Climatic hazards warning process in Bangladesh: Experience of, and lessons from, the 1991 April cyclone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haque, C. Emdad

1995-09-01

Science and technology cannot control entirely the causes of natural hazards. However, by using multifaceted programs to modify the physical and human use systems, the potential losses from disasters can effectively be minized. Predicting, identifying, monitoring, and forecasting extreme meteorological events are the preliminary actions towards mitigating the cyclone-loss potential of coastal inhabitants, but without the successful dissemination of forecasts and relevant information, and without appropriate responses by the potential victims, the loss potential would probably remain the same. This study examines the process through which warning of the impending disastrous cyclone of April 1991 was received by the local communities and disseminated throughout the coastal regions of Bangladesh. It is found that identification of the threatening condition due to atmospheric disturbance, monitoring of the hazard event, and dissemination of the cyclone warning were each very successful. However, due to a number of socioeconomic and cognitive factors, the reactions and responses of coastal inhabitants to the warning were in general passive, resulting in a colossal loss, both at the individual and national level. The study recommends that the hazard mitigation policies should be integrated with national economic development plans and programs. Specifically, it is suggested that, in order to attain its goals, the cyclone warning system should regard the aspects of human response to warnings as a constituent part and accommodate human dimensions in its operational design.

49 CFR 393.19 - Hazard warning signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Hazard warning signals. 393.19 Section 393.19... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Electrical Wiring § 393.19 Hazard warning signals. The hazard warning signal operating unit on each commercial motor vehicle shall operate...

49 CFR 393.19 - Hazard warning signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Hazard warning signals. 393.19 Section 393.19... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Electrical Wiring § 393.19 Hazard warning signals. The hazard warning signal operating unit on each commercial motor vehicle shall operate...

49 CFR 393.19 - Hazard warning signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Hazard warning signals. 393.19 Section 393.19... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Electrical Wiring § 393.19 Hazard warning signals. The hazard warning signal operating unit on each commercial motor vehicle shall operate...

49 CFR 393.19 - Hazard warning signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Hazard warning signals. 393.19 Section 393.19... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Electrical Wiring § 393.19 Hazard warning signals. The hazard warning signal operating unit on each commercial motor vehicle shall operate...

49 CFR 393.19 - Hazard warning signals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Hazard warning signals. 393.19 Section 393.19... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Electrical Wiring § 393.19 Hazard warning signals. The hazard warning signal operating unit on each commercial motor vehicle shall operate...

Early warning, warning or alarm systems for natural hazards? A generic classification.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sättele, Martina; Bründl, Michael; Straub, Daniel

2013-04-01

Early warning, warning and alarm systems have gained popularity in recent years as cost-efficient measures for dangerous natural hazard processes such as floods, storms, rock and snow avalanches, debris flows, rock and ice falls, landslides, flash floods, glacier lake outburst floods, forest fires and even earthquakes. These systems can generate information before an event causes loss of property and life. In this way, they mainly mitigate the overall risk by reducing the presence probability of endangered objects. These systems are typically prototypes tailored to specific project needs. Despite their importance there is no recognised system classification. This contribution classifies warning and alarm systems into three classes: i) threshold systems, ii) expert systems and iii) model-based expert systems. The result is a generic classification, which takes the characteristics of the natural hazard process itself and the related monitoring possibilities into account. The choice of the monitoring parameters directly determines the system's lead time. The classification of 52 active systems moreover revealed typical system characteristics for each system class. i) Threshold systems monitor dynamic process parameters of ongoing events (e.g. water level of a debris flow) and incorporate minor lead times. They have a local geographical coverage and a predefined threshold determines if an alarm is automatically activated to warn endangered objects, authorities and system operators. ii) Expert systems monitor direct changes in the variable disposition (e.g crack opening before a rock avalanche) or trigger events (e.g. heavy rain) at a local scale before the main event starts and thus offer extended lead times. The final alarm decision incorporates human, model and organisational related factors. iii) Model-based expert systems monitor indirect changes in the variable disposition (e.g. snow temperature, height or solar radiation that influence the occurrence probability of snow avalanches) or trigger events (e.g. heavy snow fall) to predict spontaneous hazard events in advance. They encompass regional or national measuring networks and satisfy additional demands such as the standardisation of the measuring stations. The developed classification and the characteristics, which were revealed for each class, yield a valuable input to quantifying the reliability of warning and alarm systems. Importantly, this will facilitate to compare them with well-established standard mitigation measures such as dams, nets and galleries within an integrated risk management approach.

Investigation of the performance characteristics of Doppler radar technique for aircraft collision hazard warning, phase 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

System studies, equipment simulation, hardware development and flight tests which were conducted during the development of aircraft collision hazard warning system are discussed. The system uses a cooperative, continuous wave Doppler radar principle with pseudo-random frequency modulation. The report presents a description of the system operation and deals at length with the use of pseudo-random coding techniques. In addition, the use of mathematical modeling and computer simulation to determine the alarm statistics and system saturation characteristics in terminal area traffic of variable density is discussed.

Main components and characteristics of landslide early warning systems operational worldwide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piciullo, Luca; Cepeda, José

2017-04-01

During the last decades the number of victims and economic losses due to natural hazards are dramatically increased worldwide. The reason can be mainly ascribed to climate changes and urbanization in areas exposed at high level of risk. Among the many mitigation measures available for reducing the risk to life related to natural hazards, early warning systems certainly constitute a significant cost-effective option available to the authorities in charge of risk management and governance. The aim is to help and protect populations exposed to natural hazards, reducing fatalities when major events occur. Landslide is one of the natural hazards addressed by early warning systems. Landslide early warning systems (LEWSs) are mainly composed by the following four components: set-up, correlation laws, decisional algorithm and warning management. Within this framework, the set-up includes all the preliminary actions and choices necessary for designing a LEWS, such as: the area covered by the system, the types of landslides and the monitoring instruments. The monitoring phase provides a series of important information on different variables, considered as triggering factors for landslides, in order to define correlation laws and thresholds. Then, a decisional algorithm is necessary for defining the: number of warning levels to be employed in the system, decision making procedures, and everything else system managers may need for issuing warnings in different warning zones. Finally the warning management is composed by: monitoring and warning strategy; communication strategy; emergency plan and, everything connected to the social sphere. Among LEWSs operational worldwide, two categories can be defined as a function of the scale of analysis: "local" and "territorial" systems. The scale of analysis influences several actions and aspects connected to the design and employment of the system, such as: the actors involved, the monitoring systems, type of landslide phenomena addressed and variables to be considered for correlations. The characteristics of LEWSs at local scale are strongly affected by numerous constraints and factors, from time to time different, related to the characteristics of the problem they address. Monitoring measures, variables and correlation laws considered for the design and employment of local LEWSs, strongly depends on the type of landslide to be addressed. On the other hand, territorial LEWSs mainly deals with rainfall-induced landslides characterized by fast slope movement. These systems have become a risk management approach, employed worldwide over areas of relevant extension. Before 2005 only few experiences of LEWSs at a regional scale were carried out, such as in: Hong Kong, China; Zhejiang Province, China; San Francisco Bay, California, USA; Appalachians, USA; Oregon, USA; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since the beginning of the XXI century, increased knowledge on rainfall-landslide correlations and upgraded technologies in weather forecast have promoted the development and improvement of territorial LEWSs around the world.

Ecosystems for Early Warning: Potential Use of Bioindicators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zommers, Z. A.; Sitati, A. M.; Habilov, M.

2014-12-01

Bioindicators are biological processes, species or communities, which are used to assess changes in the environment or environmental quality. Theoretically, they could also be used to provide advanced warning of hazards. They are inexpensive, locally relevant, and can encourage stakeholder participation in early warning system development and maintenance. While bioindicators have been identified for environmental problems such as air pollution and water pollution, and have been used to assess health of ecosystems, little information is available on bioindicators for climate related hazards. This presentation reviews possible biodindicators for droughts, wildfires and tropical cyclones, based on the results of a literature review. It will also present results from a household survey of 36 communities in Kenya, Ghana and Burkina Faso. Indigenous knowledge offers a wealth of potential bioindicators; including animal and insect behavior, and plant phenology. Yet significant study is needed to verify these indicators and evaluate them against criteria such as specificity, variability, monotonicity, practicality and relevance. Bioindicators may not be specific to individual hazards and may provide limited advanced warning, as response often occurs after the actual onset of the hazard. Furthermore, indicators may become increasingly unreliable due to climate change itself. There is a need for a large-scale assessment of hazard bioindicators, which should also include forecasts of bioindicator change under global warming, and a cost-benefit analysis of the value of integrating bioindicators into early warning systems. Lessons can be drawn from ethnopharmacology. Coordinated research on this topic could contribute to the resilience of both ecosystems and human livelihoods.

Destructive Interactions Between Mitigation Strategies and the Causes of Unexpected Failures in Natural Hazard Mitigation Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Day, S. J.; Fearnley, C. J.

2013-12-01

Large investments in the mitigation of natural hazards, using a variety of technology-based mitigation strategies, have proven to be surprisingly ineffective in some recent natural disasters. These failures reveal a need for a systematic classification of mitigation strategies; an understanding of the scientific uncertainties that affect the effectiveness of such strategies; and an understanding of how the different types of strategy within an overall mitigation system interact destructively to reduce the effectiveness of the overall mitigation system. We classify mitigation strategies into permanent, responsive and anticipatory. Permanent mitigation strategies such as flood and tsunami defenses or land use restrictions, are both costly and 'brittle': when they malfunction they can increase mortality. Such strategies critically depend on the accuracy of the estimates of expected hazard intensity in the hazard assessments that underpin their design. Responsive mitigation strategies such as tsunami and lahar warning systems rely on capacities to detect and quantify the hazard source events and to transmit warnings fast enough to enable at risk populations to decide and act effectively. Self-warning and voluntary evacuation is also usually a responsive mitigation strategy. Uncertainty in the nature and magnitude of the detected hazard source event is often the key scientific obstacle to responsive mitigation; public understanding of both the hazard and the warnings, to enable decision making, can also be a critical obstacle. Anticipatory mitigation strategies use interpretation of precursors to hazard source events and are used widely in mitigation of volcanic hazards. Their critical limitations are due to uncertainties in time, space and magnitude relationships between precursors and hazard events. Examples of destructive interaction between different mitigation strategies are provided by the Tohoku 2011 earthquake and tsunami; recent earthquakes that have impacted population centers with poor enforcement of building codes, unrealistic expectations of warning systems or failures to understand local seismic damage mechanisms; and the interaction of land use restriction strategies and responsive warning strategies around lahar-prone volcanoes. A more complete understanding of the interactions between these different types of mitigation strategy, especially the consequences for the expectations and behaviors of the populations at risk, requires models of decision-making under high levels of both uncertainty and danger. The Observation-Orientation-Decision-Action (OODA) loop model (Boyd, 1987) may be a particularly useful model. It emphasizes the importance of 'orientation' (the interpretation of observations and assessment of their significance for the observer and decision-maker), the feedback between decisions and subsequent observations and orientations, and the importance of developing mitigation strategies that are flexible and so able to respond to the occurrence of the unexpected. REFERENCE: Boyd, J.R. A Discourse on Winning and Losing [http://dnipogo.org/john-r-boyd/

Seismic Monitoring of Permafrost During Controlled Thaw: An Active-Source Experiment Using a Surface Orbital Vibrator and Fiber-Optic DAS Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, S.; Wood, T.; Lindsey, N.; Ajo Franklin, J. B.; Freifeld, B. M.; Gelvin, A.; Morales, A.; Saari, S.; Ekblaw, I.; Wagner, A. M.; Daley, T. M.; Robertson, M.; Martin, E. R.; Ulrich, C.; Bjella, K.

2016-12-01

Thawing of permafrost can cause ground deformations that threaten the integrity of civil infrastructure. It is essential to develop early warning systems that can identify critically warmed permafrost and issue warnings for hazard prevention and control. Seismic methods can play a pivotal role in such systems for at least two reasons: First, seismic velocities are indicative of mechanical strength of the subsurface and thus are directly relevant to engineering properties; Second, seismic velocities in permafrost systems are sensitive to pre-thaw warming, which makes it possible to issue early warnings before the occurrence of hazardous subsidence events. However, several questions remain: What are the seismic signatures that can be effectively used for early warning of permafrost thaw? Can seismic methods provide enough warning times for hazard prevention and control? In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using permanently installed seismic networks for early warnings of permafrost thaw. We conducted continuous active-source seismic monitoring of permafrost that was under controlled heating at CRREL's Fairbanks permafrost experiment station. We used a permanently installed surface orbital vibrator (SOV) as source and surface-trenched DAS arrays as receivers. The SOV is characterized by its excellent repeatability, automated operation, high energy level, and the rich frequency content (10-100 Hz) of the generated wavefields. The fiber-optic DAS arrays allow continuous recording of seismic data with dense spatial sampling (1-meter channel spacing), low cost, and low maintenance. This combination of SOV-DAS provides unique seismic datasets for observing time-lapse changes of warming permafrost at the field scale, hence providing an observational basis for design and development of early warning systems for permafrost thaw.

Influence of warning information changes on emergency response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heisterkamp, Tobias; Ulbrich, Uwe; Glade, Thomas; Tetzlaff, Gerd

2014-05-01

Mitigation and risk reduction of natural hazards is significantly related to the possibility of predicting the actual event. Some hazards can already be forecasted several days in advance. For these hazards, early warning systems have been developed, installed and improved over the years. The formation of winter storms for example can be recognized up to one week before they pass through Central Europe. This relative long early warning time has the advantage that forecasters can concretise the warnings over time. Therefore, warnings can even be adapted to alternating conditions within the process, the observation or changes in its modelling. Emergency managers are one group of warning recipients in the civil protection sector. They have to prepare or initiate prevention or response measures at a specific point of time, depending on the required lead time of the referring actions. At this point of time already, the forecast and its equivalent warning, has to be assumed as a stage of reality, hence the decision-makers have to come to a conclusion. These decisions are based on spatial and temporal knowledge of the forecasted event and the consequential situation of risk. With incoming warning updates, the detailed status of information is permanently being alternated. Consequently, decisions can be influenced by the development of the warning situation and the inherent tendency before a certain point of time. They can also be adapted to updates later on, according to the changing 'decision reality'. The influence of these dynamic hazard situations on operational planning and response by emergency managers is investigated in case studies on winter storms for Berlin, Germany. Therefore, the issued warnings by the weather service and data of operation of Berlin Fire Brigades are analysed and compared. This presentation shows and discusses first results.

Geoethical considerations in early warning of flooding and landslides: Case study from Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devoli, Graziella; Kleivane Krøgli, Ingeborg; Dahl, Mads Peter; Colleuille, Hervé; Nykjær Boje, Søren; Sund, Monica

2015-04-01

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) runs the national early warning systems (EWS) for flooding and shallow landslides in Norway. The two EWSs have been operational since the late 1980s and 2013 respectively, and are based on weather forecasts, various hydro-meteorological prognosis and expert evaluation. Daily warning levels and related information to the public is prepared and presented through custom build internet platforms. In natural hazards sciences, the risk of a specific threat is defined as the product of hazard and consequence. In this context an EWS is intended to work as a mitigation measure in lowering the consequence and thus the risk of the threat. One of several factors determining the quality of such an EWS, is how warnings are communicated to the public. In contrary to what is common practice in some other countries, experts working with EWS in Norway cannot be held personally responsible for consequences of warnings being issued or not. However, the communication of warnings for flooding and landslides at NVE still implies many considerations of geoethical kind. Which are the consequences today for the forecasters when erroneous warning messages are sent because based on a poorly documented analysis? What is for example the most responsible way to describe uncertainties in warnings issued? What is the optimal compromise between avoiding false alarms and not sending out a specific warning? Is it responsible to rely on a "gut feeling"? Some authorities complain in receiving warning messages too often. Is it responsible to begin notifying these, only in cases of "high hazard level" and no longer in cases of "moderate hazard level"? Is it acceptable to issue general warnings for large geographical areas without being able to pinpoint the treat on local scale? What responsibility lies within the EWS in recommending evacuation or other practical measures to local authorities? By presenting how early warnings of flooding and landslides are communicated in Norway and discussing the questions above, we intend to add to the discussion on what is the ethical responsibility for scientists performing forecasting and communication of natural hazards.

Earthquake Early Warning and Public Policy: Opportunities and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goltz, J. D.; Bourque, L.; Tierney, K.; Riopelle, D.; Shoaf, K.; Seligson, H.; Flores, P.

2003-12-01

Development of an earthquake early warning capability and pilot project were objectives of TriNet, a 5-year (1997-2001) FEMA-funded project to develop a state-of-the-art digital seismic network in southern California. In parallel with research to assemble a protocol for rapid analysis of earthquake data and transmission of a signal by TriNet scientists and engineers, the public policy, communication and educational issues inherent in implementation of an earthquake early warning system were addressed by TriNet's outreach component. These studies included: 1) a survey that identified potential users of an earthquake early warning system and how an earthquake early warning might be used in responding to an event, 2) a review of warning systems and communication issues associated with other natural hazards and how lessons learned might be applied to an alerting system for earthquakes, 3) an analysis of organization, management and public policy issues that must be addressed if a broad-based warning system is to be developed and 4) a plan to provide earthquake early warnings to a small number of organizations in southern California as an experimental prototype. These studies provided needed insights into the social and cultural environment in which this new technology will be introduced, an environment with opportunities to enhance our response capabilities but also an environment with significant barriers to overcome to achieve a system that can be sustained and supported. In this presentation we will address the main public policy issues that were subjects of analysis in these studies. They include a discussion of the possible division of functions among organizations likely to be the principle partners in the management of an earthquake early warning system. Drawing on lessons learned from warning systems for other hazards, we will review the potential impacts of false alarms and missed events on warning system credibility, the acceptability of fully automated warning systems and equity issues associated with possible differential access to warnings. Finally, we will review the status of legal authorities and liabilities faced by organizations that assume various warning system roles and possible approaches to setting up a pilot project to introduce early warning. Our presentation will suggest that introducing an early warning system requires multi-disciplinary and multi-agency cooperation and thoughtful discussion among organizations likely to be providers and participants in an early warning system. Recalling our experience with earthquake prediction, we will look at early warning as a promising but unproven technology and recommend moving forward with caution and patience.

Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards and success stories in disaster prevention and mitigation in the Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahar Francisco Lagmay, Alfredo

2016-04-01

The Philippines, being a locus of typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, is a hotbed of disasters. Natural hazards inflict loss of lives and costly damage to property in the country. In 2011, after tropical storm Washi devastated cities in southern Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology put in place a responsive program to warn and give communities hours-in-advance lead-time to prepare for imminent hazards and use advanced science and technology to enhance geohazard maps for more effective disaster prevention and mitigation. Since its launch, there have been many success stories on the use of Project NOAH, which after Typhoon Haiyan was integrated into the Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) system of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the government agency tasked to prepare for, and respond to, natural calamities. Learning from past disasters, NDRRMC now issues warnings, through scientific advise from DOST-Project NOAH and PAGASA (Philippine Weather Bureau) that are hazards-specific, area-focused and time-bound. Severe weather events in 2015 generated dangerous hazard phenomena such as widespread floods and massive debris flows, which if not for timely, accessible and understandable warnings, could have turned into disasters. We call these events as "disasters that did not happen". The innovative warning system of the Philippine government has so far proven effective in addressing the impacts of hydrometeorological hazards and can be employed elsewhere in the world.

