A Geospatial Service Approach towards the Development of a Debris Flow Early-warning Systems

Author(s):  
MinLang Huang ◽  
JungHong Hong
Author(s):  
F. Marra ◽  
E. I. Nikolopoulos ◽  
J. D. Creutin ◽  
M. Borga

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1717-1729
Author(s):  
M. Arattano ◽  
V. Coviello ◽  
M. Cavalli ◽  
F. Comiti ◽  
P. Macconi ◽  
...  

Abstract. Early warning systems (EWSs) are among the measures adopted for the mitigation of debris flow hazards. EWSs often employ algorithms that require careful and long testing to grant their effectiveness. A permanent installation has been so equipped in the Gadria basin (Eastern Italian Alps) for the systematic test of event-EWSs. The installation is conceived to produce didactic videos and host informative visits. The populace involvement and education is in fact an essential step in any hazard mitigation activity and it should envisaged in planning any research activity. The occurrence of a debris flow in the Gadria creek, in the summer of 2014, allowed a first test of the installation and the recording of an informative video on EWSs.


Author(s):  
M. Coco ◽  
E. Marchetti ◽  
O. Morandi

AbstractDebris flows constitute a severe natural hazard in Alpine regions. Studies are performed to understand the event predictability and to identify early warning systems and procedures. These are based both on sensors deployed along the channels or on the amplitude of seismic and infrasound waves radiated by the flow and recorded far away. Despite being very promising, infrasound cannot be used to infer the source characteristics due to the lack of a physical model of the infrasound energy radiated by debris flows. Here the simulation of water flow along a simple channel is presented, experiencing the fall from a dam, performed within the open source simulation code OpenFOAM. The pressure perturbation within the atmosphere produced by the flow is extracted and the infrasound signature of the events as a function of the flow characteristics is defined. Numerical results suggest that infrasound is radiated immediately downstream of the dam with amplitude and period that scale with dam height and water level. Modeled infrasound waveform is interpreted as being produced mostly by waves at the water free surface developing downstream of the dam. Despite the effect of sediments is not considered in this first study and will be implemented in future investigations, numerical results obtained with this simple model are in general agreement with experimental results obtained from array analysis of infrasound data recorded at Illgraben, Switzerland. Results highlight how numerical modeling can provide critical information to define a source mechanism of infrasound energy radiation by debris-flow, that is required also to improve early warning systems.


Landslides ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 2409-2419
Author(s):  
Zongji Yang ◽  
Liyong Wang ◽  
Jianping Qiao ◽  
Taro Uchimura ◽  
Lin Wang

Abstract Rainfall-induced landslides are a frequent and often catastrophic geological disaster, and the development of accurate early warning systems for such events is a primary challenge in the field of risk reduction. Understanding of the physical mechanisms of rainfall-induced landslides is key for early warning and prediction. In this study, a real-time multivariate early warning method based on hydro-mechanical analysis and a long-term sequence of real-time monitoring data was proposed and verified by applying the method to predict successive debris flow events that occurred in 2017 and 2018 in Yindongzi Gully, which is in Wenchuan earthquake region, China. Specifically, long-term sequence slope stability analysis of the in situ datasets for the landslide deposit as a benchmark was conducted, and a multivariate indicator early warning method that included the rainfall intensity-probability (I-P), saturation (Si), and inclination (Ir) was then proposed. The measurements and analysis in the two early warning scenarios not only verified the reliability and practicality of the multivariate early warning method but also revealed the evolution processes and mechanism of the landslide-generated debris flow in response to rainfall. Thus, these findings provide a new strategy and guideline for accurately producing early warnings of rainfall-induced landslides.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-315
Author(s):  
Benedetta Dini ◽  
Georgina L. Bennett ◽  
Aldina M. A. Franco ◽  
Michael R. Z. Whitworth ◽  
Kristen L. Cook ◽  
...  

