scholarly journals Communicating complex forecasts: an analysis of the approach in Nepal's flood early warning system

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-70
Author(s):  
Mirianna Budimir ◽  
Amy Donovan ◽  
Sarah Brown ◽  
Puja Shakya ◽  
Dilip Gautam ◽  
...  

Abstract. Early warning systems have the potential to save lives and improve resilience. However, barriers and challenges remain in disseminating and communicating early warning information to institutional decision-makers, community members and individuals at risk, including unequal access, insufficient understanding, and inability to act on warning information. Research was undertaken to analyse and understand the current flood early warning system in Nepal, considering available data and forecasts, information flows, early warning dissemination, and decision-making for early action. Data were collected from key informant interviews, community-level questionnaires, and a national stakeholder workshop and qualitatively analysed. The availability and utilisation of simple and complex flood forecasts in Nepal, and their integration into dissemination, and decision support tools were reviewed, considering their impact on improving early action to increase the resilience of vulnerable communities to flooding. Results suggest that as Nepal continues to advance in hydro-meteorological forecasting capabilities, efforts are simultaneously needed to ensure these forecasts are more effectively communicated and disseminated.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirianna Budimir ◽  
Amy Donovan ◽  
Sarah Brown ◽  
Puja Shakya ◽  
Dilip Gautam ◽  
...  

Abstract. Early warning systems have the potential to save lives and improve resilience. Simple early warning systems rely on real-time data and deterministic models to generate evacuation warnings; these simple deterministic models enable life-saving action, but provide limited lead time for resilience-building early action. More complex early warning systems supported by forecasts, including probabilistic forecasts, can provide additional lead time for preparation. However, barriers and challenges remain in disseminating and communicating these more complex warnings to community members and individuals at risk. Research was undertaken to analyse and understand the current early warning system in Nepal, considering available data and forecasts, information flows, early warning dissemination and decision making for early action. The research reviewed the availability and utilisation of complex forecasts in Nepal, their integration into dissemination (Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) bulletins and SMS warnings), and decision support tools (Common Alerting Protocols and Standard Operating Procedures), considering their impact on improving early action to increase the resilience of vulnerable communities to flooding.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Intrieri ◽  
G. Gigli ◽  
N. Casagli ◽  
F. Nadim

Abstract. We define landslide Early Warning Systems and present practical guidelines to assist end-users with limited experience in the design of landslide Early Warning Systems (EWSs). In particular, two flow chart-based tools coming from the results of the SafeLand project (7th Framework Program) have been created to make them as simple and general as possible and in compliance with a variety of landslide types and settings at single slope scale. We point out that it is not possible to cover all the real landslide early warning situations that might occur, therefore it will be necessary for end-users to adapt the procedure to local peculiarities of the locations where the landslide EWS will be operated.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2215-2228 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Angermann ◽  
M. Guenther ◽  
K. Wendlandt

Abstract. This article discusses aspects of communication architecture for early warning systems (EWS) in general and gives details of the specific communication architecture of an early warning system against tsunamis. While its sensors are the "eyes and ears" of a warning system and enable the system to sense physical effects, its communication links and terminals are its "nerves and mouth" which transport measurements and estimates within the system and eventually warnings towards the affected population. Designing the communication architecture of an EWS against tsunamis is particularly challenging. Its sensors are typically very heterogeneous and spread several thousand kilometers apart. They are often located in remote areas and belong to different organizations. Similarly, the geographic spread of the potentially affected population is wide. Moreover, a failure to deliver a warning has fatal consequences. Yet, the communication infrastructure is likely to be affected by the disaster itself. Based on an analysis of the criticality, vulnerability and availability of communication means, we describe the design and implementation of a communication system that employs both terrestrial and satellite communication links. We believe that many of the issues we encountered during our work in the GITEWS project (German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, Rudloff et al., 2009) on the design and implementation communication architecture are also relevant for other types of warning systems. With this article, we intend to share our insights and lessons learned.


2022 ◽  
pp. 195-216
Author(s):  
Dejan Vasović ◽  
Ratko Ristić ◽  
Muhamed Bajrić

The level of sustainability of a modern society is associated with the ability to manage unwanted stressors from the environment, regardless of origin. Torrential floods represent a hydrological hazard whose frequency and intensity have increased in recent years, mainly due to climate changes. In order to effectively manage the risks of torrents, it is necessary to apply early warning systems, since torrential floods are formed very quickly, especially on the watercourses of a small catchment area. The early warning system is part of a comprehensive torrential flood risk management system, seen as a technical entity for the collection, transformation, and rapid distribution of data. Modern early warning systems are the successors of rudimentary methods used in the past, and they are based on ICT and mobile applications developed in relation to the requirements of end users. The chapter presents an analysis of characteristic examples of the use. The main conclusion of the chapter indicates the need to implement early warning systems in national emergency management structures.


Author(s):  
Filiz Eryılmaz

International organizations as private sector institutions started to develop Early Warning System [EWS] models aiming to anticipate whether and when individual countries can collide with a financial crisis. EWS models can be made most useful to help sustain global growth and maintain financial stability, especially in light of the lessons learned from the current and past crises. This paper proposes Early Warning Systems (EWS) for Turkish Currency and Banking Crisis in 2000 and 2001. To that end “KLR model” or “signaling window” approach developed by Kaminski, Lorezondo and Reinhart (1998) is testified in the empirical part of this research and applied to a sample of Turkey macroeconomic data for the 1998-2003 monthly periods.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Falck ◽  
M. Ramatschi ◽  
C. Subarya ◽  
M. Bartsch ◽  
A. Merx ◽  
...  