Synergy of Earth Observation and In-Situ Monitoring Data for Flood Hazard Early Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brodsky, Lukas; Kodesova, Radka; Spazierova, Katerina

2010-12-01

In this study, we demonstrate synergy of EO and in-situ monitoring data for early warning flood hazard system in the Czech Republic developed within ESA PECS project FLOREO. The development of the demonstration system is oriented to support existing monitoring activities, especially snow melt and surface water runoff contributing to flooding events. The system consists of two main parts accordingly, the first is snow cover and snow melt monitoring driven mainly by EO data and the other is surface water runoff modeling and monitoring driven by synergy of in-situ and EO data.

The Global Emergency Observation and Warning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bukley, Angelia P.; Mulqueen, John A.

1994-01-01

Based on an extensive characterization of natural hazards, and an evaluation of their impacts on humanity, a set of functional technical requirements for a global warning and relief system was developed. Since no technological breakthroughs are required to implement a global system capable of performing the functions required to provide sufficient information for prevention, preparedness, warning, and relief from natural disaster effects, a system is proposed which would combine the elements of remote sensing, data processing, information distribution, and communications support on a global scale for disaster mitigation.

Joint NOAA/NWS/USGS prototype debris flow warning system for recently burned areas in Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Restrepo, P.; Jorgensen, D.P.; Cannon, S.H.; Costa, J.; Laber, J.; Major, J.; Martner, B.; Purpura, J.; Werner, K.

2008-01-01

Debris flows, also known as mudslides, are composed gravity-driven mixtures of sediment and water that travel through steep channels, over open hillslopes, and the like. Addressing this issue, US Geological Survey (USGS) and NOAA have established a debris-flow warning system that has the ability to monitor and forecast precipitation and issue timely weather hazard warning. In 2005, this joint NOAA-USGS prototype debris-flow warning system was issued in Southern California and as a result, it has provided valuable information to emergency managers in affected communities.

DISTANT EARLY WARNING SYSTEM for Tsunamis - A wide-area and multi-hazard approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, Martin; Lendholt, Matthias; Wächter, Joachim

2010-05-01

The DEWS (Distant Early Warning System) [1] project, funded under the 6th Framework Programme of the European Union, has the objective to create a new generation of interoperable early warning systems based on an open sensor platform. This platform integrates OGC [2] SWE [3] compliant sensor systems for the rapid detection of hazardous events, like earthquakes, sea level anomalies, ocean floor occurrences, and ground displacements in the case of tsunami early warning. Based on the upstream information flow DEWS focuses on the improvement of downstream capacities of warning centres especially by improving information logistics for effective and targeted warning message aggregation for a multilingual environment. Multiple telecommunication channels will be used for the dissemination of warning messages. Wherever possible, existing standards have been integrated. The Command and Control User Interface (CCUI), a rich client application based on Eclipse RCP (Rich Client Platform) [4] and the open source GIS uDig [5], integrates various OGC services. Using WMS (Web Map Service) [6] and WFS (Web Feature Service) [7] spatial data are utilized to depict the situation picture and to integrate a simulation system via WPS (Web Processing Service) [8] to identify affected areas. Warning messages are compiled and transmitted in the OASIS [9] CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) [10] standard together with addressing information defined via EDXL-DE (Emergency Data Exchange Language - Distribution Element) [11]. Internal interfaces are realized with SOAP [12] web services. Based on results of GITEWS [13] - in particular the GITEWS Tsunami Service Bus [14] - the DEWS approach provides an implementation for tsunami early warning systems but other geological paradigms are going to follow, e.g. volcanic eruptions or landslides. Therefore in future also multi-hazard functionality is conceivable. The specific software architecture of DEWS makes it possible to dock varying sensors to the system and to extend the CCUI with hazard specific functionality. The presentation covers the DEWS project, the system architecture and the CCUI in conjunction with details of information logistics. The DEWS Wide Area Centre connecting national centres to allow the international communication and warning exchange is presented also. REFERENCES: [1] DEWS, www.dews-online.org [2] OGC, www.opengeospatial.org [3] SWE, www.opengeospatial.org/projects/groups/sensorweb [4] Eclipse RCP, www.eclipse.org/home/categories/rcp.php [5] uDig, udig.refractions.net [6] WMS, www.opengeospatial.org/standards/wms [7] WFS, www.opengeospatial.org/standards/wfs [8] WPS, www.opengeospatial.org/standards/wps [9] OASIS, www.oasis-open.org [10] CAP, www.oasis-open.org/specs/#capv1.1 [11] EDXL-DE, www.oasis-open.org/specs/#edxlde-v1.0 [12] SOAP, www.w3.org/TR/soap [13] GITEWS (German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System) is a project of the German Federal Government to aid the recon¬struction of the tsunami-prone Indian Ocean region, www.gitews.org [14] The Tsunami Service Bus is the GITEWS sensor system integration platform offering standardised services for the detection and monitoring of tsunamis

Digital detection and processing of laser beacon signals for aircraft collision hazard warning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sweet, L. M.; Miles, R. B.; Russell, G. F.; Tomeh, M. G.; Webb, S. G.; Wong, E. Y.

1981-01-01

A low-cost collision hazard warning system suitable for implementation in both general and commercial aviation is presented. Laser beacon systems are used as sources of accurate relative position information that are not dependent on communication between aircraft or with the ground. The beacon system consists of a rotating low-power laser beacon, detector arrays with special optics for wide angle acceptance and filtering of solar background light, microprocessors for proximity and relative trajectory computation, and pilot displays of potential hazards. The laser beacon system provides direct measurements of relative aircraft positions; using optimal nonlinear estimation theory, the measurements resulting from the current beacon sweep are combined with previous data to provide the best estimate of aircraft proximity, heading, minimium passing distance, and time to closest approach.

Global Environmental Alert Service

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grasso, V. F.; Cervone, G.; Singh, A.; Kafatos, M.

2006-12-01

Every year natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc. occur around the world, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries, billions of dollars in economic losses, and destroying natural landmarks and adveresely affecting ecosystems. Due to increasing urbanization, and increasingly higher percentage of the world's population living in megacities, the existence of nuclear power plants and other facilities whose potential destruction poses unacceptable high risks, natural hazards represent an increasing threat for economic losses, as well as risk to people and property. Warning systems represent an innovative and effective approach to mitigate the risks associated with natural hazards. Several state-of-the-art analyses show that early warning technologies are now available for most natural hazards and systems are already in operation in some parts of the world. Nevertheless, recent disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2005 Katrina hurricane, highlighted inadequacies in early warning system technologies. Furthermore, not all available technologies are deployed in every part of the world, due to the lack of awareness and resources in the poorer countries, leaving very large and densely populated areas at risk. Efforts towards the development of a global warning system are necessary for filling the gaps of existing technologies. A globally comprehensive early warning system based on existing technologies will be a means to consolidate scientific knowledge, package it in a form usable to international and national decision makers and actively disseminate this information to protect people and properties. There is not a single information broker who searches and packages the policy relevant material and delivers it in an understandable format to the public and decision makers. A critical review of existing systems reveals the need for the innovative service. We propose here a Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS) that could provide information from monitoring, Earth observing and early warning systems to users in a near real time mode and bridge the gap between the scientific community and policy makers. Characteristics and operational aspects of GEAS are discussed.

Early Warning System for reducing disaster risk: the technological platform DEWETRA for the Republic of Serbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massabo, Marco; Molini, Luca; Kostic, Bojan; Campanella, Paolo; Stevanovic, Slavimir

2015-04-01

Disaster risk reduction has long been recognized for its role in mitigating the negative environmental, social and economic impacts of natural hazards. Flood Early Warning System is a disaster risk reduction measure based on the capacities of institutions to observe and predict extreme hydro-meteorological events and to disseminate timely and meaningful warning information; it is furthermore based on the capacities of individuals, communities and organizations to prepare and to act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm or loss. An operational definition of an Early Warning System has been suggested by ISDR - UN Office for DRR [15 January 2009]: "EWS is the set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful warning information to enable individuals, communities and organizations threatened by a hazard to prepare and to act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm or loss.". ISDR continues by commenting that a people-centered early warning system necessarily comprises four key elements: 1-knowledge of the risks; 2-monitoring, analysis and forecasting of the hazards; 3-communication or dissemination of alerts and warnings; and 4- local capabilities to respond to the warnings received." The technological platform DEWETRA supports the strengthening of the first three key elements of EWS suggested by ISDR definition, hence to improve the capacities to build real-time risk scenarios and to inform and warn the population in advance The technological platform DEWETRA has been implemented for the Republic of Serbia. DEWETRA is a real time-integrate system that supports decision makers for risk forecasting and monitoring and for distributing warnings to end-user and to the general public. The system is based on the rapid availability of different data that helps to establish up-to-date and reliable risk scenarios. The integration of all relevant data for risk management significantly increases the value of available information and the level of knowledge of forecasters and disaster managers. Different data, forecast and monitoring products, which are generated by different national and international institution and organizations, can be visualized and processed in real-time within the platform. DEWETRA is a web application ensuring the capillary distribution of information among institutions. The system is used as an infrastructure for exchanging and sharing data, procedures, models and expertise among the Sector of Emergency Management (SEM), the Republic Hydro-Meteorological Service of Serbia (RHMSS) and the Serbian Public Water Companies (PWCs): Serbia Waters, Vojvodina Waters and Belgrade Waters.

Effect of directional speech warnings on road hazard detection.

PubMed

Serrano, Jesús; Di Stasi, Leandro L; Megías, Alberto; Catena, Andrés

2011-12-01

In the last 2 decades, cognitive science and the transportation psychology field have dedicated a lot of effort to designing advanced driver support systems. Verbal warning systems are increasingly being implemented in modern automobiles in an effort to increase road safety. The study presented here investigated the impact of directional speech alert messages on the participants' speed to judge whether or not naturalistic road scenes depicted a situation of impending danger. Thirty-eight volunteers performed a computer-based key-press reaction time task. Findings indicated that semantic content of verbal warning signals can be used for increasing driving safety and improving hazard detection. Furthermore, the classical result regarding signal accuracy is confirmed: directional informative speech messages lead to faster hazard detection compared to drivers who received a high rate of false alarms. Notwithstanding some study limitations (lack of driver experience and low ecological validity), this evidence could provide important information for the specification of future Human-Machine-interaction (HMI) design guidelines.

Tourism hazard potentials in Mount Merapi: how to deal with the risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muthiah, J.; Muntasib, E. K. S. H.; Meilani, R.

2018-05-01

Mount Merapi as one of the most popular natural tourism destination in Indonesia, indicated as disaster prone area. Hazard management is required to ensure visitors safety. Hazard identification and mapping are prerequisite in developing proper hazard management recommendation. This study aimed to map hazard potentials’ geographical positions obtained with geographical positioning system and to identify the hazard management being implemented. Data collection was carried out in Mei – June 2017 through observation and interview. Hiking trail and Lava tour area was selected as the study site, since the sites are the main areas for tourism activities in Mount Merapi. The type of hazards found in the area included lava, tephra, eruption cloud, ash, earthquake, land slide, extreme weather, slope and loose rock. Early warning system had been developed in this area, however the mechanism to regulate tourism activities still had to be improved. Local tourism entrepreneurs should be involved in the network of early warning system stakeholders to ensure tourist safety, and their capacity should be improved in order to be able to perform the measures needed for handling accident and disaster occurrences. Interpretive media explaining hazard potentials may be used to improve visitors’ awareness and ability to cope with the risk.

Development of Smart Grid for Community and Cyber based Landslide Hazard Monitoring and Early Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karnawati, D.; Wilopo, W.; Fathani, T. F.; Fukuoka, H.; Andayani, B.

2012-12-01

A Smart Grid is a cyber-based tool to facilitate a network of sensors for monitoring and communicating the landslide hazard and providing the early warning. The sensor is designed as an electronic sensor installed in the existing monitoring and early warning instruments, and also as the human sensors which comprise selected committed-people at the local community, such as the local surveyor, local observer, member of the local task force for disaster risk reduction, and any person at the local community who has been registered to dedicate their commitments for sending reports related to the landslide symptoms observed at their living environment. This tool is designed to be capable to receive up to thousands of reports/information at the same time through the electronic sensors, text message (mobile phone), the on-line participatory web as well as various social media such as Twitter and Face book. The information that should be recorded/ reported by the sensors is related to the parameters of landslide symptoms, for example the progress of cracks occurrence, ground subsidence or ground deformation. Within 10 minutes, this tool will be able to automatically elaborate and analyse the reported symptoms to predict the landslide hazard and risk levels. The predicted level of hazard/ risk can be sent back to the network of electronic and human sensors as the early warning information. The key parameters indicating the symptoms of landslide hazard were recorded/ monitored by the electrical and the human sensors. Those parameters were identified based on the investigation on geological and geotechnical conditions, supported with the laboratory analysis. The cause and triggering mechanism of landslide in the study area was also analysed in order to define the critical condition to launch the early warning. However, not only the technical but also social system were developed to raise community awareness and commitments to serve the mission as the human sensors, which will be responsible for reporting and informing the early warning. Therefore, a community empowerment and encouragement program through public education was conducted. Strategy and approach for this program was formulated based on the socio-engineering investigation. Finally, the results of technical and social engineering investigations, have been elaborated to further enhance the performance of expert system of the Smart Grid, in order to completely establish this system as an innovative and effective tool for the landslide monitoring and early warning in tropical-developing country.

Improved satellite-based emergency alerting system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernard, E. N.; Milburn, H. B.

1991-12-01

Rapid-onset natural hazards have claimed more than 2.8 million lives worldwide in the past 20 years. This category includes such events as earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and tsunamis. Effective hazard mitigation is particularly difficult in such cases, since the time available to issue warnings can be very short or even nonexistent. A general approach to mitigate the effects of these disasters was demonstrated in 1988 that included preevent emergency planning, real-time hazard assessment, and rapid warning via satellite communication links. This article reports on improvements in this satellite-based emergency alerting communication system that have reduced the response time from 87 to 17 sec and expanded the broadcast coverage from 40 percent to 62 percent of the earth's surface.

Technical Note: An operational landslide early warning system at regional scale based on space-time-variable rainfall thresholds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segoni, S.; Battistini, A.; Rossi, G.; Rosi, A.; Lagomarsino, D.; Catani, F.; Moretti, S.; Casagli, N.

2015-04-01

We set up an early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides in Tuscany (23 000 km2). The system is based on a set of state-of-the-art intensity-duration rainfall thresholds (Segoni et al., 2014b) and makes use of LAMI (Limited Area Model Italy) rainfall forecasts and real-time rainfall data provided by an automated network of more than 300 rain gauges. The system was implemented in a WebGIS to ease the operational use in civil protection procedures: it is simple and intuitive to consult, and it provides different outputs. When switching among different views, the system is able to focus both on monitoring of real-time data and on forecasting at different lead times up to 48 h. Moreover, the system can switch between a basic data view where a synoptic scenario of the hazard can be shown all over the region and a more in-depth view were the rainfall path of rain gauges can be displayed and constantly compared with rainfall thresholds. To better account for the variability of the geomorphological and meteorological settings encountered in Tuscany, the region is subdivided into 25 alert zones, each provided with a specific threshold. The warning system reflects this subdivision: using a network of more than 300 rain gauges, it allows for the monitoring of each alert zone separately so that warnings can be issued independently. An important feature of the warning system is that the visualization of the thresholds in the WebGIS interface may vary in time depending on when the starting time of the rainfall event is set. The starting time of the rainfall event is considered as a variable by the early warning system: whenever new rainfall data are available, a recursive algorithm identifies the starting time for which the rainfall path is closest to or overcomes the threshold. This is considered the most hazardous condition, and it is displayed by the WebGIS interface. The early warning system is used to forecast and monitor the landslide hazard in the whole region, providing specific alert levels for 25 distinct alert zones. In addition, the system can be used to gather, analyze, display, explore, interpret and store rainfall data, thus representing a potential support to both decision makers and scientists.

Space geodetic tools provide early warnings for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoki, Yosuke

2017-04-01

Development of space geodetic techniques such as Global Navigation Satellite System and Synthetic Aperture Radar in last few decades allows us to monitor deformation of Earth's surface in unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. These observations, combined with fast data transmission and quick data processing, enable us to quickly detect and locate earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and assess potential hazards such as strong earthquake shaking, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. These techniques thus are key parts of early warning systems, help identify some hazards before a cataclysmic event, and improve the response to the consequent damage.

An early warning system for marine storm hazard mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vousdoukas, M. I.; Almeida, L. P.; Pacheco, A.; Ferreira, O.

2012-04-01

The present contribution presents efforts towards the development of an operational Early Warning System for storm hazard prediction and mitigation. The system consists of a calibrated nested-model train which consists of specially calibrated Wave Watch III, SWAN and XBeach models. The numerical simulations provide daily forecasts of the hydrodynamic conditions, morphological change and overtopping risk at the area of interest. The model predictions are processed by a 'translation' module which is based on site-specific Storm Impact Indicators (SIIs) (Ciavola et al., 2011, Storm impacts along European coastlines. Part 2: lessons learned from the MICORE project, Environmental Science & Policy, Vol 14), and warnings are issued when pre-defined threshold values are exceeded. For the present site the selected SIIs were (i) the maximum wave run-up height during the simulations; and (ii) the dune-foot horizontal retreat at the end of the simulations. Both SIIs and pre-defined thresholds were carefully selected on the grounds of existing experience and field data. Four risk levels were considered, each associated with an intervention approach, recommended to the responsible coastal protection authority. Regular updating of the topography/bathymetry is critical for the performance of the storm impact forecasting, especially when there are significant morphological changes. The system can be extended to other critical problems, like implications of global warming and adaptive management strategies, while the approach presently followed, from model calibration to the early warning system for storm hazard mitigation, can be applied to other sites worldwide, with minor adaptations.

10 CFR 850.38 - Warning signs and labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... CANCER HAZARD AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY (b) Warning labels. (1) The responsible employer must affix... CONTAMINATED WITH BERYLLIUM DO NOT REMOVE DUST BY BLOWING OR SHAKING CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE HAZARD (c) Warning...

10 CFR 850.38 - Warning signs and labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... CANCER HAZARD AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY (b) Warning labels. (1) The responsible employer must affix... CONTAMINATED WITH BERYLLIUM DO NOT REMOVE DUST BY BLOWING OR SHAKING CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE HAZARD (c) Warning...

10 CFR 850.38 - Warning signs and labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... CANCER HAZARD AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY (b) Warning labels. (1) The responsible employer must affix... CONTAMINATED WITH BERYLLIUM DO NOT REMOVE DUST BY BLOWING OR SHAKING CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE HAZARD (c) Warning...

10 CFR 850.38 - Warning signs and labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... CANCER HAZARD AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY (b) Warning labels. (1) The responsible employer must affix... CONTAMINATED WITH BERYLLIUM DO NOT REMOVE DUST BY BLOWING OR SHAKING CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE HAZARD (c) Warning...

10 CFR 850.38 - Warning signs and labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... CANCER HAZARD AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY (b) Warning labels. (1) The responsible employer must affix... CONTAMINATED WITH BERYLLIUM DO NOT REMOVE DUST BY BLOWING OR SHAKING CANCER AND LUNG DISEASE HAZARD (c) Warning...

Lights and siren: a review of emergency vehicle warning systems.

