastern part of Indonesian universities still needs to increase capacity, awareness, and access in utilizing the MHEWS at the local level.

The CARE Telematics Network for the Surveillance of Influenza in Europe

1995 ◽  
Vol 34 (05) ◽  
pp. 518-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bensadon ◽  
A. Strauss ◽  
R. Snacken
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Warning Systems ◽  
Surveillance Networks ◽  
Spanish Flu ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
National Networks ◽  
First Time

Abstract:Since the 1950s, national networks for the surveillance of influenza have been progressively implemented in several countries. New epidemiological arguments have triggered changes in order to increase the sensitivity of existent early warning systems and to strengthen the communications between European networks. The WHO project CARE Telematics, which collects clinical and virological data of nine national networks and sends useful information to public health administrations, is presented. From the results of the 1993-94 season, the benefits of the system are discussed. Though other telematics networks in this field already exist, it is the first time that virological data, absolutely essential for characterizing the type of an outbreak, are timely available by other countries. This argument will be decisive in case of occurrence of a new strain of virus (shift), such as the Spanish flu in 1918. Priorities are now to include other existing European surveillance networks.

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