Abstract. GPS (Global Positioning System) technology is widely used for positioning applications. Many of them have high requirements with respect to precision, reliability or fast product delivery, but usually not all at the same time as it is the case for early warning applications. The tasks for the GPS-based components within the GITEWS project (German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, Rudloff et al., 2009) are to support the determination of sea levels (measured onshore and offshore) and to detect co-seismic land mass displacements with the lowest possible latency (design goal: first reliable results after 5 min). The completed system was designed to fulfil these tasks in near real-time, rather than for scientific research requirements. The obtained data products (movements of GPS antennas) are supporting the warning process in different ways. The measurements from GPS instruments on buoys allow the earliest possible detection or confirmation of tsunami waves on the ocean. Onshore GPS measurements are made collocated with tide gauges or seismological stations and give information about co-seismic land mass movements as recorded, e.g., during the great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 2004 (Subarya et al., 2006). This information is important to separate tsunami-caused sea height movements from apparent sea height changes at tide gauge locations (sensor station movement) and also as additional information about earthquakes' mechanisms, as this is an essential information to predict a tsunami (Sobolev et al., 2007). This article gives an end-to-end overview of the GITEWS GPS-component system, from the GPS sensors (GPS receiver with GPS antenna and auxiliary systems, either onshore or offshore) to the early warning centre displays. We describe how the GPS sensors have been installed, how they are operated and the methods used to collect, transfer and process the GPS data in near real-time. This includes the sensor system design, the communication system layout with real-time data streaming, the data processing strategy and the final products of the GPS-based early warning system components.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexia Calvel ◽  
Micha Werner ◽  
Marc van den Homberg ◽  
Andrés Cabrera Flamini ◽  
Ileen Streefkerk ◽  
...  

Early warning systems trigger early action and enable better disaster preparedness. People-centered dissemination and communication are pivotal for the effective uptake of early warnings. Current research predominantly focuses on sudden-onset hazards, such as floods, ignoring considerable differences with slow-onset hazards, such as droughts. We identify the essential factors contributing to effective drought dissemination and communication using the people-centered approach advocated in the WMOs Multi-Hazard Early Warning System Framework (MHEWS). We use semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and focus group discussions with small-scale farmers in the Mangochi and Salima Districts of Malawi. We show that the timely release of seasonal forecast, the tailoring of the drought warning content (and its timing) to agricultural decision making, and the provision of several dissemination channels enhance trust and improve uptake of drought warning information by farmers. Our analysis demonstrates that farmers seek, prepare, and respond to drought warning information when it is provided as advice on agricultural practices, rather than as weather-related information. The information was found to be useful where it offers advice on the criteria and environmental cues that farmers can use to inform their decisions in a timely manner. Based on our findings, we propose that by focusing on enhancing trust, improving information uptake and financial sustainability as key metrics, the MHEWS can be adapted for use in monitoring the effectiveness of early warning systems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruihua Xiao

<p>For the recent years, highway safety control under extreme natural hazards in China has been facing critical challenges because of the latest extreme climates. Highway is a typical linear project, and neither the traditional single landslide monitoring and early warning model entirely dependent on displacement data, nor the regional meteorological early warning model entirely dependent on rainfall intensity and duration are suitable for it. In order to develop an efficient early warning system for highway safety, the authors have developed an early warning method based on both monitoring data obtained by GNSS and Crack meter, and meteorological data obtained by Radar. This early-warning system is not each of the local landslide early warning systems (Lo-LEWSs) or the territorial landslide early warning systems (Te-LEWSs), but a new system combining both of them. In this system, the minimum warning element is defined as the slope unit which can connect a single slope to the regional ones. By mapping the regional meteorological warning results to each of the slope units, and extending the warning results of the single landslides to the similar slope units, we can realize the organic combination of the two warning methods. It is hopeful to improve the hazard prevention and safety control for highway facilities during critical natural hazards with the progress of this study.</p>


2007 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAVEL TKALICH ◽  
MY HA DAO ◽  
ENG SOON CHAN

After the devastating Indian Ocean 2004 Tsunami, coastal economies around the Indian Ocean have been reminded of the necessity to make well-coordinated efforts to deal with the tsunami problem. An integrated socio-technological infrastructure has to be built, with key tasks including advanced sensors, reliable communication networks, fast predictive algorithms, early warning systems, and educational outreach. This paper highlights the key features of a prediction system under development in Singapore in support of the early warning system being developed in the region.


2021 ◽  
pp. 209-223
Author(s):  
Ekkehard Holzbecher ◽  
Ahmed Hadidi ◽  
Nicolette Volp ◽  
Jeroen de Koning ◽  
Humaid Al Badi ◽  
...  

AbstractTechnologies concerning integrated water resources management, in general, and flood management, in particular, have recently undergone rapid developments. New smart technologies have been implemented in every relevant sector and include hydrological sensors, remote sensing, sensor networks, data integration, hydrodynamic simulation and visualization, decision support and early warning systems as well as the dissemination of information to decision-makers and the public. After providing a rough review of current developments, we demonstrate the operation of an advanced system with a special focus on an early warning system. Two case studies are covered in this chapter: one specific urban case located in the city of Parrametta in Australia in an area that shows similar flood characteristics to those found in arid or semiarid regions and one case regarding the countrywide Flash Flood Guidance System in Oman (OmanFFGS).


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