PubMed

De Lorenzo, R A; Eilers, M A

1991-12-01

Emergency medical services providers routinely respond to emergencies using lights and siren. This practice is not without risk of collision. Audible and visual warning devices and vehicle markings are integral to efficient negotiation of traffic and reduction of collision risk. An understanding of warning system characteristics is necessary to implement appropriate guidelines for prehospital transportation systems. The pertinent literature on emergency vehicle warning systems is reviewed, with emphasis on potential health hazards associated with these techniques. Important findings inferred from the literature are 1) red flashing lights alone may not be as effective as other color combinations, 2) there are no data to support a seizure risk with strobe lights, 3) lime-yellow is probably superior to traditional emergency vehicle colors, 4) the siren is an extremely limited warning device, and 5) exposure to siren noise can cause hearing loss. Emergency physicians must ensure that emergency medical services transportation systems consider the pertinent literature on emergency vehicle warning systems.

Studying the response of drivers against different collision warning systems: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muzammel, M.; Yusoff, M. Zuki; Malik, A. Saeed; Mohamad Saad, M. Naufal; Meriaudeau, F.

2017-03-01

The number of vehicle accidents is rapidly increasing and causing significant economic losses in many countries. According to the World Health Organization, road accidents will become the fifth major cause of death by the year 2030. To minimize these accidents different types of collision warning systems have been proposed for motor vehicle drivers. These systems can early detect and warn the drivers about the potential danger, up to a certain accuracy. Many researchers study the effectiveness of these systems by using different methods, including Electroencephalography (EEG). From the literature review, it has been observed that, these systems increase the drivers' response and can help to minimize the accidents that may occur due to drivers unconsciousness. For these collision warning systems, tactile early warnings are found more effective as compared to the auditory and visual early warnings. This review also highlights the areas, where further research can be performed to fully analyze the collision warning system. For example, some contradictions are found among researchers, about these systems' performance for drivers within different age groups. Similarly, most of the EEG studies focus on the front collision warning systems and only give beep sound to alert the drivers. Therefore, EEG study can be performed for the rear end collision warning systems, against proper auditory warning messages which indicate the types of hazards. This EEG study will help to design more friendly collision warning system and may save many lives.

CPSC Warns of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning with Camping Equipment

MedlinePlus

... Warns of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Hazard with Camping Equipment The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns ... about the carbon monoxide (CO) hazard with camping equipment. CO can kill you! From 2002–2006, CPSC ...

Volcanic risk and tourism in southern Iceland: Implications for hazard, risk and emergency response education and training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bird, Deanne K.; Gisladottir, Gudrun; Dominey-Howes, Dale

2010-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between volcanic risk and the tourism sector in southern Iceland and the complex challenge emergency management officials face in developing effective volcanic risk mitigation strategies. An early warning system and emergency response procedures were developed for communities surrounding Katla, the volcano underlying the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap. However, prior to and during the 2007 tourist season these mitigation efforts were not effectively communicated to stakeholders located in the tourist destination of Þórsmörk despite its location within the hazard zone of Katla. The hazard zone represents the potential extent of a catastrophic jökulhlaup (glacial outburst flood). Furthermore, volcanic risk mitigation efforts in Þórsmörk were based solely on information derived from physical investigations of volcanic hazards. They did not consider the human dimension of risk. In order to address this gap and provide support to current risk mitigation efforts, questionnaire surveys were used to investigate tourists' and tourism employees' hazard knowledge, risk perception, adoption of personal preparedness measures, predicted behaviour if faced with a Katla eruption and views on education. Results indicate that tourists lack hazard knowledge and they do not adopt preparedness measures to deal with the consequences of an eruption. Despite a high level of risk perception, tourism employees lack knowledge about the early warning system and emergency response procedures. Results show that tourists are positive about receiving information concerning Katla and its hazards and therefore, the reticence of tourism employees with respect to disseminating hazard information is unjustified. In order to improve the tourism sector's collective capacity to positively respond during a future eruption, recommendations are made to ensure adequate dissemination of hazard, risk and emergency response information. Most importantly education campaigns should focus on: (a) increasing tourists' knowledge of Katla, jökulhlaup and other volcanic hazards and (b) increasing tourist and employee awareness of the early warning and information system and appropriate behavioural response if a warning is issued. Further, tourism employees should be required to participate in emergency training and evacuation exercises annually. These efforts are timely given that Katla is expected to erupt in the near future and international tourism is an expanding industry in Þórsmörk.

NGSLR Safety Handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGarry, Jan

2015-01-01

NASA's Next Generation Satellite Laser Ranging (NGSLR) station is the prototype for NASA's Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) systems which will be deployed around the world in the coming decade. The NGSLR system will be an autonomous, photon-counting SLR station with an expected absolute range accuracy of better than one centimeter and a normal point (time-averaged) range precision better than one millimeter. The system provides continuous (weather permitting), 24 hour tracking coverage to an existing constellation of approximately two dozen artificial satellites equipped with passive retroreflector arrays, using pulsed, 532 nm, class IV laser systems. Current details on the approved laser systems can be found in the Appendix 1 of this document. This safety plan addresses the potential hazards to emitted laser radiation, which can occur both inside and outside the shelter. Hazards within the shelter are mitigated through posted warning signs, activated warning lights, procedural controls, personal protective equipment (PPE), laser curtains, beam blocking systems, interlock controls, pre-configured laser control settings, and other controls discussed in this document. Since the NGSLR is a satellite tracking system, laser hazards exist outside the shelter to personnel on the shelter roof and to passing aircraft. Potential exposure to personnel outside the system is mitigated through the use of posted warning signs, access control, procedural controls, a stairwell interlock, beam attenuation/blocking devices, and a radar based aircraft detection system.

A hazard-independent approach for the standardised multi-channel dissemination of warning messages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esbri Palomares, M. A.; Hammitzsch, M.; Lendholt, M.

2012-04-01

The tsunami disaster affecting the Indian Ocean region on Christmas 2004 demonstrated very clearly the shortcomings in tsunami detection, public warning processes as well as intergovernmental warning message exchange in the Indian Ocean region. In that regard, early warning systems require that the dissemination of early warning messages has to be executed in way that ensures that the message delivery is timely; the message content is understandable, usable and accurate. To that end, diverse and multiple dissemination channels must be used to increase the chance of the messages reaching all affected persons in a hazard scenario. In addition to this, usage of internationally accepted standards for the warning dissemination such as the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) Distribution Element specified by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) increase the interoperability among different warning systems enabling thus the concept of system-of-systems proposed by GEOSS. The project Distant Early Warning System (DEWS), co-funded by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme, aims at strengthening the early warning capacities by building an innovative generation of interoperable tsunami early warning systems based on the above mentioned concepts following a Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) approach. The project focuses on the downstream part of the hazard information processing where customized, user-tailored warning messages and alerts flow from the warning centre to the responsible authorities and/or the public with their different needs and responsibilities. The information logistics services within DEWS generate tailored EDXL-DE/CAP warning messages for each user that must receive the message according to their preferences, e.g., settings for language, interested areas, dissemination channels, etc.. However, the significant difference in the implementation and capabilities of different dissemination channels such as SMS, email and television, have bearing on the information processing required for delivery and consumption of a DEWS EDXL-DE/CAP message over each dissemination channel. These messages may include additional information in the form of maps, graphs, documents, sensor observations, etc. Therefore, the generated messages are pre-processed by channel adaptors in the information dissemination services converting it into a format that is suitable for end-to-end delivery over the dissemination channels without any semantic distortion. The approach followed by DEWS for disseminating warnings not only relies on traditional communication ways used by the already established early warnings such as the delivery of faxes and phone calls but takes into consideration the use of other broadly used communication channels such as SMS, email, narrowcast and broadcast television, instant messaging, Voice over IP, and radio. It also takes advantage of social media channels like RSS feeds, Facebook, Twitter, etc., enabling a multiplier effect, like in the case of radio and television, and thus allowing to create mash-ups by aggregating other sources of information to the original message. Finally, status information is also important in order to assess and understand whether the process of disseminating the warning to the message consumers has been successfully completed or the process failed at some point of the dissemination chain. To that end, CAP-based messages generated within the information dissemination services provide the semantics for those fields that are of interest within the context of reporting the warning dissemination status in DEWS.

Web-based Tsunami Early Warning System with instant Tsunami Propagation Calculations in the GPU Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, M.; Spazier, J.; Reißland, S.

2014-12-01

Usually, tsunami early warning and mitigation systems (TWS or TEWS) are based on several software components deployed in a client-server based infrastructure. The vast majority of systems importantly include desktop-based clients with a graphical user interface (GUI) for the operators in early warning centers. However, in times of cloud computing and ubiquitous computing the use of concepts and paradigms, introduced by continuously evolving approaches in information and communications technology (ICT), have to be considered even for early warning systems (EWS). Based on the experiences and the knowledge gained in three research projects - 'German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System' (GITEWS), 'Distant Early Warning System' (DEWS), and 'Collaborative, Complex, and Critical Decision-Support in Evolving Crises' (TRIDEC) - new technologies are exploited to implement a cloud-based and web-based prototype to open up new prospects for EWS. This prototype, named 'TRIDEC Cloud', merges several complementary external and in-house cloud-based services into one platform for automated background computation with graphics processing units (GPU), for web-mapping of hazard specific geospatial data, and for serving relevant functionality to handle, share, and communicate threat specific information in a collaborative and distributed environment. The prototype in its current version addresses tsunami early warning and mitigation. The integration of GPU accelerated tsunami simulation computations have been an integral part of this prototype to foster early warning with on-demand tsunami predictions based on actual source parameters. However, the platform is meant for researchers around the world to make use of the cloud-based GPU computation to analyze other types of geohazards and natural hazards and react upon the computed situation picture with a web-based GUI in a web browser at remote sites. The current website is an early alpha version for demonstration purposes to give the concept a whirl and to shape science's future. Further functionality, improvements and possible profound changes have to implemented successively based on the users' evolving needs.

Flash floods warning technique based on wireless communication networks data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

David, Noam; Alpert, Pinhas; Messer, Hagit

2010-05-01

Flash floods can occur throughout or subsequent to rainfall events, particularly in cases where the precipitation is of high-intensity. Unfortunately, each year these floods cause severe property damage and heavy casualties. At present, there are no sufficient real time flash flood warning facilities found to cope with this phenomenon. Here we show the tremendous potential of flash floods advanced warning based on precipitation measurements of commercial microwave links. As was recently shown, wireless communication networks supply high resolution precipitation measurements at ground level while often being situated in flood prone areas, covering large parts of these hazardous regions. We present the flash flood warning potential of the wireless communication system for two different cases when floods occurred at the Judean desert and at the northern Negev in Israel. In both cases, an advanced warning regarding the hazard could have been announced based on this system. • This research was supported by THE ISRAEL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (grant No. 173/08). This work was also supported by a grant from the Yeshaya Horowitz Association, Jerusalem. Additional support was given by the PROCEMA-BMBF project and by the GLOWA-JR BMBF project.

CLASS: Coherent Lidar Airborne Shear Sensor. Windshear avoidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Targ, Russell

1991-01-01

The coherent lidar airborne shear sensor (CLASS) is an airborne CO2 lidar system being designed and developed by Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, Inc. (LMSC) under contract to NASA Langley Research Center. The goal of this program is to develop a system with a 2- to 4-kilometer range that will provide a warning time of 20 to 40 seconds, so that the pilot can avoid the hazards of low-altitude wind shear under all weather conditions. It is a predictive system which will warn the pilot about a hazard that the aircraft will experience at some later time. The ability of the system to provide predictive warnings of clear air turbulence will also be evaluated. A one-year flight evaluation program will measure the line-of-sight wind velocity from a wide variety of wind fields obtained by an airborne radar, an accelerometer-based reactive wind-sensing system, and a ground-based Doppler radar. The success of the airborne lidar system will be determined by its correlation with the windfield as indicated by the onboard reactive system, which indicates the winds actually experienced by the NASA Boeing 737 aircraft.

Implementation of the Geological Hazard Monitoring and Early Warning System Based on Multi - source Data -A Case Study of Deqin Tibetan County, Yunnan Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Junsan; Chen, Guoping; Yuan, Lei

2017-04-01

The new technologies, such as 3D laser scanning, InSAR, GNSS, unmanned aerial vehicle and Internet of things, will provide much more data resources for the surveying and monitoring, as well as the development of Early Warning System (EWS). This paper provides the solutions of the design and implementation of a geological disaster monitoring and early warning system (GDMEWS), which includes landslides and debris flows hazard, based on the multi-sources of the date by use of technologies above mentioned. The complex and changeable characteristics of the GDMEWS are described. The architecture of the system, composition of the multi-source database, development mode and service logic, the methods and key technologies of system development are also analyzed. To elaborate the process of the implementation of the GDMEWS, Deqin Tibetan County is selected as a case study area, which has the unique terrain and diverse types of typical landslides and debris flows. Firstly, the system functional requirements, monitoring and forecasting models of the system are discussed. Secondly, the logic relationships of the whole process of disaster including pre-disaster, disaster rescue and post-disaster reconstruction are studied, and the support tool for disaster prevention, disaster reduction and geological disaster management are developed. Thirdly, the methods of the multi - source monitoring data integration and the generation of the mechanism model of Geological hazards and simulation are expressed. Finally, the construction of the GDMEWS is issued, which will be applied to management, monitoring and forecasting of whole disaster process in real-time and dynamically in Deqin Tibetan County. Keywords: multi-source spatial data; geological disaster; monitoring and warning system; Deqin Tibetan County

A SDMS Model: Early Warning Coordination Centres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos-Reyes, Jaime

2010-05-01

Following the tsunami disaster in 2004, the General Secretary of the United Nations (UN) Kofi Annan called for a global early warning system for all hazards and for all communities. He also requested the ISDR (International Strategy fort Disaster Reduction) and its UN partners to conduct a global survey of capacities, gaps and opportunities in relation to early warning systems. The produced report, "Global survey of Early Warning Systems", concluded that there are many gaps and shortcomings and that much progress has been made on early warning systems and great capabilities are available around the world. However, it may be argued that an early warning system (EWS) may not be enough to prevent fatalities due to a natural hazard; i.e., it should be seen as part of a ‘wider' or total system. Furthermore, an EWS may work very well when assessed individually but it is not clear whether it will contribute to accomplish the purpose of the ‘total disaster management system'; i.e., to prevent fatalities. For instance, a regional EWS may only work if it is well co-ordinated with the local warning and emergency response systems that ensure that the warning is received, communicated and acted upon by the potentially affected communities. It may be argued that without these local measures being in place, a regional EWS will have little impact in saving lives. Researchers argued that unless people are warned in remote areas, the technology is useless; for instance McGuire [5] argues that: "I have no doubt that the technical element of the warning system will work very well,"…"But there has to be an effective and efficient communications cascade from the warning centre to the fisherman on the beach and his family and the bar owners." Similarly, McFadden [6] states that: "There's no point in spending all the money on a fancy monitoring and a fancy analysis system unless we can make sure the infrastructure for the broadcast system is there,"… "That's going to require a lot of work. If it's a tsunami, you've got to get it down to the last Joe on the beach. This is the stuff that is really very hard." Given the above, the paper argues that there is a need for a systemic approach to early warning centres. Systemic means looking upon things as a system; systemic means seeing pattern and inter-relationship within a complex whole; i.e., to see events as products of the working of a system. System may be defined as a whole which is made of parts and relationships. Given this, ‘failure' may be seen as the product of a system and, within that, see death/injury/property loss etc. as results of the working of systems. This paper proposes a preliminary model of ‘early warning coordination centres' (EWCC); it should be highlighted that an EWCC is a subsystem of the Systemic Disaster Management System (SDMS) model.

Thunderstorm monitoring and lightning warning, operational applications of the Safir system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richard, Philippe

1991-01-01

During the past years a new range of studies have been opened by the application of electromagnetic localization techniques to the field of thunderstorm remote sensing. VHF localization techniques were used in particular for the analysis of lightning discharges and gave access to time resolved 3-D images of lightning discharges within thunderclouds. Detection and localization techniques developed have been applied to the design of the SAFIR system. This development's main objective was the design of an operational system capable of assessing and warning in real time for lightning hazards and potential thunderstorm hazards. The SAFIR system main detection technique is the long range interferometric localization of thunderstorm electromagnetic activity; the system performs the localization of intracloud and cloud to ground lightning discharges and the analysis of the characteristics of the activity.

Early warning of orographically induced floods and landslides in Western Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leine, Ann-Live; Wang, Thea; Boje, Søren

2017-04-01

In Western Norway, landslides and debris flows are commonly initiated by short-term orographic rainfall or intensity peaks during a prolonged rainfall event. In recent years, the flood warning service in Norway has evolved from being solely a flood forecasting service to also integrating landslides into its early warning systems. As both floods and landslides are closely related to the same hydrometeorological processes, particularly in small catchments, there is a natural synergy between monitoring flood and landslide risk. The Norwegian Flood and Landslide Hazard Forecasting and Warning Service issues regional landslide hazard warnings based on hydrological models, threshold values, observations and weather forecasts. Intense rainfall events and/or orographic precipitation that, under certain topographic conditions, significantly increase the risk of debris avalanches and debris floods are lately receiving more research focus from the Norwegian warning service. Orographic precipitation is a common feature in W-Norway, when moist and relatively mild air arrives from the Atlantic. Steep mountain slopes covered by glacial till makes the region prone to landslides, as well as flooding. The operational early warning system in Norway requires constant improvement, especially with the enhanced number of intense rainfall events that occur in a warming climate. Here, we examine different cases of intense rainfall events which have lead to landslides and debris flows, as well as increased runoff in fast responding small catchments. The main objective is to increase the understanding of the hydrometeorological conditions related to these events, in order to make priorities for the future development of the warning service.

Building resilience to weather-related hazards through better preparedness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keller, Julia; Golding, Brian; Johnston, David; Ruti, Paolo

2017-04-01

Recent developments in weather forecasting have transformed our ability to predict weather-related hazards, while mobile communication is radically changing the way that people receive information. At the same time, vulnerability to weather-related hazards is growing through urban expansion, population growth and climate change. This talk will address issues facing the science community in responding to the Sendai Framework objective to "substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems" in the context of weather-related hazards. It will also provide an overview of activities and approaches developed in the World Meteorological Organisation's High Impact Weather (HIWeather) project. HIWeather has identified and is promoting research in key multi-disciplinary gaps in our knowledge, including in basic meteorology, risk prediction, communication and decision making, that affect our ability to provide effective warnings. The results will be pulled together in demonstration projects that will both showcase leading edge capability and build developing country capacity.

The U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program: Successes in Tsunami Preparedness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitmore, P.; Wilson, R. I.

2012-12-01

Formed in 1995 by Congressional Action, the National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation Program (NTHMP) provides the framework for tsunami preparedness activities in the United States. The Program consists of the 28 U.S. coastal states, territories, and commonwealths (STCs), as well as three Federal agencies: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Since its inception, the NTHMP has advanced tsunami preparedness in the United States through accomplishments in many areas of tsunami preparedness: - Coordination and funding of tsunami hazard analysis and preparedness activities in STCs; - Development and execution of a coordinated plan to address education and outreach activities (materials, signage, and guides) within its membership; - Lead the effort to assist communities in meeting National Weather Service (NWS) TsunamiReady guidelines through development of evacuation maps and other planning activities; - Determination of tsunami hazard zones in most highly threatened coastal communities throughout the country by detailed tsunami inundation studies; - Development of a benchmarking procedure for numerical tsunami models to ensure models used in the inundation studies meet consistent, NOAA standards; - Creation of a national tsunami exercise framework to test tsunami warning system response; - Funding community tsunami warning dissemination and reception systems such as sirens and NOAA Weather Radios; and, - Providing guidance to NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers regarding warning dissemination and content. NTHMP activities have advanced the state of preparedness of United States coastal communities, and have helped save lives and property during recent tsunamis. Program successes as well as future plans, including maritime preparedness, are discussed.