Abstract. Boulder movement can be observed not only in rockfall activity, but also in association with other landslide types such as rockslides, soil slides in colluvium originating from previous rockslides, and debris flows. Large boulders pose a direct threat to life and key infrastructure in terms of amplifying landslide and flood hazards as they move from the slopes to the river network. Despite the hazard they pose, boulders have not been directly targeted as a mean to detect landslide movement or used in dedicated early warning systems. We use an innovative monitoring system to observe boulder movement occurring in different geomorphological settings before reaching the river system. Our study focuses on an area in the upper Bhote Koshi catchment northeast of Kathmandu, where the Araniko highway is subjected to periodic landsliding and floods during the monsoons and was heavily affected by coseismic landslides during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. In the area, damage by boulders to properties, roads, and other key infrastructure, such as hydropower plants, is observed every year. We embedded trackers in 23 boulders spread between a landslide body and two debris flow channels before the monsoon season of 2019. The trackers, equipped with accelerometers, can detect small angular changes in the orientation of boulders and large forces acting on them. The data can be transmitted in real time via a long-range wide-area network (LoRaWAN®) gateway to a server. Nine of the tagged boulders registered patterns in the accelerometer data compatible with downslope movements. Of these, six lying within the landslide body show small angular changes, indicating a reactivation during the rainfall period and a movement of the landslide mass. Three boulders located in a debris flow channel show sharp changes in orientation, likely corresponding to larger free movements and sudden rotations. This study highlights the fact that this innovative, cost-effective technology can be used to monitor boulders in hazard-prone sites by identifying the onset of potentially hazardous movement in real time and may thus establish the basis for early warning systems, particularly in developing countries where expensive hazard mitigation strategies may be unfeasible.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedetta Dini ◽  
Georgina L. Bennett ◽  
Aldina M. A. Franco ◽  
Michael R. Z. Whitworth ◽  
Kristen L. Cook ◽  
...  

Abstract. Boulder movement can be observed not only in rock fall activity, but also in association with other landslide types such as rock slides, soil slides in colluvium originated from previous rock slides and debris flows. Large boulders pose a direct threat to life and key infrastructure, amplifying landslide and flood hazards, as they move from the slopes to the river network. Despite the hazard they pose, boulders have not been directly targeted as a mean to detect landslide movement or used in dedicated early warning systems. We use an innovative monitoring system to observe boulder movement occurring in different geomorphological settings, before reaching the river system. Our study focuses on an area in the upper Bhote Koshi catchment northeast of Kathmandu, where the Araniko highway is subjected to periodic landsliding and floods during the monsoons and was heavily affected by coseismic landslides during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. In the area, damage by boulders to properties, roads and other key infrastructure, such as hydropower plants, is observed every year. We embedded trackers in 23 boulders spread between a landslide body and two debris flow channels, before the monsoon season of 2019. The trackers, equipped with accelerometers, can detect small angular changes in boulders orientation and large forces acting on them. The data can be transmitted in real time, via a long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN®) gateway to a server. Nine of the tagged boulders registered patterns in the accelerometer data compatible with downslope movements. Of these, six lying within the landslide body show small angular changes, indicating a reactivation during the rainfall period and a movement consistent with the landslide mass. Three boulders, located in a debris flow channel, show sharp changes in orientation, likely corresponding to larger free movements and sudden rotations. This study highlights that this innovative, cost-effective technology can be used to monitor boulders in hazard prone sites, identifying in real time the onset of movement, and may thus set the basis for early warning systems, particularly in developing countries, where expensive hazard mitigation strategies may be unfeasible.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 1395-1409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua-Li Pan ◽  
Yuan-Jun Jiang ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Guo-Qiang Ou

Abstract. Debris flows are natural disasters that frequently occur in mountainous areas, usually accompanied by serious loss of lives and properties. One of the most commonly used approaches to mitigate the risk associated with debris flows is the implementation of early warning systems based on well-calibrated rainfall thresholds. However, many mountainous areas have little data regarding rainfall and hazards, especially in debris-flow-forming regions. Therefore, the traditional statistical analysis method that determines the empirical relationship between rainstorms and debris flow events cannot be effectively used to calculate reliable rainfall thresholds in these areas. After the severe Wenchuan earthquake, there were plenty of deposits deposited in the gullies, which resulted in several debris flow events. The triggering rainfall threshold has decreased obviously. To get a reliable and accurate rainfall threshold and improve the accuracy of debris flow early warning, this paper developed a quantitative method, which is suitable for debris flow triggering mechanisms in meizoseismal areas, to identify rainfall threshold for debris flow early warning in areas with a scarcity of data based on the initiation mechanism of hydraulic-driven debris flow. First, we studied the characteristics of the study area, including meteorology, hydrology, topography and physical characteristics of the loose solid materials. Then, the rainfall threshold was calculated by the initiation mechanism of the hydraulic debris flow. The comparison with other models and with alternate configurations demonstrates that the proposed rainfall threshold curve is a function of the antecedent precipitation index (API) and 1 h rainfall. To test the proposed method, we selected the Guojuanyan gully, a typical debris flow valley that during the 2008–2013 period experienced several debris flow events, located in the meizoseismal areas of the Wenchuan earthquake, as a case study. The comparison with other threshold models and configurations shows that the selected approach is the most promising starting point for further studies on debris flow early warning systems in areas with a scarcity of data.


1995 ◽  
Vol 34 (05) ◽  
pp. 518-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bensadon ◽  
A. Strauss ◽  
R. Snacken

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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