Tornado Warning Perception and Response: Integrating the Roles of Visual Design, Demographics, and Hazard Experience.

PubMed

Schumann, Ronald L; Ash, Kevin D; Bowser, Gregg C

2018-02-01

Recent advancements in severe weather detection and warning dissemination technologies have reduced, but not eliminated, large-casualty tornado hazards in the United States. Research on warning cognition and behavioral response by the public has the potential to further reduce tornado-related deaths and injuries; however, less research has been conducted in this area compared to tornado research in the physical sciences. Extant research in this vein tends to bifurcate. One branch of studies derives from classic risk perception, which investigates cognitive, affective, and sociocultural factors in relation to concern and preparation for uncertain risks. Another branch focuses on psychological, social, and cultural factors implicated in warning response for rapid onset hazards, with attention paid to previous experience and message design. Few studies link risk perceptions with cognition and response as elicited by specific examples of warnings. The present study unites risk perception, cognition, and response approaches by testing the contributions of hypothesized warning response drivers in one set of path models. Warning response is approximated by perceived fear and intended protective action as reported by survey respondents when exposed to hypothetical tornado warning scenarios. This study considers the roles of hazard knowledge acquisition, information-seeking behaviors, previous experience, and sociodemographic factors while controlling for the effects of the visual warning graphic. Findings from the study indicate the primacy of a user's visual interpretation of a warning graphic in shaping tornado warning response. Results also suggest that information-seeking habits, previous tornado experience, and local disaster culture play strong influencing roles in warning response. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Historical telecommunication in the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalayas: An ancient early warning system for glacier lake outbursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iturrizaga, Lasafam

2016-04-01

Mountain societies are in a crucial transition phase in terms of the management of natural hazards. Advances in geographic technologies, such as a variety of remote-sensing tools and mobile communication systems, have drastically changed the way of early warning methods in difficult accessible high mountain environments compared to those of ancient times. In order to implement new natural hazard policies, it is essential to unravel the traditional ways of disaster management which is presented here by a case study from the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalayas. In the rugged relief of the Himalaya Region, the exchange of information was a labor-intensive and time-consuming task for remote high mountain villages before the infrastructural development and the introduction of modern communication systems. Therefore, early warning of natural hazards with long run-out distances seems to have been rather impossible. However, in the present study a historical optical long-distance and fast operating communication system over horizontal distances of several hundred kilometers was discovered during field investigations in the Hindukush-Karakoram and the transmission paths reconstructed in the following years. The so called Puberanch-system relied on a chain of fire signals as used by ancient societies in other mountain and coastal environments in the world. It was originally in use for the alert against war attacks from hostile neighboring communities. Later on, it served as an early warning system for glacier lake outbursts, which have been in the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century one of the most devastating natural hazards in the region. Remarkable is the fact that fire posts were located in extremely harsh environments at altitudes above 4000 m requiring a highly sophisticated supply system of fire wood and food. Interviews with local inhabitants, the evaluation of historical travel records and international newspapers proved, that the system has been operated in the entire Hindukush-Karakoram Region including Ladakh. The locations of selected signal fire signal chains have been reconstructed for the Valleys of Shimshal, Karambar and Rupal. Natural hazard management is increasingly dominated by external technological and cost-intensive approaches in the Himalayas. Local traditional knowledge and practical expertise may be given up without an alternative plan for hazard management. Thus, the intervention from external side in traditional mountain societies and the implementation of distinct security expectations has to be well considered at the long-term.

Progress in Development of an Airborne Turbulence Detection System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, David W.; Proctor, Fred H.

2006-01-01

Aircraft encounters with turbulence are the leading cause of in-flight injuries (Tyrvanas 2003) and have occasionally resulted in passenger and crew fatalities. Most of these injuries are caused by sudden and unexpected encounters with severe turbulence in and around convective activity (Kaplan et al 2005). To alleviate this problem, the Turbulence Prediction and Warning Systems (TPAWS) element of NASA s Aviation Safety program has investigated technologies to detect and warn of hazardous in-flight turbulence. This effort has required the numerical modeling of atmospheric convection: 1) for characterizing convectively induced turbulence (CIT) environments, 2) for defining turbulence hazard metrics, and 3) as a means of providing realistic three-dimensional data sets that can be used to test and evaluate turbulence detection sensors. The data sets are being made available to industry and the FAA for certification of future airborne turbulence-detection systems (ATDS) with warning capability. Early in the TPAWS project, a radar-based ATDS was installed and flight tested on NASA s research aircraft, a B-757. This ATDS utilized new algorithms and hazard metrics that were developed for use with existing airborne predictive windshear radars, thus avoiding the installation of new hardware. This system was designed to detect and warn of hazardous CIT even in regions with weak radar reflectivity (i.e. 5-15 dBz). Results from an initial flight test of the ATDS were discussed in Hamilton and Proctor (2002a; 2002b). In companion papers (Proctor et al 2002a; 2002b), a numerical simulation of the most significant encounter from that flight test was presented. Since the presentation of these papers a second flight test has been conducted providing additional cases for examination. In this paper, we will present results from NASA s flight test and a numerical model simulation of a turbulence environment encountered on 30 April 2002. Progress leading towards FAA certification of industry built ATDS will also be discussed.

Conspicuity, memorability, comprehension, and priming in road hazard warning signs.

PubMed

Charlton, Samuel G

2006-05-01

This study assessed driver reactions to 16 road hazard warning signs of various formats by projecting life-sized video of road scenes to drivers in a driving simulator. A range of measures, including attentional and search conspicuity, implicit and explicit recognition, dynamic and static comprehension, and sign priming were collected. Of the signs tested, road works and school warning signs were most often detected, remembered, and understood. Slippery surface warnings were associated with some of the lowest detection and comprehension rates. The effectiveness of the different formats depended on the type of hazard sign. In the case of road works warnings, a flashing variable message format was only slightly more conspicuous than the large dimension format, equal in comprehensibility, and perhaps somewhat worse in terms of memorability. For the school warnings, however, the flashing variable message format appeared to convey a greater sense of potential hazard, produced superior search conspicuity and priming, and was equal in terms of memorability and comprehensibility. The range of measures worked well as a whole with the two measures of conspicuity and the measure of static comprehension showing the greatest consistency.

SafeLand guidelines for landslide monitoring and early warning systems in Europe - Design and required technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazin, S.

2012-04-01

Landslide monitoring means the comparison of landslide characteristics like areal extent, speed of movement, surface topography and soil humidity from different periods in order to assess landslide activity. An ultimate "universal" methodology for this purpose does not exist; every technology has its own advantages and disadvantages. End-users should carefully consider each one to select the methodologies that represent the best compromise between pros and cons, and are best suited for their needs. Besides monitoring technology, there are many factors governing the choice of an Early Warning System (EWS). A people-centred EWS necessarily comprises five key elements: (1) knowledge of the risks; (2) identification, monitoring, analysis and forecasting of the hazards; (3) operational centre; (4) communication or dissemination of alerts and warnings; and (5) local capabilities to respond to the warnings received. The expression "end-to-end warning system" is also used to emphasize that EWSs need to span all steps from hazard detection through to community response. The aim of the present work is to provide guidelines for establishing the different components for landslide EWSs. One of the main deliverables of the EC-FP7 SafeLand project addresses the technical and practical issues related to monitoring and early warning for landslides, and identifies the best technologies available in the context of both hazard assessment and design of EWSs. This deliverable targets the end-users and aims to facilitate the decision process by providing guidelines. For the purpose of sharing the globally accumulated expertise, a screening study was done on 14 EWSs from 8 different countries. On these bases, the report presents a synoptic view of existing monitoring methodologies and early-warning strategies and their applicability for different landslide types, scales and risk management steps. Several comprehensive checklists and toolboxes are also included to support informed decisions. The deliverable was compiled with contributions from experts on landslides, monitoring technologies, remote sensing, and social researchers from 16 European institutions. The deliverable addresses one of the main objectives of the SafeLand project, namely to merge experience and expert judgment and create synergies on European level towards guidelines for early warning and to make these results available to end-users and local stakeholders.

Coupling Radar Rainfall Estimation and Hydrological Modelling For Flash-flood Hazard Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borga, M.; Creutin, J. D.

Flood risk mitigation is accomplished through managing either or both the hazard and vulnerability. Flood hazard may be reduced through structural measures which alter the frequency of flood levels in the area. The vulnerability of a community to flood loss can be mitigated through changing or regulating land use and through flood warning and effective emergency response. When dealing with flash-flood hazard, it is gener- ally accepted that the most effective way (and in many instances the only affordable in a sustainable perspective) to mitigate the risk is by reducing the vulnerability of the involved communities, in particular by implementing flood warning systems and community self-help programs. However, both the inherent characteristics of the at- mospheric and hydrologic processes involved in flash-flooding and the changing soci- etal needs provide a tremendous challenge to traditional flood forecasting and warning concepts. In fact, the targets of these systems are traditionally localised like urbanised sectors or hydraulic structures. Given the small spatial scale that characterises flash floods and the development of dispersed urbanisation, transportation, green tourism and water sports, human lives and property are exposed to flash flood risk in a scat- tered manner. This must be taken into consideration in flash flood warning strategies and the investigated region should be considered as a whole and every section of the drainage network as a potential target for hydrological warnings. Radar technology offers the potential to provide information describing rain intensities almost contin- uously in time and space. Recent research results indicate that coupling radar infor- mation to distributed hydrologic modelling can provide hydrologic forecasts at all potentially flooded points of a region. Nevertheless, very few flood warning services use radar data more than on a qualitative basis. After a short review of current under- standing in this area, two issues are examined: advantages and caveats of using radar rainfall estimates in operational flash flood forecasting, methodological problems as- sociated to the use of hydrological models for distributed flash flood forecasting with rainfall input estimated from radar.

Exploring the Role of Social Memory of Floods for Designing Flood Early Warning Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Girons Lopez, Marc; Di Baldassarre, Giuliano; Grabs, Thomas; Halldin, Sven; Seibert, Jan

2016-04-01

Early warning systems are an important tool for natural disaster mitigation practices, especially for flooding events. Warnings rely on near-future forecasts to provide time to take preventive actions before a flood occurs, thus reducing potential losses. However, on top of the technical capacities, successful warnings require an efficient coordination and communication among a range of different actors and stakeholders. The complexity of integrating the technical and social spheres of warning systems has, however, resulted in system designs neglecting a number of important aspects such as social awareness of floods thus leading to suboptimal results. A better understanding of the interactions and feedbacks among the different elements of early warning systems is therefore needed to improve their efficiency and therefore social resilience. When designing an early warning system two important decisions need to be made regarding (i) the hazard magnitude at and from which a warning should be issued and (ii) the degree of confidence required for issuing a warning. The first decision is usually taken based on the social vulnerability and climatic variability while the second one is related to the performance (i.e. accuracy) of the forecasting tools. Consequently, by estimating the vulnerability and the accuracy of the forecasts, these two variables can be optimized to minimize the costs and losses. Important parameters with a strong influence on the efficiency of warning systems such as social awareness are however not considered in their design. In this study we present a theoretical exploration of the impact of social awareness on the design of early warning systems. For this purpose we use a definition of social memory of flood events as a proxy for flood risk awareness and test its effect on the optimization of the warning system design variables. Understanding the impact of social awareness on warning system design is important to make more robust warnings that can better adapt to different social settings and more efficiently reduce vulnerability.

30 CFR 46.11 - Site-specific hazard awareness training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... workers; (4) Customers, including commercial over-the-road truck drivers; (5) Construction workers or... training through the use of written hazard warnings, oral instruction, signs and posted warnings...

30 CFR 46.11 - Site-specific hazard awareness training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... workers; (4) Customers, including commercial over-the-road truck drivers; (5) Construction workers or... training through the use of written hazard warnings, oral instruction, signs and posted warnings...

30 CFR 46.11 - Site-specific hazard awareness training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... workers; (4) Customers, including commercial over-the-road truck drivers; (5) Construction workers or... training through the use of written hazard warnings, oral instruction, signs and posted warnings...

Power line detection system

DOEpatents

Latorre, Victor R.; Watwood, Donald B.

1994-01-01

A short-range, radio frequency (RF) transmitting-receiving system that provides both visual and audio warnings to the pilot of a helicopter or light aircraft of an up-coming power transmission line complex. Small, milliwatt-level narrowband transmitters, powered by the transmission line itself, are installed on top of selected transmission line support towers or within existing warning balls, and provide a continuous RF signal to approaching aircraft. The on-board receiver can be either a separate unit or a portion of the existing avionics, and can also share an existing antenna with another airborne system. Upon receipt of a warning signal, the receiver will trigger a visual and an audio alarm to alert the pilot to the potential power line hazard.

40 CFR 156.66 - Child hazard warning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Child hazard warning. 156.66 Section... LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES AND DEVICES Human Hazard and Precautionary Statements § 156.66 Child... Out of Reach of Children.” That statement, or any alternative statement approved by EPA, must appear...

40 CFR 156.66 - Child hazard warning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Child hazard warning. 156.66 Section... LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES AND DEVICES Human Hazard and Precautionary Statements § 156.66 Child... Out of Reach of Children.” That statement, or any alternative statement approved by EPA, must appear...

40 CFR 156.66 - Child hazard warning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Child hazard warning. 156.66 Section... LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES AND DEVICES Human Hazard and Precautionary Statements § 156.66 Child... Out of Reach of Children.” That statement, or any alternative statement approved by EPA, must appear...

40 CFR 156.66 - Child hazard warning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Child hazard warning. 156.66 Section... LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES AND DEVICES Human Hazard and Precautionary Statements § 156.66 Child... Out of Reach of Children.” That statement, or any alternative statement approved by EPA, must appear...

40 CFR 156.66 - Child hazard warning.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Child hazard warning. 156.66 Section... LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR PESTICIDES AND DEVICES Human Hazard and Precautionary Statements § 156.66 Child... Out of Reach of Children.” That statement, or any alternative statement approved by EPA, must appear...

Food Security, Decision Making and the Use of Remote Sensing in Famine Early Warning Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly E.

2008-01-01

Famine early warning systems use remote sensing in combination with socio-economic and household food economy analysis to provide timely and rigorous information on emerging food security crises. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is the US Agency for International Development's decision support system in 20 African countries, as well as in Guatemala, Haiti and Afghanistan. FEWS NET provides early and actionable policy guidance for the US Government and its humanitarian aid partners. As we move into an era of climate change where weather hazards will become more frequent and severe, understanding how to provide quantitative and actionable scientific information for policy makers using biophysical data is critical for an appropriate and effective response.

Experimental evaluation of fog warning system.

PubMed

Al-Ghamdi, Ali S

2007-11-01

Highway safety is a major concern to the public and to transportation professionals, so the number of crashes caused by poor visibility due to fog form an alarming statistic. Drivers respond to poor visibility conditions in different ways: some slow down; others do not. Many drivers simply follow the taillights of the vehicle ahead. Accordingly, hazardous conditions are created in which speeds are both too high for the prevailing conditions and highly variable. Findings are presented from a study of traffic crashes due to fog in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. The primary objective was to assess the effectiveness of fog detection and warning system on driver behavior regarding speed and headway. This warning system includes visibility sensors that automatically activate a variable message sign that posts an advisory speed when hazardous conditions due to fog occur. The system was installed on a 2 km section of a two-lane, rural highway. A data set of 36,013 observations from both experimental and control sections at two study sites was collected and analyzed. The data included vehicle speed, volume, and classification; time headway, time of day, and visibility distance. Although the warning system was ineffective in reducing speed variability, mean speed throughout the experimental sections was reduced by about 6.5 kph. This reduction indicates that the warning system appeared to have a positive effect on driver behavior in fog even though the observed mean speeds were still higher than the posted advisory speed. From relationships found in the literature between mean driving speed and number of crashes, a speed reduction of only 5 kph would yield a 15% decrease in the number of crashes.

NOAA/National Weather Service Support in Response to the Threat of Debris Flows from the 2009 Station Fire in Los Angeles County: Lessons Learned in Hazard Communications and Public Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, M.; Laber, J. L.; Boldt, E.

2010-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have developed a prototype debris flow early warning system for Southern California. The system uses USGS-defined rainfall rate thresholds for debris flows and burn area hazard maps to protect interests in and near burn areas of damaging and potentially deadly debris flows. Although common throughout Southern California, as witnessed by the December 25, 2003 storm in which sixteen people were swept to their deaths by debris flows generated from a recent burn area near Devore, debris flows are commonly misunderstood by the public. They are often perceived as rare events, are difficult to warn for with sufficient lead time, and present unique challenges when communicating proper calls to action to best save lives and property. Many improvements to the system have been realized since the project’s inception in 2005, including using more refined rainfall rate thresholds, use of burn area hazard maps, and the establishment of a tiered system to categorize the potential severity of flash floods and debris flows. These efforts have collectively resulted in a reduction of warning false alarms. However, the massive 400,000 hectare 2009 Station burn area in the Angeles National Forest of Los Angeles County has created numerous challenges to the early warning system. The geology of the area burned is highly susceptible to debris flows, due in part to the burn severity, soil types and steep slopes. Most importantly, the burn area is adjacent to and uphill of the highly populated lower foothills of the San Fernando Valley. NOAA/NWS and the USGS have thus worked closely with local response and preparedness agencies to analyze and communicate the threat and assist in developing a unified command response plan in preparation for flash flood and debris flows from this burn area. The early warning system was put to the ultimate test on February 6, 2010 when intense rainfall over the burn area produced very damaging but fortunately nonfatal flash flooding and debris flows. Unfortunately public and local agency response to NWS forecasts, watches, and warnings issued for this event was minimal. Possible causes of, and actions needed to improve upon, this minimal response are examined, including 1) complacency due to previous watch and warning false alarms, 2) underestimating the hazard threat due to local residents having not personally experienced a severe debris flow event in recent history if ever, 3) misinterpretation of NWS point precipitation forecasts and current limits of predictability related to forecasting specific locations and amounts of intense rainfall beyond 12-24 hours, 4) the challenges of ensuring NWS information is consistently received and interpreted among the multiple agencies and jurisdictions of the unified command, and 5) the likelihood that most people did not hear NWS warnings due to the event taking place late at night. Also examined are proper calls to action to protect life and property at a time when evacuations may put people in harm's way.

The Importance of Relevant Emotional Arousal in the Efficacy of Pictorial Health Warnings for Cigarettes.

PubMed

Shi, Zhenhao; Wang, An-Li; Emery, Lydia F; Sheerin, Kaitlin M; Romer, Daniel

2017-06-01

Warning labels for cigarettes proposed by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were rejected by the courts partly because they were thought to be emotionally evocative but have no educational value. To address this issue, we compared three types of smoking warnings: (1) FDA-proposed warnings with pictures illustrating the smoking hazards; (2) warnings with the same text information paired with equally aversive but smoking-irrelevant images; and (3) text-only warnings. Smokers recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. They reported how many cigarettes they smoked per day (CPD) during the past week and then viewed eight different warnings. After viewing each warning, they rated its believability and perceived ability to motivate quitting. One week later, 62.3% of participants again reported CPD during the past week, rated how the warnings they viewed the week before changed their feeling about smoking, rated their intention to quit in the next 30 days, and recalled as much as they could about each of the warnings they viewed. Compared to the irrelevant image and text-only warnings, FDA warnings were seen as more believable and able to motivate quitting and at the follow-up, produced lower CPD, worse feeling about smoking, and more memory for warning information, controlling for age and baseline CPD. Emotionally evocative warning images are not effective in communicating the risks of smoking, unless they pertain to smoking-related hazards. In future versions of warning labels, pictorial contents should be pretested for the ability to enhance the health-hazard message. Our study shows that contrary to court opinions, FDA-proposed pictorial warnings for cigarettes are more effective in communicating smoking-related hazards than warnings that merely contain emotionally aversive but smoking-irrelevant images. The suggestion that FDA's proposed warnings employed emotionally arousing pictures with no information value was not supported. Pictures that illustrate the risk carry information that enhances the persuasiveness of the warning. The congruence between pictures and text should be a criterion for selecting warning images in the future. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Real-time earthquake data feasible

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bush, Susan

Scientists agree that early warning devices and monitoring of both Hurricane Hugo and the Mt. Pinatubo volcanic eruption saved thousands of lives. What would it take to develop this sort of early warning and monitoring system for earthquake activity?Not all that much, claims a panel assigned to study the feasibility, costs, and technology needed to establish a real-time earthquake monitoring (RTEM) system. The panel, drafted by the National Academy of Science's Committee on Seismology, has presented its findings in Real-Time Earthquake Monitoring. The recently released report states that “present technology is entirely capable of recording and processing data so as to provide real-time information, enabling people to mitigate somewhat the earthquake disaster.” RTEM systems would consist of two parts—an early warning system that would give a few seconds warning before severe shaking, and immediate postquake information within minutes of the quake that would give actual measurements of the magnitude. At this time, however, this type of warning system has not been addressed at the national level for the United States and is not included in the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program, according to the report.

Vulnerability analysis for a drought Early Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angeluccetti, Irene; Demarchi, Alessandro; Perez, Francesca

2014-05-01

Early Warning Systems (EWS) for drought are often based on risk models that do not, or marginally, take into account the vulnerability factor. The multifaceted nature of drought (hydrological, meteorological, and agricultural) is source of coexistence for different ways to measure this phenomenon and its effects. The latter, together with the complexity of impacts generated by this hazard, causes the current underdevelopment of drought EWS compared to other hazards. In Least Developed Countries, where drought events causes the highest numbers of affected people, the importance of correct monitoring and forecasting is considered essential. Existing early warning and monitoring systems for drought produced at different geographic levels, provide only in a few cases an actual spatial model that tries to describe the cause-effect link between where the hazard is detected and where impacts occur. Integrate vulnerability information in such systems would permit to better estimate affected zones and livelihoods, improving the effectiveness of produced hazard-related datasets and maps. In fact, the need of simplification and, in general, of a direct applicability of scientific outputs is still a matter of concern for field experts and early warning products end-users. Even if the surplus of hazard related information produced right after catastrophic events has, in some cases, led to the creation of specific data-sharing platforms, the conveyed meaning and usefulness of each product has not yet been addressed. The present work is an attempt to fill this gap which is still an open issue for the scientific community as well as for the humanitarian aid world. The study aims at conceiving a simplified vulnerability model to embed into an existing EWS for drought, which is based on the monitoring of vegetation phenological parameters and the Standardized Precipitation Index, both produced using free satellite derived datasets. The proposed vulnerability model includes (i) a pure agricultural vulnerability and (ii) a systemic vulnerability. The first considers the agricultural potential of terrains, the diversity of cultivated crops and the percentage of irrigated area as main driving factors. The second vulnerability aspect consists of geographic units in which a set of socio-economic factors are modeled geographically on the basis of the physical accessibility to market centers in one case, and according to a spatial gravity model of market areas in another case. Results of the model applied to a case study (Niger) and evaluated with food insecurity data, are presented.

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) adaption in National Early Warning Alerting Systems of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chao

2017-04-01

The Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) [1] is an XML-based data format for exchanging public warnings and emergencies between alerting technologies. In China, from local communities to entire nations, there was a patchwork of specialized hazard public alerting systems. And each system was often designed just for certain emergency situations and for certain communications media. Application took place in the NEWAS (National Early Warning Alerting Systems) [2]project where CAP serves as central message to integrate all kind of hazard situations, including the natural calamity, accident disaster, public health emergency , social safety etc. Officially operated on May 2015, NEWAS now has completed docking work with 14 departments including civil administration, safety supervision, forestry, land, water conservancy, earthquake, traffic, meteorology, agriculture, tourism, food and drug supervision, public security and oceanic administration. Thus, several items in CAP has been modified, redefined and extended according to the various grading standards and publishing strategies, as well as the characteristics of Chinese Geocoding. NEWAS successfully delivers information to end users through 4 levels (i.e. State, province, prefecture and county) structure and by various means. [1] CAP, http://www.oasis-emergency.org/cap [2] http://www.12379.cn/

Connoted hazard and perceived importance of fluorescent, neon, and standard safety colors.

PubMed

Zielinska, O A; Mayhorn, C B; Wogalter, M S

2017-11-01

The perceived hazard and rated importance of standard safety, fluorescent, and neon colors are investigated. Colors are used in warnings to enhance hazard communication. Red has consistently been rated as the highest in perceived hazard. Orange, yellow, and black are the next highest in connoted hazard; however, there is discrepancy in their ordering. Safety standards, such as ANSI Z535.1, also list colors to convey important information, but little research has examined the perceived importance of colors. In addition to standard safety colors, fluorescent colors are more commonly used in warnings. Understanding hazard and importance perceptions of standard safety and fluorescent colors is necessary to create effective warnings. Ninety participants rated and ranked a total of 33 colors on both perceived hazard and perceived importance. Rated highest were the safety red colors from the American National Standard Institute (ANSI), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) together with three fluorescent colors (orange, yellow, and yellow-green) from 3 M on both dimensions. Rankings were similar to ratings except that fluorescent orange was the highest on perceived hazard, while fluorescent orange and safety red from the ANSI were ranked as the highest in perceived importance. Fluorescent colors convey hazard and importance levels as high as the standard safety red colors. Implications for conveying hazard and importance in warnings through color are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Volcano warning systems: Chapter 67

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gregg, Chris E.; Houghton, Bruce F.; Ewert, John W.

2015-01-01

Messages conveying volcano alert level such as Watches and Warnings are designed to provide people with risk information before, during, and after eruptions. Information is communicated to people from volcano observatories and emergency management agencies and from informal sources and social and environmental cues. Any individual or agency can be both a message sender and a recipient and multiple messages received from multiple sources is the norm in a volcanic crisis. Significant challenges to developing effective warning systems for volcanic hazards stem from the great diversity in unrest, eruption, and post-eruption processes and the rapidly advancing digital technologies that people use to seek real-time risk information. Challenges also involve the need to invest resources before unrest to help people develop shared mental models of important risk factors. Two populations of people are the target of volcano notifications–ground- and aviation-based populations, and volcano warning systems must address both distinctly different populations.

Science and Engineering of an Operational Tsunami Forecasting System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gonzalez, Frank

2009-04-06

After a review of tsunami statistics and the destruction caused by tsunamis, a means of forecasting tsunamis is discussed as part of an overall program of reducing fatalities through hazard assessment, education, training, mitigation, and a tsunami warning system. The forecast is accomplished via a concept called Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART). Small changes of pressure at the sea floor are measured and relayed to warning centers. Under development is an international modeling network to transfer, maintain, and improve tsunami forecast models.

Science and Engineering of an Operational Tsunami Forecasting System

ScienceCinema

Gonzalez, Frank

2017-12-09

After a review of tsunami statistics and the destruction caused by tsunamis, a means of forecasting tsunamis is discussed as part of an overall program of reducing fatalities through hazard assessment, education, training, mitigation, and a tsunami warning system. The forecast is accomplished via a concept called Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART). Small changes of pressure at the sea floor are measured and relayed to warning centers. Under development is an international modeling network to transfer, maintain, and improve tsunami forecast models.

Power line detection system

DOEpatents

Latorre, V.R.; Watwood, D.B.

1994-09-27

A short-range, radio frequency (RF) transmitting-receiving system that provides both visual and audio warnings to the pilot of a helicopter or light aircraft of an up-coming power transmission line complex. Small, milliwatt-level narrowband transmitters, powered by the transmission line itself, are installed on top of selected transmission line support towers or within existing warning balls, and provide a continuous RF signal to approaching aircraft. The on-board receiver can be either a separate unit or a portion of the existing avionics, and can also share an existing antenna with another airborne system. Upon receipt of a warning signal, the receiver will trigger a visual and an audio alarm to alert the pilot to the potential power line hazard. 4 figs.

Technical Note: An operational landslide early warning system at regional scale based on space-time variable rainfall thresholds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segoni, S.; Battistini, A.; Rossi, G.; Rosi, A.; Lagomarsino, D.; Catani, F.; Moretti, S.; Casagli, N.

2014-10-01

We set up an early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides in Tuscany (23 000 km2). The system is based on a set of state-of-the-art intensity-duration rainfall thresholds (Segoni et al., 2014b), makes use of LAMI rainfall forecasts and real-time rainfall data provided by an automated network of more than 300 rain-gauges. The system was implemented in a WebGIS to ease the operational use in civil protection procedures: it is simple and intuitive to consult and it provides different outputs. Switching among different views, the system is able to focus both on monitoring of real time data and on forecasting at different lead times up to 48 h. Moreover, the system can switch between a very straightforward view where a synoptic scenario of the hazard can be shown all over the region and a more in-depth view were the rainfall path of rain-gauges can be displayed and constantly compared with rainfall thresholds. To better account for the high spatial variability of the physical features, which affects the relationship between rainfall and landslides, the region is subdivided into 25 alert zones, each provided with a specific threshold. The warning system reflects this subdivision: using a network of 332 rain gauges, it allows monitoring each alert zone separately and warnings can be issued independently from an alert zone to another. An important feature of the warning system is the use of thresholds that may vary in time adapting at the conditions of the rainfall path recorded by the rain-gauges. Depending on when the starting time of the rainfall event is set, the comparison with the threshold may produce different outcomes. Therefore, a recursive algorithm was developed to check and compare with the thresholds all possible starting times, highlighting the worst scenario and showing in the WebGIS interface at what time and how much the rainfall path has exceeded or will exceed the most critical threshold. Besides forecasting and monitoring the hazard scenario over the whole region with hazard levels differentiated for 25 distinct alert zones, the system can be used to gather, analyze, visualize, explore, interpret and store rainfall data, thus representing a potential support to both decision makers and scientists.

Technical-Information Products for a National Volcano Early Warning System

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guffanti, Marianne; Brantley, Steven R.; Cervelli, Peter F.; Nye, Christopher J.; Serafino, George N.; Siebert, Lee; Venezky, Dina Y.; Wald, Lisa

2007-01-01

Introduction Technical outreach - distinct from general-interest and K-12 educational outreach - for volcanic hazards is aimed at providing usable scientific information about potential or ongoing volcanic activity to public officials, businesses, and individuals in support of their response, preparedness, and mitigation efforts. Within the context of a National Volcano Early Warning System (NVEWS) (Ewert et al., 2005), technical outreach is a critical process, transferring the benefits of enhanced monitoring and hazards research to key constituents who have to initiate actions or make policy decisions to lessen the hazardous impact of volcanic activity. This report discusses recommendations of the Technical-Information Products Working Group convened in 2006 as part of the NVEWS planning process. The basic charge to the Working Group was to identify a web-based, volcanological 'product line' for NVEWS to meet the specific hazard-information needs of technical users. Members of the Working Group were: *Marianne Guffanti (Chair), USGS, Reston VA *Steve Brantley, USGS, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory HI *Peter Cervelli, USGS, Alaska Volcano Observatory, Anchorage AK *Chris Nye, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and Alaska Volcano Observatory, Fairbanks AK *George Serafino, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Camp Springs MD *Lee Siebert, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC *Dina Venezky, USGS, Volcano Hazards Team, Menlo Park CA *Lisa Wald, USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Golden CO

Children's misunderstandings of hazard warning signs in the new globally harmonized system for classification and labeling.

PubMed

Latham, Garry; Long, Tony; Devitt, Patric

2013-12-01

Accidental chemical poisoning causes more than 35 000 child deaths every year across the world, and it leads to disease, disability, and suffering for many more children. Children's ignorance of dangers and their failure to interpret hazard warning signs as intended contribute significantly to this problem. A new Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labeling is being implemented internationally with a view to unifying the current multiple and disparate national systems. This study was designed to establish a productive, effective means of teaching the new GHS warning signs to primary school children (aged 7-11 years). A pre-test, post-test, follow-up test design was employed, with a teaching intervention informed by a Delphi survey of expert opinion. Children from one school formed the experimental group (n = 49) and a second school provided a control group (n = 23). Both groups showed a gain in knowledge from pre-test to post-test, the experimental group with a larger gain but which was not statistically significant. However, longer-term retention of knowledge, as shown by the follow-up test, was statistically significantly greater in the experimental group (p = 0.001). The employment of teaching to match children's preferred learning styles, and the use of active learning were found to be related to improved retention of knowledge. Part of the study involved eliciting children's interpretation of standard hazard warning symbols, and this provoked considerable concern over the potential for dangerous misinterpretation with disastrous consequences. This article focuses on the reasons for such misconception and the action required to address this successfully in testing the intervention.

Impacts of Fog Characteristics, Forward Illumination, and Warning Beacon Intensity Distribution on Roadway Hazard Visibility

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Warning beacons are critical for the safety of transportation, construction, and utility workers. These devices need to produce sufficient luminous intensity to be visible without creating glare to drivers. Published standards for the photometric performance of warning beacons do not address their performance in conditions of reduced visibility such as fog. Under such conditions light emitted in directions other than toward approaching drivers can create scattered light that makes workers and other hazards less visible. Simulations of visibility of hazards under varying conditions of fog density, forward vehicle lighting, warning beacon luminous intensity, and intensity distribution were performed to assess their impacts on visual performance by drivers. Each of these factors can influence the ability of drivers to detect and identify workers and hazards along the roadway in work zones. Based on the results, it would be reasonable to specify maximum limits on the luminous intensity of warning beacons in directions that are unlikely to be seen by drivers along the roadway, limits which are not included in published performance specifications. PMID:27314058

Warning Alert HITL Experiment Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monk, Kevin J.; Ferm, Lisa; Roberts, Zach

2018-01-01

Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) are being developed to support the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace (NAS). Input from subject matter experts and multiple research studies have informed display requirements for Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) systems aimed at supporting timely and appropriate pilot responses to collision hazards. Phase 1 DAA MOPS alerting is designed to inform pilots if an avoidance maneuver is necessary; the two highest alert levels - caution and warning - indicate how soon pilot action is required and whether there is adequate time to coordinate with the air traffic controller (ATC). Additional empirical support is needed to clarify the extent to which warning-level alerting impacts DAA task performance. The present study explores the differential effects of the auditory and visual cues provided by the DAA Warning alert, and performance implications compared to caution-only alerting are discussed.

Comparison of landslide forecasting services in Piedmont (Italy) and Norway, illustrated by events in late spring 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devoli, Graziella; Tiranti, Davide; Cremonini, Roberto; Sund, Monica; Boje, Søren

2018-05-01

Only few countries operate systematically national and regional forecasting services for rainfall-induced landslides (i.e., debris flows, debris avalanches and shallow slides), among them Norway and Italy. In Norway, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) operates a landslide forecasting service at national level. In Italy, the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection, ARPA Piemonte, is responsible for issuing landslide warnings for the Piedmont region, located in northwestern Italy. A daily hazard assessment is performed, describing both expected awareness level and type of landslide hazard for a selected warning region. Both services provide regular landslide hazard assessments based on a combination of quantitative thresholds and daily rainfall forecasts together with qualitative expert analysis. Daily warning reports are published at http://www.arpa.piemonte.gov.it/rischinaturali and http://www.varsom.no, last access: 7 May 2018. In spring 2013, ARPA Piemonte and the NVE issued warnings for hydro-meteorological hazards due to the arrival of a deep and large low-pressure system, called herein Vb cyclone. This kind of weather system is known to produce the largest floods in Europe. Less known is that this weather pattern can trigger landslides as well. In this study, we present the experiences of NVE and ARPA Piemonte in the late spring of 2013. The Vb cyclone influenced weather throughout Europe over a long period, from the end of April until the beginning of June 2013. However, major affects were observed in the first half part of this period in Piedmont, while in Norway, major damage was reported from 15 May to 2 June 2013. Floods and landslides significantly damaged roads, railways, buildings and other infrastructure in both countries. This case study shows that large synoptic pattern can produce different natural hazards in different parts of Europe, from sandstorms at low latitudes, to flood and landslides when the system moves across the mountain regions. These secondary effects were effectively forecasted by the two landslide warning services, operating in different parts of Europe. The landslide risks were also properly communicated to the public some days in advance. This analysis has allowed the establishment of fruitful international collaboration between ARPA Piemonte and NVE and the future exchange of experiences, procedures and methods relating to similar events.

Flight in low-level wind shear

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, W.

1983-01-01

Results of studies of wind shear hazard to aircraft operation are summarized. Existing wind shear profiles currently used in computer and flight simulator studies are reviewed. The governing equations of motion for an aircraft are derived incorporating the variable wind effects. Quantitative discussions of the effects of wind shear on aircraft performance are presented. These are followed by a review of mathematical solutions to both the linear and nonlinear forms of the governing equations. Solutions with and without control laws are presented. The application of detailed analysis to develop warning and detection systems based on Doppler radar measuring wind speed along the flight path is given. A number of flight path deterioration parameters are defined and evaluated. Comparison of computer-predicted flight paths with those measured in a manned flight simulator is made. Some proposed airborne and ground-based wind shear hazard warning and detection systems are reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of both types of systems are discussed.

14 CFR 23.1322 - Warning, caution, and advisory lights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Warning, caution, and advisory lights. 23... Equipment Instruments: Installation § 23.1322 Warning, caution, and advisory lights. If warning, caution, or...— (a) Red, for warning lights (lights indicating a hazard which may require immediate corrective action...

14 CFR 23.1322 - Warning, caution, and advisory lights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Warning, caution, and advisory lights. 23... Equipment Instruments: Installation § 23.1322 Warning, caution, and advisory lights. If warning, caution, or...— (a) Red, for warning lights (lights indicating a hazard which may require immediate corrective action...

14 CFR 23.1322 - Warning, caution, and advisory lights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Warning, caution, and advisory lights. 23... Equipment Instruments: Installation § 23.1322 Warning, caution, and advisory lights. If warning, caution, or...— (a) Red, for warning lights (lights indicating a hazard which may require immediate corrective action...

14 CFR 23.1322 - Warning, caution, and advisory lights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Warning, caution, and advisory lights. 23... Equipment Instruments: Installation § 23.1322 Warning, caution, and advisory lights. If warning, caution, or...— (a) Red, for warning lights (lights indicating a hazard which may require immediate corrective action...

14 CFR 23.1322 - Warning, caution, and advisory lights.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Warning, caution, and advisory lights. 23... Equipment Instruments: Installation § 23.1322 Warning, caution, and advisory lights. If warning, caution, or...— (a) Red, for warning lights (lights indicating a hazard which may require immediate corrective action...

Presenting hazard warning information to drivers using an advanced traveler information system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-02-01

Although Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) devices have the potential to improve travel safety, efficiency, and comfort, they represent a new frontier in ground transportation. In order to realize this potential, they must be designed in a ...

Development of a flood-induced health risk prediction model for Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, D.; Block, P. J.

2017-12-01

Globally, many floods occur in developing or tropical regions where the impact on public health is substantial, including death and injury, drinking water, endemic disease, and so on. Although these flood impacts on public health have been investigated, integrated management of floods and flood-induced health risks is technically and institutionally limited. Specifically, while the use of climatic and hydrologic forecasts for disaster management has been highlighted, analogous predictions for forecasting the magnitude and impact of health risks are lacking, as is the infrastructure for health early warning systems, particularly in developing countries. In this study, we develop flood-induced health risk prediction model for African regions using season-ahead flood predictions with climate drivers and a variety of physical and socio-economic information, such as local hazard, exposure, resilience, and health vulnerability indicators. Skillful prediction of flood and flood-induced health risks can contribute to practical pre- and post-disaster responses in both local- and global-scales, and may eventually be integrated into multi-hazard early warning systems for informed advanced planning and management. This is especially attractive for areas with limited observations and/or little capacity to develop flood-induced health risk warning systems.

In-vehicle low-cost signing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greneker, Eugene F.

1997-02-01

There are approximately 20 million police radar detectors used on the highways of the United States daily. A highway hazard safety warning system has been developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, working under the sponsorship of the radar detector industry, to communicate highway safety alerts to the driver of any vehicle equipped with a police radar detector. In addition, the system causes the new generation of detectors that are already available to display a safety warning message on an alpha-numeric display. The Safety Warning SystemTM consists of a transmitter and a radar detector receiver or stand-alone safety warning receiver/display system. The transmitter can be mounted on police cars, emergency vehicles, utility vehicles, highly repair vehicles, and on stationary structures at fixed locations along the highway. The reception range of the transmitted signal is between 0.5 and 1.0 miles, depending on terrain. The system to be described may be one of the first applications of in-vehicle signing in the Intelligent Transportation System to be implemented, because the required infrastructure of receivers already exists.

Systems and Sensors for Debris-flow Monitoring and Warning

PubMed Central

Arattano, Massimo; Marchi, Lorenzo

2008-01-01

Debris flows are a type of mass movement that occurs in mountain torrents. They consist of a high concentration of solid material in water that flows as a wave with a steep front. Debris flows can be considered a phenomenon intermediate between landslides and water floods. They are amongst the most hazardous natural processes in mountainous regions and may occur under different climatic conditions. Their destructiveness is due to different factors: their capability of transporting and depositing huge amounts of solid materials, which may also reach large sizes (boulders of several cubic meters are commonly transported by debris flows), their steep fronts, which may reach several meters of height and also their high velocities. The implementation of both structural and non-structural control measures is often required when debris flows endanger routes, urban areas and other infrastructures. Sensor networks for debris-flow monitoring and warning play an important role amongst non-structural measures intended to reduce debris-flow risk. In particular, debris flow warning systems can be subdivided into two main classes: advance warning and event warning systems. These two classes employ different types of sensors. Advance warning systems are based on monitoring causative hydrometeorological processes (typically rainfall) and aim to issue a warning before a possible debris flow is triggered. Event warning systems are based on detecting debris flows when these processes are in progress. They have a much smaller lead time than advance warning ones but are also less prone to false alarms. Advance warning for debris flows employs sensors and techniques typical of meteorology and hydrology, including measuring rainfall by means of rain gauges and weather radar and monitoring water discharge in headwater streams. Event warning systems use different types of sensors, encompassing ultrasonic or radar gauges, ground vibration sensors, videocameras, avalanche pendulums, photocells, trip wires etc. Event warning systems for debris flows have a strong linkage with debris-flow monitoring that is carried out for research purposes: the same sensors are often used for both monitoring and warning, although warning systems have higher requirements of robustness than monitoring systems. The paper presents a description of the sensors employed for debris-flow monitoring and event warning systems, with attention given to advantages and drawbacks of different types of sensors. PMID:27879828

Israeli Arab and Jewish youth knowledge and opinion about alcohol warning labels: pre-intervention data.

PubMed

Weiss, S

1997-01-01

This article presents baseline data on the opinion toward alcohol beverage warning labels and on levels of knowledge of the risks discussed in the contents of the labels prior to the labels' introduction, and on levels of knowledge of additional alcohol-related hazards not included in the proposed warning labels, among a sample of 3065 adolescents of four religions living in the northern region of Israel. About 2220 Arab participants (Moslems, Christians and Druze) and 845 Jewish respondents answered in the winter of 1996 a Hebrew version of an American questionnaire, which had been used to measure levels of knowledge of the label in the United States. More respondents were in favour of warning labels on alcohol containers than on advertisements. Arabs as a group were more in favour of warning labels on alcohol containers than Jews. The initial knowledge levels among the participants were not very high, especially concerning the item 'Drinking impairs the ability to operate machinery' (74.4%) which is included on the proposed warning label, and concerning two hazards which are not included: 'Drinking increases risk of cancer' (54.6%) and 'Drinking increases risk of high blood pressure' (60.4%). Abstainers knew more than drinkers that 'Pregnant women should not drink', 'Drinking increases risk of cancer' and 'Alcohol in combination with other drugs is hazardous'. Implications for public health are discussed and alternative warning messages that might be used to inform the Israeli public of several less well-known hazards are suggested.

Meteotsunamis, destructive tsunami-like waves: from observations and simulations towards a warning system (MESSI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sepic, Jadranka; Vilibic, Ivica

2016-04-01

Atmospherically-generated tsunami-like waves, also known as meteotsunamis, pose a severe threat for exposed coastlines. Although not as destructive as ordinary tsunamis, several meters high meteotsunami waves can bring destruction, cause loss of human lives and raise panic. For that reason, MESSI, an integrative meteotsunami research & warning project, has been developed and will be presented herein. The project has a threefold base: (1) research of atmosphere-ocean interaction with focus on (i) source processes in the atmosphere, (ii) energy transfer to the ocean and (iii) along-propagation growth of meteotsunami waves; (2) estimation of meteotsunami occurrence rates in past, present and future climate, and mapping of meteotsunami hazard; (3) construction of a meteotsunami warning system prototype, with the latter being the main objective of the project. Due to a great frequency of meteotsunamis and its complex bathymetry which varies from the shallow shelf in the north towards deep pits in the south, with a number of funnel-shaped bays and harbours substantially amplifying incoming tsunami-like waves, the Adriatic, northernmost of the Mediterranean seas, has been chosen as an ideal area for realization of the MESSI project and implementation of the warning system. This warning system will however be designed to allow for a wider applicability and easy-to-accomplish transfer to other endangered locations. The architecture of the warning system will integrate several components: (1) real-time measurements of key oceanographic and atmospheric parameters, (2) coupled atmospheric-ocean models run in real time (warning) mode, and (3) semi-automatic procedures and protocols for warning of civil protection, local authorities and public. The effectiveness of the warning system will be tested over the historic events.

Geological hazards: from early warning systems to public health toolkits.

PubMed

Samarasundera, Edgar; Hansell, Anna; Leibovici, Didier; Horwell, Claire J; Anand, Suchith; Oppenheimer, Clive

2014-11-01

Extreme geological events, such as earthquakes, are a significant global concern and sometimes their consequences can be devastating. Geographic information plays a critical role in health protection regarding hazards, and there are a range of initiatives using geographic information to communicate risk as well as to support early warning systems operated by geologists. Nevertheless we consider there to remain shortfalls in translating information on extreme geological events into health protection tools, and suggest that social scientists have an important role to play in aiding the development of a new generation of toolkits aimed at public health practitioners. This viewpoint piece reviews the state of the art in this domain and proposes potential contributions different stakeholder groups, including social scientists, could bring to the development of new toolkits. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 193.2917 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Warning signs. 193.2917 Section 193.2917 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Security § 193.2917 Warning signs. (a) Warning signs must be conspicuously placed...

49 CFR 193.2917 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Warning signs. 193.2917 Section 193.2917 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Security § 193.2917 Warning signs. (a) Warning signs must be conspicuously placed...

49 CFR 193.2917 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Warning signs. 193.2917 Section 193.2917 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Security § 193.2917 Warning signs. (a) Warning signs must be conspicuously placed...

49 CFR 193.2917 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Warning signs. 193.2917 Section 193.2917 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Security § 193.2917 Warning signs. (a) Warning signs must be conspicuously placed...

49 CFR 193.2917 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Warning signs. 193.2917 Section 193.2917 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Security § 193.2917 Warning signs. (a) Warning signs must be conspicuously placed...

Early Warning Systems of natural disasters in the frame of EUNADICS-AV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brenot, Hugues; Theys, Nicolas; Clarisse, Lieven; Kopp, Anna; Graf, Kaspar; Mona, Lucia; Coltelli, Mauro; Peltonen, Tuomas; Hirtl, Marcus; Virtanen, Timo; Nína Petersen, Guðrún

2017-04-01

Aviation is one of the most critical infrastructures of the 21st century. In Europe, safe flight operations, air traffic management and air traffic control are shared responsibilities of EUROCONTROL, national authorities, airlines and pilots. All stakeholders have one common goal, namely to warrant and maintain the safety of flight crews and passengers. Currently, however, there is a significant gap in the availability of real-time hazard measurement and monitoring information for airborne hazards. The main objective of the new Horizon 2020 project EUNADICS-AV (European Natural Airborne Disaster Information and Coordination System for Aviation; http://www.eunadics.eu) is to close this gap in data and information availability, enabling all stakeholders in the aviation system to obtain fast, coherent, and consistent information. Here we report on WP5 of EUNADICS-AV, the objective of which is to develop a prototype multi-hazard monitoring and early warning system. This task includes the development of a service for improved near real-time analyses (delay of a few hours maximum) of observations from satellite and ground-based platforms in order to detect ash and SO2 plumes (at the global scale), as well as desert sand dusts, fire plumes, and radioactive plumes.

A Collaborative Approach to Flood Early Warning Systems In South East Westmoreland, Jamaica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyman, T. A.

2015-12-01

Jamaica is prone to climatic, tectonic and technological hazards, with climatic hazards being the most prevalent. Specifically, flood events from cyclonic activity are the most common and widespread. Jamaica also experiences frequent flash floods, usually with insufficient lead time to enact efficient and targeted responses. On average, there is at least one disastrous flood every four years in Jamaica, and from 1800 to 2003 fifty-four major floods took place, causing 273 fatalities and economic losses of over US2 billion. Notably, the 1979 flood event in Western Jamaica caused 41 deaths and economic losses of US 27 Million, and which also has a 50 year return period. To date, no Flood Warning System exists in Western Jamaica and there are limited rain and river gauges. Additionally, responses to climatic events within South-East Westmoreland communities are ad hoc, with little coordination. Many of the hazard responses have been reactive and some stakeholders have delayed to their detriment.[1] The use of Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS) to address such challenges is thus an option being considered by the community associations. The Rio Cobre FEWS in the parish of St. Catherine serves as a best practice example of community driven flood warning systems in Jamaica. This is because of the collaborative approach to flood risk, strengthened by institutional arrangements between the Meteorological Service, Water Resources Authority, Office of Disaster Management, Scientists and residents of the surrounding communities. The Community Associations in South-East Westmoreland are thus desirous of implementing a FEWS similar to the Rio Cobre FEWS. This paper thus aims to analyse the implementation process in terms of key stakeholders involved, governance approach and the socio-economic impact of a collaborative approach on infrastructure and livelihoods, in the case of future flooding events. [1] (especially in the case of Hurricane Ivan 2004)

Advances in the TRIDEC Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, Martin; Spazier, Johannes; Reißland, Sven

2016-04-01

The TRIDEC Cloud is a platform that merges several complementary cloud-based services for instant tsunami propagation calculations and automated background computation with graphics processing units (GPU), for web-mapping of hazard specific geospatial data, and for serving relevant functionality to handle, share, and communicate threat specific information in a collaborative and distributed environment. The platform offers a modern web-based graphical user interface so that operators in warning centres and stakeholders of other involved parties (e.g. CPAs, ministries) just need a standard web browser to access a full-fledged early warning and information system with unique interactive features such as Cloud Messages and Shared Maps. Furthermore, the TRIDEC Cloud can be accessed in different modes, e.g. the monitoring mode, which provides important functionality required to act in a real event, and the exercise-and-training mode, which enables training and exercises with virtual scenarios re-played by a scenario player. The software system architecture and open interfaces facilitate global coverage so that the system is applicable for any region in the world and allow the integration of different sensor systems as well as the integration of other hazard types and use cases different to tsunami early warning. Current advances of the TRIDEC Cloud platform will be summarized in this presentation.

The role of integrating natural and social science concepts for risk governance and the design of people-centred early warning systems. Case study from the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System Project (GITEWS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gebert, Niklas; Post, Joachim

2010-05-01

The development of early warning systems are one of the key domains of adaptation to global environmental change and contribute very much to the development of societal reaction and adaptive capacities to deal with extreme events. Especially, Indonesia is highly exposed to tsunami. In average every three years small and medium size tsunamis occur in the region causing damage and death. In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004, the German and Indonesian government agreed on a joint cooperation to develop a People Centered End-to-End Early Warning System (GITEWS). The analysis of risk and vulnerability, as an important step in risk (and early warning) governance, is a precondition for the design of effective early warning structures by delivering the knowledge base for developing institutionalized quick response mechanisms of organizations involved in the issuing of a tsunami warning, and of populations exposed to react to warnings and to manage evacuation before the first tsunami wave hits. Thus, a special challenge for developing countries is the governance of complex cross-sectoral and cross-scale institutional, social and spatial processes and requirements for the conceptualization, implementation and optimization of a people centered tsunami early warning system. In support of this, the risk and vulnerability assessment of the case study aims at identifying those factors that constitute the causal structure of the (dis)functionality between the technological warning and the social response system causing loss of life during an emergency situation: Which social groups are likely to be less able to receive and respond to an early warning alert? And, are people able to evacuate in due time? Here, only an interdisciplinary research approach is capable to analyze the socio-spatial and environmental conditions of vulnerability and risk and to produce valuable results for decision makers and civil society to manage tsunami risk in the early warning context. This requires the integration of natural / spatial and social science concepts, methods and data: E.g. a scenario based approach for tsunami inundation modeling was developed to provide decision makers with options to decide up to what level they aim to protect their people and territory, on the contrary household surveys were conducted for the spatial analysis of the evacuation preparedness of the population as a function of place specific hazard, risk, warning and evacuation perception; remote sensing was applied for the spatial analysis (land-use) of the socio-physical conditions of a city and region for evacuation; and existing social / population statistics were combined with land-use data for the precise spatial mapping of the population exposed to tsunami risks. Only by utilizing such a comprehensive assessment approach valuable information for risk governance can be generated. The results are mapped using GIS and designed according to the specific needs of different end-users, such as public authorities involved in the design of warning dissemination strategies, land-use planners (shelter planning, road network configuration) and NGOs mandated to provide education for the general public on tsunami risk and evacuation behavior. The case study of the city of Padang (one of the pilot areas of GITEWS), Indonesia clearly show, that only by intersecting social (vulnerability) and natural hazards research a comprehensive picture on tsunami risk can be provided with which risk governance in the early warning context can be conducted in a comprehensive, systemic and sustainable manner.

Implementation of tsunami disaster prevention measures in the municipality of San Rafael del Sur, Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strauch, W.; Talavera, E.; Acosta, N.; Sanchez, M.; Mejia, E.

2007-05-01

The Nicaraguan Pacific coast presents considerable tsunami risk. On September 1, 1992, a tsunami caused enormous damage in the infrastructure and killed more than 170 people. A pilot project was conducted between 2006 and 2007 in the municipality of San Rafel del Sur, area of Masachapa, The project included multiple topics of tsunami prevention measures and considering the direct participation of the local population, as: -General education on disaster prevention, participative events; -Investigation of awareness level and information needs for different population groups; -Specific educational measures in the schools; -Publication of brochures, calendars, news paper articles, radio programs, TV spots -Development of local tsunami hazard maps, 1:5,000 scale; (based on previous regional tsunami hazard mapping projects and local participation) -Development of a tsunami warning plan; -Improvements of the national tsunami warning system. -Installation of sirens for tsunami warning -Installation of tsunami signs, indicating hazardous areas, evacuation routes, safe places; -Realization of evacuation drills in schools. Based on the experiences gained in Masachapa it is planned to run similar projects in other areas along the Nicaraguan Pacific coast. In the project participated the local municipality and local stakeholders of San Rafael del Sur, Ministry of Education, National Police, Nicaraguan Red Cross, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Tourism, Nicaraguan Geosciences Institute (INETER), National System for Disaster Prevention (SINAPRED), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It was financed by SDC and INETER.

The International Platform on Earthquake Early Warning Systems (IP-EEWS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torres, Jair; Fanchiotti, Margherita

2017-04-01

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 recognizes the need to "substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030" as one of its global targets (target "g"). While considerable progress has been made in recent decades, early warning systems (EWSs) continue to be less developed for geo-hazards and significant challenges remain in advancing the development of EWSs for specific hazards, particularly for fastest onset hazards such as earthquakes. An earthquake early warning system (EEWS) helps in disseminating timely information about potentially catastrophic earthquake hazards to the public, emergency managers and the private sector to provide enough time to implement automatized emergency measures. At the same time, these systems help to reduce considerably the CO2 emissions produced by the catastrophic impacts and subsequent effects of earthquakes, such as those generated by fires, collapses, and pollution (among others), as well as those produced in the recovery and reconstruction processes. In recent years, EEWSs have been developed independently in few countries: EEWSs have shown operational in Japan and Mexico, while other regions in California (USA), Turkey, Italy, Canada, South Korea and China (including Taiwan) are in the development stages or under restricted applications. Many other countries in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, Eastern Africa, Southeast Africa, as well as Central America, South America and the Caribbean, are located in some of the most seismically active regions in the world, or present moderate seismicity but high vulnerability, and would strongly benefit from the development of EEWSs. Given that, in many instances, the development of an EEWS still requires further testing, increased density coverage in seismic observation stations, regional coordination, and further scientific understanding, there is a strong need to enhance the technical and operational capacities required for these systems and to further understand the implications for policy. In an effort to address this gap, in December 2015, UNESCO launched the International Platform on Earthquake Early Warning Systems (IP-EEWS). The main objective of the Platform is to assess the current state of the art in the development and operationalisation of EEWS globally, foster dialogue and international cooperation for capacity building around these systems, and therefore promote and strengthen EEWS in earthquake-prone countries worldwide. This paper will discuss the opportunities and challenges for the development and operationalisation of these systems, as well as the specific aim, objectives and expected contributions of this newly established Platform. The following ten countries are already represented in IP-EEWS through leading scientific experts in top institutions: USA (University of California Berkeley), Japan (Meteorological Research Institute), Mexico (Centro de Instrumentacion y Registro Sismico), Italy (University of Naples Federico II), Switzerland (ETH - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), Spain (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Turkey (Kandili Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, Boǧaziçi University), Germany (GFZ - German Research Centre for Geosciences), China (University of Beijing), and Romania (National Institute for Earth Physics). More countries are expected to join the initiative.

Tsunami prevention and mitigation necessities and options derived from tsunami risk assessment in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Post, J.; Zosseder, K.; Wegscheider, S.; Steinmetz, T.; Mück, M.; Strunz, G.; Riedlinger, T.; Anwar, H. Z.; Birkmann, J.; Gebert, N.

2009-04-01

Risk and vulnerability assessment is an important component of an effective End-to-End Tsunami Early Warning System and therefore contributes significantly to disaster risk reduction. Risk assessment is a key strategy to implement and design adequate disaster prevention and mitigation measures. The knowledge about expected tsunami hazard impacts, exposed elements, their susceptibility, coping and adaptation mechanisms is a precondition for the development of people-centred warning structures, local specific response and recovery policy planning. The developed risk assessment and its components reflect the disaster management cycle (disaster time line) and cover the early warning as well as the emergency response phase. Consequently the components hazard assessment, exposure (e.g. how many people/ critical facilities are affected?), susceptibility (e.g. are the people able to receive a tsunami warning?), coping capacity (are the people able to evacuate in time?) and recovery (are the people able to restore their livelihoods?) are addressed and quantified. Thereby the risk assessment encompasses three steps: (i) identifying the nature, location, intensity and probability of potential tsunami threats (hazard assessment); (ii) determining the existence and degree of exposure and susceptibility to those threats; and (iii) identifying the coping capacities and resources available to address or manage these threats. The paper presents results of the research work, which is conducted in the framework of the GITEWS project and the Joint Indonesian-German Working Group on Risk Modelling and Vulnerability Assessment. The assessment methodology applied follows a people-centred approach to deliver relevant risk and vulnerability information for the purposes of early warning and disaster management. The analyses are considering the entire coastal areas of Sumatra, Java and Bali facing the Sunda trench. Selected results and products like risk maps, guidelines, decision support information and other GIS products will be presented. The focus of the products is on the one hand to provide relevant risk assessment products as decision support to issue a tsunami warning within the early warning stage. On the other hand the maps and GIS products shall provide relevant information to enable local decision makers to act adequately concerning their local risks. It is shown that effective prevention and mitigation measures can be designed based on risk assessment results and information especially when used pro-active and beforehand a disaster strikes. The conducted hazard assessment provides the probability of an area to be affected by a tsunami threat divided into two ranked impact zones. The two divided impact zones directly relate to tsunami warning levels issued by the Early Warning Center and consequently enable the local decision maker to base their planning (e.g. evacuation) accordingly. Within the tsunami hazard assessment several hundred pre-computed tsunami scenarios are analysed. This is combined with statistical analysis of historical event data. Probabilities of tsunami occurrence considering probabilities of different earthquake magnitudes, occurrences of specific wave heights at coast and spatial inundation probability are computed. Hazard assessment is then combined with a comprehensive vulnerability assessment. Here deficits in e.g. people's ability to receive and understand a tsunami warning and deficits in their ability to respond adequately (evacuate on time) are quantified and are visualized for the respective coastal areas. Hereby socio-economic properties (determining peoples ability to understand a warning and to react) are combined with environmental conditions (land cover, slope, population density) to calculate the time needed to evacuate (reach a tsunami safe area derived through the hazard assessment). This is implemented using a newly developed GIS cost-distance weighting approach. For example, the amount of people affected in a certain area is dependent on expected tsunami intensity, inundated area, estimated tsunami arrival time and available time for evacuation. Referring to the Aceh 2004 Tsunami, an estimated amount of people affected (dead/injured) of 21000 for Kabubaten Aceh Jaya and 85000 for Kab. Banda Aceh is in a comparable range with reported values of 19661 and 78417 (JICA 2005) respectively. Hence the established methodology provides reliable estimates of people affected and people's ability to reach a safe area. Based on the spatial explicit detection of e.g. high tsunami risk areas (and the assessed root causes therefore), specific disaster risk reduction and early warning strategies can be designed. For example additional installation of technical warning dissemination device, community based preparedness and awareness programmes (education), structural and non-structural measures (e.g. land use conversion, coastal engineering), effective evacuation, contingency and household recovery aid planning can be employed and/or optimized within high tsunami risk areas as a first priority. In the context of early warning, spatially distributed information like degree of expected hazard impact, exposure of critical facilities (e.g. hospitals, schools), potential people dead/injured depending on available response times, location of safe and shelter areas can be disseminated and used for decision making. Keywords: Tsunami risk, hazard and vulnerability assessment, early warning, tsunami mitigation and prevention, Indonesia

33 CFR 127.1207 - Warning alarms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Warning alarms. 127.1207 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Equipment § 127.1207 Warning alarms. (a) Each marine... the local COTP additional or alternative warning devices that provide an equivalent level of safety...

33 CFR 127.1207 - Warning alarms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Warning alarms. 127.1207 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Equipment § 127.1207 Warning alarms. (a) Each marine... the local COTP additional or alternative warning devices that provide an equivalent level of safety...

33 CFR 127.1207 - Warning alarms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Warning alarms. 127.1207 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Equipment § 127.1207 Warning alarms. (a) Each marine... the local COTP additional or alternative warning devices that provide an equivalent level of safety...

33 CFR 127.1207 - Warning alarms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Warning alarms. 127.1207 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Equipment § 127.1207 Warning alarms. (a) Each marine... the local COTP additional or alternative warning devices that provide an equivalent level of safety...

33 CFR 127.1207 - Warning alarms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Warning alarms. 127.1207 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Equipment § 127.1207 Warning alarms. (a) Each marine... the local COTP additional or alternative warning devices that provide an equivalent level of safety...

Exploring the feasibility of a nationwide earthquake early warning system in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picozzi, M.; Zollo, A.; Brondi, P.; Colombelli, S.; Elia, L.; Martino, C.

2015-04-01

When accompanied by appropriate training and preparedness of a population, Earthquake Early Warning Systems (EEWS) are effective and viable tools for the real-time reduction of societal exposure to seismic events in metropolitan areas. The Italian Accelerometric Network, RAN, which consists of about 500 stations installed over all the active seismic zones, as well as many cities and strategic infrastructures in Italy, has the potential to serve as a nationwide early warning system. In this work, we present a feasibility study for a nationwide EEWS in Italy obtained by the integration of the RAN and the software platform PRobabilistic and Evolutionary early warning SysTem (PRESTo). The performance of the RAN-PRESTo EEWS is first assessed by testing it on real strong motion recordings of 40 of the largest earthquakes that have occurred during the last 10 years in Italy. Furthermore, we extend the analysis to regions that did not experience earthquakes by considering a nationwide grid of synthetic sources capable of generating Gutenberg-Richter sequences corresponding to the one adopted by the seismic hazard map of the Italian territory. Our results indicate that the RAN-PRESTo EEWS could theoretically provide for higher seismic hazard areas reliable alert messages within about 5 to 10 s and maximum lead times of about 25 s. In case of large events (M > 6.5), this amount of lead time would be sufficient for taking basic protective measures (e.g., duck and cover, move away from windows or equipment) in tens to hundreds of municipalities affected by large ground shaking.

A search for applications of Fiber Optics in early warning systems for natural hazards.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wenker, Koen; Bogaard, Thom

2013-04-01

In order to reduce the societal risk associated with natural hazards novel technologies could help to advance in early warning systems. In our study we evaluate the use of multi-sensor technologies as possible early-warning systems for landslides and man-made structures, and the integration of the information in a simple Decision Support System (DSS). In this project, particular attention will be paid to some new possibilities available in the field of distributed monitoring systems of relevant parameters for landslide and man-made structures monitoring (such as large dams and bridges), and among them the distributed monitoring of temperature, strain and acoustic signals by FO cables. Fiber Optic measurements are becoming more and more popular. Fiber optic cables have been developed in the telecommunication business to send large amounts of information over large distances with the speed of light. Because of the commercial application, production costs are relatively low. Using fiber optics for measurements has several advantages. This novel technology is, for instance, immune to electromagnetic interference, appears stable, very accurate, and has the potential to measure several independent physical properties in a distributed manner. The high resolution spatial and temporal distributed information on e.g. temperature or strain (or both) make fiber optics an interesting measurement technique. Several applications have been developed in both engineering as science and the possibilities seem numerous. We will present a thorough literature review that was done to assess the applicability and limitations of FO cable technology. This review was focused but not limited to application in landslide research. Several examples of current practices will be shown, also from outside the natural hazard practice and possible application will be discussed.

Debris flow early warning systems in Norway: organization and tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleivane, I.; Colleuille, H.; Haugen, L. E.; Alve Glad, P.; Devoli, G.

2012-04-01

In Norway, shallow slides and debris flows occur as a combination of high-intensity precipitation, snowmelt, high groundwater level and saturated soil. Many events have occurred in the last decades and are often associated with (or related to) floods events, especially in the Southern of Norway, causing significant damages to roads, railway lines, buildings, and other infrastructures (i.e November 2000; August 2003; September 2005; November 2005; Mai 2008; June and Desember 2011). Since 1989 the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has had an operational 24 hour flood forecasting system for the entire country. From 2009 NVE is also responsible to assist regions and municipalities in the prevention of disasters posed by landslides and snow avalanches. Besides assisting the municipalities through implementation of digital landslides inventories, susceptibility and hazard mapping, areal planning, preparation of guidelines, realization of mitigation measures and helping during emergencies, NVE is developing a regional scale debris flow warning system that use hydrological models that are already available in the flood warning systems. It is well known that the application of rainfall thresholds is not sufficient to evaluate the hazard for debris flows and shallow slides, and soil moisture conditions play a crucial role in the triggering conditions. The information on simulated soil and groundwater conditions and water supply (rain and snowmelt) based on weather forecast, have proved to be useful variables that indicate the potential occurrence of debris flows and shallow slides. Forecasts of runoff and freezing-thawing are also valuable information. The early warning system is using real-time measurements (Discharge; Groundwater level; Soil water content and soil temperature; Snow water equivalent; Meteorological data) and model simulations (a spatially distributed version of the HBV-model and an adapted version of 1-D soil water and energy balance model COUP). The data are presented in a web- and GIS-based system with daily nationwide maps showing the meteorological and hydrological conditions for the present and the near future from quantitative weather prognosis. In addition a division of the country in homogenous debris flow-prone regions is also under progress based on geomorfological, topographic parameters and loose quaternary deposits distribution. Threshold-levels are being investigated by using statistical analyses of historical debris flows events and measured hydro-meteorological parameters. The debris flow early warning system is currently being tested and is expected to be operational in 2013. Final products will be warning messages and a map showing the different hazard levels, from low to high, indicating the landslide probability and the type of expected damages in a certain area. Many activities are realized in strong collaboration with the road and railway authorities, the geological survey and private consultant companies.

Global Drought Services: Collaborations Toward an Information System for Early Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayes, M. J.; Pulwarty, R. S.; Svoboda, M.

2014-12-01

Drought is a hazard that lends itself well to diligent, sustained monitoring and early warning. However, unlike most hazards, the fact that droughts typically evolve slowly, can last for months or years and cover vast areas spanning multiple political boundaries/jurisdictions and economic sectors can make it a daunting task to monitor, develop plans for, and identify appropriate, proactive mitigation strategies. The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) have been working together to reduce societal vulnerability to drought by helping decision makers at all levels to: 1) implement drought early warning/forecasting and decision support systems; 2) support and advocate for better collection of, and understanding of drought impacts; and 3) increase long-term resilience to drought through proactive planning. The NDMC and NIDIS risk management approach has been the basis from which many partners around the world are developing a collaboration and coordination nexus with an ultimate goal of building comprehensive global drought early warning information systems (GDEWIS). The core emphasis of this model is on developing and applying useful and usable information that can be integrated and transferred freely to other regions around the globe. The High-Level Ministerial Declaration on Drought, the Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) co-led by the WMO and the Global Water Partnership (GWP), and the Global Framework for Climate Services are drawing extensively from the integrated NDMC-NIDIS risk management framework. This presentation will describe, in detail, the various drought resources, tools, services, and collaborations already being provided and undertaken at the national and regional scales by the NDMC, NIDIS, and their partners. The presentation will be forward-looking, identifying improvements in existing and proposed mechanisms to help strengthen national and international drought early warning information systems to support preparedness and adaptation decisions in a changing climate.

33 CFR 127.1113 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Warning signs. 127.1113 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Design and Construction § 127.1113 Warning signs. (a) The marine transfer area for LHG must have warning signs that— (1) Meet paragraph (b) of this section...

33 CFR 127.1113 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Warning signs. 127.1113 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Design and Construction § 127.1113 Warning signs. (a) The marine transfer area for LHG must have warning signs that— (1) Meet paragraph (b) of this section...

30 CFR 56.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 56... Loading and Dumping Sites § 56.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

30 CFR 57.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 57... Loading and Dumping Sites § 57.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

30 CFR 56.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 56... Loading and Dumping Sites § 56.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

30 CFR 57.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 57... Loading and Dumping Sites § 57.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

33 CFR 127.1113 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Warning signs. 127.1113 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Design and Construction § 127.1113 Warning signs. (a) The marine transfer area for LHG must have warning signs that— (1) Meet paragraph (b) of this section...

30 CFR 57.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 57... Loading and Dumping Sites § 57.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

30 CFR 57.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 57... Loading and Dumping Sites § 57.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

30 CFR 56.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 56.20011 Section... § 56.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

30 CFR 56.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 56.20011 Section... § 56.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

30 CFR 56.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 56.20011 Section... § 56.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

30 CFR 56.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 56... Loading and Dumping Sites § 56.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

30 CFR 56.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 56... Loading and Dumping Sites § 56.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

30 CFR 56.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 56.20011 Section... § 56.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

30 CFR 57.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 57... Loading and Dumping Sites § 57.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

33 CFR 127.1113 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Warning signs. 127.1113 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Design and Construction § 127.1113 Warning signs. (a) The marine transfer area for LHG must have warning signs that— (1) Meet paragraph (b) of this section...

30 CFR 56.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 56.20011 Section... § 56.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

33 CFR 127.1113 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Warning signs. 127.1113 Section... Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Hazardous Gas Design and Construction § 127.1113 Warning signs. (a) The marine transfer area for LHG must have warning signs that— (1) Meet paragraph (b) of this section...

30 CFR 56.9306 - Warning devices for restricted clearances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Warning devices for restricted clearances. 56... Loading and Dumping Sites § 56.9306 Warning devices for restricted clearances. Where restricted clearance creates a hazard to persons on mobile equipment, warning devices shall be installed in advance of the...

Analysis of Position Error Headway Protection

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-07-01

An analysis is developed to determine safe headway on PRT systems that use point-follower control. Periodic measurements of the position error relative to a nominal trajectory provide warning against the hazards of overspeed and unexpected stop. A co...

User interface prototype for geospatial early warning systems - a tsunami showcase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, M.; Lendholt, M.; Esbrí, M. Á.

2012-03-01

The command and control unit's graphical user interface (GUI) is a central part of early warning systems (EWS) for man-made and natural hazards. The GUI combines and concentrates the relevant information of the system and offers it to human operators. It has to support operators successfully performing their tasks in complex workflows. Most notably in critical situations when operators make important decisions in a limited amount of time, the command and control unit's GUI has to work reliably and stably, providing the relevant information and functionality with the required quality and in time. The design of the GUI application is essential in the development of any EWS to manage hazards effectively. The design and development of such GUI is performed repeatedly for each EWS by various software architects and developers. Implementations differ based on their application in different domains. But similarities designing and equal approaches implementing GUIs of EWS are not quite harmonized enough with related activities and do not exploit possible synergy effects. Thus, the GUI's implementation of an EWS for tsunamis is successively introduced, providing a generic approach to be applied in each EWS for man-made and natural hazards.

Early warnings of hazardous thunderstorms over Lake Victoria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiery, Wim; Gudmundsson, Lukas; Bedka, Kristopher; Semazzi, Fredrick H. M.; Lhermitte, Stef; Willems, Patrick; van Lipzig, Nicole P. M.; Seneviratne, Sonia I.

2017-07-01

Weather extremes have harmful impacts on communities around Lake Victoria in East Africa. Every year, intense nighttime thunderstorms cause numerous boating accidents on the lake, resulting in thousands of deaths among fishermen. Operational storm warning systems are therefore crucial. Here we complement ongoing early warning efforts based on numerical weather prediction, by presenting a new satellite data-driven storm prediction system, the prototype Lake Victoria Intense storm Early Warning System (VIEWS). VIEWS derives predictability from the correlation between afternoon land storm activity and nighttime storm intensity on Lake Victoria, and relies on logistic regression techniques to forecast extreme thunderstorms from satellite observations. Evaluation of the statistical model reveals that predictive power is high and independent of the type of input dataset. We then optimise the configuration and show that false alarms also contain valuable information. Our results suggest that regression-based models that are motivated through process understanding have the potential to reduce the vulnerability of local fishing communities around Lake Victoria. The experimental prediction system is publicly available under the MIT licence at http://github.com/wthiery/VIEWS.

Reducing online identity disclosure using warnings.

PubMed

Carpenter, Sandra; Zhu, Feng; Kolimi, Swapna

2014-09-01

In an experimental design, we tested whether written warnings can reduce the amount of identity information exposure online. A psychological attack on information privacy that has been shown to be effective in previous research was launched. This attack took advantage of the fact that people respond to certain types of requests in a relatively automatic, or mindless, fashion. The experiment manipulated the word that was used in the alert header: "warning", "caution", or "hazard". All warnings proved to be effective in reducing disclosure, but "hazard" proved to be most effective. Also warnings were more effective in reducing disclosure of driver's license numbers than email addresses. The discussion (a) provides tentative conclusions why these patterns were obtained, (b) suggests how to design warnings in cyber-environments, and (c) addresses future possibilities for research on this topic. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

On the importance of risk knowledge for an end-to-end tsunami early warning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Post, Joachim; Strunz, Günter; Riedlinger, Torsten; Mück, Matthias; Wegscheider, Stephanie; Zosseder, Kai; Steinmetz, Tilmann; Gebert, Niklas; Anwar, Herryal

2010-05-01

Warning systems commonly use information provided by networks of sensors able to monitor and detect impending disasters, aggregate and condense these information to provide reliable information to a decision maker whether to warn or not, disseminates the warning message and provide this information to people at risk. Ultimate aim is to enable those in danger to make decisions (e.g. initiate protective actions for buildings) and to take action to safe their lives. This involves very complex issues when considering all four elements of early warning systems (UNISDR-PPEW), namely (1) risk knowledge, (2) monitoring and warning service, (3) dissemination and communication, (4) response capability with the ultimate aim to gain as much time as possible to empower individuals and communities to act in an appropriate manner to reduce injury, loss of life, damage to property and the environment and loss of livelihoods. Commonly most warning systems feature strengths and main attention on the technical/structural dimension (monitoring & warning service, dissemination tools) with weaknesses and less attention on social/cultural dimension (e.g. human response capabilities, defined warning chain to and knowing what to do by the people). Also, the use of risk knowledge in early warning most often is treated in a theoretical manner (knowing that it is somehow important), yet less in an operational, practical sense. Risk assessments and risk maps help to motivate people, prioritise early warning system needs and guide preparations for response and disaster prevention activities. Beyond this risk knowledge can be seen as a tie between national level early warning and community level reaction schemes. This presentation focuses on results, key findings and lessons-learnt related to tsunami risk assessment in the context of early warning within the GITEWS (German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning) project. Here a novel methodology reflecting risk information needs in the early warning context has been worked out. The generated results contribute significantly in the fields of (1) warning decision and warning levels, (2) warning dissemination and warning message content, (3) early warning chain planning, (4) increasing response capabilities and protective systems, (5) emergency relief and (6) enhancing communities' awareness and preparedness towards tsunami threats. Additionally examples will be given on the potentials of an operational use of risk information in early warning systems as first experiences exist for the tsunami early warning center in Jakarta, Indonesia. Beside this the importance of linking national level early warning information with tsunami risk information available at the local level (e.g. linking warning message information on expected intensity with respective tsunami hazard zone maps at community level for effective evacuation) will be demonstrated through experiences gained in three pilot areas in Indonesia. The presentation seeks to provide new insights on benefits using risk information in early warning and will provide further evidence that practical use of risk information is an important and indispensable component of end-to-end early warning.

Apollo experience report: Protection against radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

English, R. A.; Benson, R. E.; Bailey, J. V.; Barnes, C. M.

1973-01-01

Radiation protection problems on earth and in space are discussed. Flight through the Van Allen belts and into space beyond the geomagnetic shielding was recognized as hazardous before the advent of manned space flight. Specialized dosimetry systems were developed for use on the Apollo spacecraft, and systems for solar-particle-event warning and dose projection were devised. Radiation sources of manmade origin on board the Apollo spacecraft present additional problems. Methods applied to evaluate and control or avoid the various Apollo radiation hazards are discussed.

30 CFR 57.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 57.20011 Section... Miscellaneous § 57.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

30 CFR 57.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 57.20011 Section... Miscellaneous § 57.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

30 CFR 57.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 57.20011 Section... Miscellaneous § 57.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

30 CFR 57.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 57.20011 Section... Miscellaneous § 57.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

30 CFR 57.20011 - Barricades and warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Barricades and warning signs. 57.20011 Section... Miscellaneous § 57.20011 Barricades and warning signs. Areas where health or safety hazards exist that are not immediately obvious to employees shall be barricaded, or warning signs shall be posted at all approaches...

Educating and Preparing for Tsunamis in the Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.; Aliaga, B.; Edwards, S.

2013-12-01

The Caribbean and Adjacent Regions has a long history of tsunamis and earthquakes. Over the past 500 years, more than 75 tsunamis have been documented in the region by the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. Just since 1842, 3446 lives have been lost to tsunamis; this is more than in the Northeastern Pacific for the same time period. With a population of almost 160 million, over 40 million visitors a year and a heavy concentration of residents, tourists, businesses and critical infrastructure along its shores (especially in the northern and eastern Caribbean), the risk to lives and livelihoods is greater than ever before. The only way to survive a tsunami is to get out of harm's way before the waves strike. In the Caribbean given the relatively short distances from faults, potential submarine landslides and volcanoes to some of the coastlines, the tsunamis are likely to be short fused, so it is imperative that tsunami warnings be issued extremely quickly and people be educated on how to recognize and respond. Nevertheless, given that tsunamis occur infrequently as compared with hurricanes, it is a challenge for them to receive the priority they require in order to save lives when the next one strikes the region. Close cooperation among countries and territories is required for warning, but also for education and public awareness. Geographical vicinity and spoken languages need to be factored in when developing tsunami preparedness in the Caribbean, to make sure citizens receive a clear, reliable and sound science based message about the hazard and the risk. In 2006, in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami and after advocating without success for a Caribbean Tsunami Warning System since the mid 90's, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO established the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS). Its purpose is to advance an end to end tsunami warning system that serves regionally and delivers locally, saving lives and livelihoods, not only from tsunamis, but all coastal hazards. Through this and other platforms, physical and social scientists, emergency managers and elected officials have been working together via different mechanisms. Community based recognition programs, like the TsunamiReadyTM Program, regional tsunami exercises, sub-regional public education activities such as the Tsunami Smart campaigns, internet technologies, social media, meetings and conferences, identification of local and national champions, capitalization of news breaking tsunamis and earthquakes, economic resources for equipment and training have all been key to developing a tsunami safer Caribbean. Given these efforts, according to a 2013 survey, 93% of the countries covered by CARIBE EWS have tsunami response protocols in place, although much more work is required. In 2010 the US National Weather Service established the Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program as the first step towards a Caribbean Tsunami Warning Center in the region. In 2013 the Caribbean Tsunami Information Center was established in Barbados. Both these institutions which serve the region play a key role for promoting both the warning and educational components of the warning system.

Science and Systems in Support of Multi-hazard Early Warnings and Decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulwarty, R. S.

2015-12-01

The demand for improved climate knowledge and information is well documented. As noted in the IPCC (SREX, AR5), the UNISDR Global Assessment Reports and other assessments, this demand has increased pressure for information to support planning under changing rates and emergence of multiple hazards including climate extremes (drought, heat waves, floods). "Decision support" is now a popular term in the climate applications research community. While existing decision support activities can be identified in many disparate settings (e.g. federal, academic, private), the challenge of changing environments (coupled physical and social) is actually one of crafting implementation strategies for improving decision quality (not just meeting "user needs"). This includes overcoming weaknesses in co-production models, moving beyond DSSs as simply "software", coordinating innovation mapping and diffusion, and providing fora and gaming tools to identify common interests and differences in the way risks are perceived and managed among the affected groups. We outline the development and evolution of multi-hazard early warning systems in the United States and elsewhere, focusing on climate-related hazards. In particular, the presentation will focus on the climate science and information needed for (1) improved monitoring and modeling, (2) generating risk profiles, (3) developing information systems and scenarios for critical thresholds, (4) the net benefits of using new information (5) characterizing and bridging the "last mile" in the context of longer-term risk management.

Methodology for prediction of rip currents using a three-dimensional numerical, coupled, wave current model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Voulgaris, George; Kumar, Nirnimesh; Warner, John C.; Leatherman, Stephen; Fletemeyer, John

2011-01-01

Rip current currents constitute one of the most common hazards in the nearshore that threaten the lives of the unaware public that makes recreational use of the coastal zone. Society responds to this danger through a number of measures that include: (a) the deployment of trained lifeguards; (b) public education related to the hidden hazards of the nearshore; and (c) establishment of warning systems.

A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Tsunami Disaster Prevention in Java, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horns, D. M.; Hall, S.; Harris, R. A.

2016-12-01

The island of Java in Indonesia is the most densely populated island on earth, and is situated within one of the most tectonically active regions on the planet. Deadly tsunamis struck Java in 1994 and 2006. We conducted an assessment of tsunami hazards on the south coast of Java using a team of geologists, public health professionals, and disaster education specialists. The social science component included tsunami awareness surveys, education in communities and schools, evacuation drills, and evaluation. We found that the evacuation routes were generally appropriate for the local hazard, and that most people were aware of the routes and knew how to use them. However, functional tsunami warning systems were lacking in most areas and knowledge of natural warning signs was incomplete. We found that while knowledge of when to evacuate improved after our educational lesson, some incorrect beliefs persisted (e.g. misconceptions about types of earthquakes able to generate tsunamis and how far inland tsunamis can reach). There was a general over-reliance on government to alert when evacuation is needed as well as reluctance on the part of local leaders to take initiative to sound tsunami alerts. Many people on earth who are at risk of tsunamis live in areas where the government lacks resources to maintain a functional tsunami warning system. The best hope for protecting those people is direct education working within the local cultural belief system. Further collaboration is needed with government agencies to design consistent and repeated messages challenging misperceptions about when to evacuate and to encourage individuals to take personal responsibility based on natural warning signs.

What you don't know can hurt you: household products and events.

PubMed

Leonard, S D; Wogalter, M S

2000-05-01

Product safety is affected by product design and by the knowledge of the user, either through the user's own background or through instructions and warnings presented with the product. Given adequate knowledge, warnings can serve primarily to remind individuals of the hazards and precautions that can be taken. This study examined people in the USA (represented by two diverse samples) to evaluate their knowledge about the hazards associated with common household products and situations using both multiple choice and open-ended surveys. The results indicated that the respondents were aware of a substantial number of hazards, but their knowledge often did not extend to the specific circumstances that could produce personal injury and property damage. Further, comparisons of cued and non-cued responses suggested some hazards are not well recognized without the cue. The results indicate warnings are needed both as reminders and to provide safety information.

A probabilistic approach of the Flash Flood Early Warning System (FF-EWS) in Catalonia based on radar ensemble generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velasco, David; Sempere-Torres, Daniel; Corral, Carles; Llort, Xavier; Velasco, Enrique

2010-05-01

Early Warning Systems (EWS) are commonly identified as the most efficient tools in order to improve the preparedness and risk management against heavy rains and Flash Floods (FF) with the objective of reducing economical losses and human casualties. In particular, flash floods affecting torrential Mediterranean catchments are a key element to be incorporated within operational EWSs. The characteristic high spatial and temporal variability of the storms requires high-resolution data and methods to monitor/forecast the evolution of rainfall and its hydrological impact in small and medium torrential basins. A first version of an operational FF-EWS has been implemented in Catalonia (NE Spain) under the name of EHIMI system (Integrated Tool for Hydrometeorological Forecasting) with the support of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) and the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (SMC). Flash flood warnings are issued based on radar-rainfall estimates. Rainfall estimation is performed on radar observations with high spatial and temporal resolution (1km2 and 10 minutes) in order to adapt the warning scale to the 1-km grid of the EWS. The method is based on comparing observed accumulated rainfall against rainfall thresholds provided by the regional Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves. The so-called "aggregated rainfall warning" at every river cell is obtained as the spatially averaged rainfall over its associated upstream draining area. Regarding the time aggregation of rainfall, the critical duration is thought to be an accumulation period similar to the concentration time of each cachtment. The warning is issued once the forecasted rainfall accumulation exceeds the rainfall thresholds mentioned above, which are associated to certain probability of occurrence. Finally, the hazard warning is provided and shown to the decision-maker in terms of exceeded return periods at every river cell covering the whole area of Catalonia. The objective of the present work includes the probabilistic component to the FF-EWS. As a first step, we have incorporated the uncertainty in rainfall estimates and forecasts based on an ensemble of equiprobable rainfall scenarios. The presented study has focused on a number of rainfall events and the performance of the FF-EWS evaluated in terms of its ability to produce probabilistic hazard warnings for decision-making support.

Collision warning and avoidance considerations for the Space Shuttle and Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vilas, Faith; Collins, Michael F.; Kramer, Paul C.; Arndt, G. Dickey; Suddath, Jerry H.

1990-01-01

The increasing hazard of manmade debris in low earth orbit (LEO) has focused attention on the requirement for collision detection, warning and avoidance systems to be developed in order to protect manned (and unmanned) spacecraft. With the number of debris objects expected to be increasing with time, the impact hazard will also be increasing. The safety of the Space Shuttle and the Space Station Freedom from destructive or catastrophic collision resulting from the hypervelocity impact of a LEO object is of increasing concern to NASA. A number of approaches to this problem are in effect or under development. The collision avoidance procedures now in effect for the Shuttle are described, and detection and avoidance procedures presently being developed at the Johnson Space Center for the Space Station Freedom are discussed.

Documentation for the Southeast Asia seismic hazard maps

USGS Publications Warehouse

Petersen, Mark; Harmsen, Stephen; Mueller, Charles; Haller, Kathleen; Dewey, James; Luco, Nicolas; Crone, Anthony; Lidke, David; Rukstales, Kenneth

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Southeast Asia Seismic Hazard Project originated in response to the 26 December 2004 Sumatra earthquake (M9.2) and the resulting tsunami that caused significant casualties and economic losses in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. During the course of this project, several great earthquakes ruptured subduction zones along the southern coast of Indonesia (fig. 1) causing additional structural damage and casualties in nearby communities. Future structural damage and societal losses from large earthquakes can be mitigated by providing an advance warning of tsunamis and introducing seismic hazard provisions in building codes that allow buildings and structures to withstand strong ground shaking associated with anticipated earthquakes. The Southeast Asia Seismic Hazard Project was funded through a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System to develop seismic hazard maps that would assist engineers in designing buildings that will resist earthquake strong ground shaking. An important objective of this project was to discuss regional hazard issues with building code officials, scientists, and engineers in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The code communities have been receptive to these discussions and are considering updating the Thailand and Indonesia building codes to incorporate new information (for example, see notes from Professor Panitan Lukkunaprasit, Chulalongkorn University in Appendix A).

Technology in rural transportation. Simple solution #1, traveler warnings for spot hazardous conditions

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

This application was identified as a promising rural Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) solution under a project sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the ENTERPRISE program. This summary describes the solution as well as o...

Developing effective warning systems: Ongoing research at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leonard, Graham S.; Johnston, David M.; Paton, Douglas; Christianson, Amy; Becker, Julia; Keys, Harry

2008-05-01

PurposeThis paper examines the unique challenges to volcanic risk management associated with having a ski area on an active volcano. Using a series of simulated eruption/lahar events at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand, as a context, a model of risk management that integrates warning system design and technology, risk perceptions and the human response is explored. Principal resultsDespite increases in the observed audibility and comprehension of the warning message, recall of public education content, and people's awareness of volcanic risk, a persistent minority of the public continued to demonstrate only moderate awareness of the correct actions to take during a warning and failed to respond effectively. A relationship between level of staff competence and correct public response allowed the level of public response to be used to identify residual risk and additional staff training needs. The quality of staff awareness, action and decision-making has emerged as a critical factor, from detailed staff and public interviews and from exercise observations. Staff actions are especially important for mobilising correct public response at Ruapehu ski areas due to the transient nature of the visitor population. Introduction of education material and staff training strategies that included the development of emergency decision-making competencies improved knowledge of correct actions, and increased the proportion of people moving out of harm's way during blind tests. Major conclusionsWarning effectiveness is a function of more than good hazard knowledge and the generation and notification of an early warning message. For warning systems to be effective, these factors must be complemented by accurate knowledge of risk and risk management actions. By combining the Ruapehu findings with those of other warning system studies in New Zealand, and internationally, a practical five-step model for effective early warning systems is discussed. These steps must be based upon sound and regularly updated underpinning science and be tied to formal effectiveness evaluation, which is fed back into system improvements. The model presented emphasises human considerations, the development of which arguably require even more effort than the hardware components of early warning systems.

Rapid wave and storm surge warning system for tropical cyclones in Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Appendini, C. M.; Rosengaus, M.; Meza, R.; Camacho, V.

2015-12-01

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, is responsible for the forecast of tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific basins. As such, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean countries depend on the information issued by the NHC related to the characteristics of a particular tropical cyclone and associated watch and warning areas. Despite waves and storm surge are important hazards for marine operations and coastal dwellings, their forecast is not part of the NHC responsibilities. This work presents a rapid wave and storm surge warning system based on 3100 synthetic tropical cyclones doing landfall in Mexico. Hydrodynamic and wave models were driven by the synthetic events to create a robust database composed of maximum envelops of wind speed, significant wave height and storm surge for each event. The results were incorporated into a forecast system that uses the NHC advisory to locate the synthetic events passing inside specified radiuses for the present and forecast position of the real event. Using limited computer resources, the system displays the information meeting the search criteria, and the forecaster can select specific events to generate the desired hazard map (i.e. wind, waves, and storm surge) based on the maximum envelop maps. This system was developed in a limited time frame to be operational in 2015 by the National Hurricane and Severe Storms Unit of the Mexican National Weather Service, and represents a pilot project for other countries in the region not covered by detailed storm surge and waves forecasts.

Flood warnings, flood disaster assessments, and flood hazard reduction: the roles of orbital remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brakenridge, G. R.; Anderson, E.; Nghiem, S. V.; Caquard, S.; Shabaneh, T. B.

2003-01-01

Orbital remote sensing of the Earth is now poised to make three fundamental contributions towards reducing the detrimental effects of extreme floods. Effective Flood warning requires frequent radar observation of the Earth's surface through cloud cover. In contrast, both optical and radar wavelengths will increasingly be used for disaster assessment and hazard reduction.

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Risk in Nepal and Their Mitigation Practices in Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurung, S.

2017-12-01

Glacial lakes in Nepal face a huge risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) due to the ongoing effects of climate change leading to considerable amount of snow and glacier melt thus weakening the natural barriers holding these high altitude glacial lakes. Nepal is at an ever growing risk every year and always waiting for an inevitable natural disaster. Since GLOF can cause extreme huge loss of human lives and physical properties, it has now become very important to design a proper mechanism which helps in reducing hazards from such events. There is little we can do to stop natural disasters, but we can implement pro-active control measures to minimize the loss. Early Warning System is the provision of timely and effective information, which allows individuals exposed to hazards to take action, avoid or reduce risk to life and property and prepare for effective response. The basic idea behind Early Warning System is that, the earlier and more accurately we are able to predict potential risks associated with natural hazards especially flood, the more likely we will be able to manage and mitigate the disasters' impact on society, economies and environment. We are currently focused on the development of early warning system for Imja Glacial Lake. The objective of developing early warning system for Imja GLOF is to help reduce economic losses and mitigate the number of injuries or deaths by providing information that allows individuals and communities downstream of Imja Lake to protect their lives and properties by using the latest and most advanced technology available. We have installed one Automatic Weather Station near the left lateral moraine of Imja Lake to study the effects of different meteorological parameters so as to predict occurrence of any GLOF event. The sensor includes pluviometer, pyranometer, temperature and humidity sensor, wind sensor, Snowdepth sensor. Two radar level sensors are installed at the outlet of Imja Lake and downstream of Imja river for water level measurement. Also, ten movements and volumetric water content sensors are installed to detect occurrence of any GLOF event.

Coastal Warning Display Program

Science.gov Websites

! Boating Safety Beach Hazards Rip Currents Hypothermia Hurricanes Thunderstorms Lightning Coastal Flooding Tsunamis 406 EPIRB's National Weather Service Marine Forecasts COASTAL WARNING DISPLAY PROGRAM Marine COASTAL WARNING DISPLAY PROGRAM As of February 15, 1989, the National Weather Service retired its Coastal

The 1991 International Aerospace and Ground Conference on Lightning and Static Electricity, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The proceedings of the 1991 International Aerospace and Ground Conference on Lightning and Static Electricity are reported. Some of the topics covered include: lightning, lightning suppression, aerospace vehicles, aircraft safety, flight safety, aviation meteorology, thunderstorms, atmospheric electricity, warning systems, weather forecasting, electromagnetic coupling, electrical measurement, electrostatics, aircraft hazards, flight hazards, meteorological parameters, cloud (meteorology), ground effect, electric currents, lightning equipment, electric fields, measuring instruments, electrical grounding, and aircraft instruments.

In Brief: U.S. Volcano Early Warning System; Bill provides clear mandate for NOAA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2005-05-01

The U.S. Geological Survey on 29 April released a comprehensive review of the 169 U.S. volcanoes, and established a framework for a National Volcano Early Warning System that is being formulated by the Consortium of U.S. Volcano Observatories. The framework proposes an around-the-clock Volcano Watch Office and improved instrumentation and monitoring at targeted volcanoes. The report, authored by USGS scientists John Ewert, Marianne Guffanti, and Thomas Murray, notes that although a few U.S. volcanoes are well-monitored, half of the most threatening volcanoes are monitored at a basic level and some hazardous volcanoes have no ground-based monitoring.

Evaluation of a sudden brake warning system: effect on the response time of the following driver.

PubMed

Isler, Robert B; Starkey, Nicola J

2010-07-01

This study used a video-based braking simulation dual task to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the effect of a sudden brake warning system (SBWS) in a leading passenger vehicle on the response time of the following driver. The primary task required the participants (N=25, 16 females, full NZ license holders) to respond to sudden braking manoeuvres of a lead vehicle during day and night driving, wet and dry conditions and in rural and urban traffic, while concurrently performing a secondary tracking task using a computer mouse. The SBWS in the lead vehicle consisted of g-force controlled activation of the rear hazard lights (the rear indicators flashed), in addition to the standard brake lights. Overall, the results revealed that responses to the braking manoeuvres of the leading vehicles when the hazard lights were activated by the warning system were 0.34 s (19%) faster compared to the standard brake lights. The SBWS was particularly effective when the simulated braking scenario of the leading vehicle did not require an immediate and abrupt braking response. Given this, the SBWS may also be beneficial for allowing smoother deceleration, thus reducing fuel consumption. These preliminary findings justify a larger, more ecologically valid laboratory evaluation which may lead to a naturalistic study in order to test this new technology in 'real world' braking situations. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Landslide monitoring and early warning systems in Lower Austria - current situation and new developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiebes, Benni; Glade, Thomas; Schweigl, Joachim; Jäger, Stefan; Canli, Ekrem

2014-05-01

Landslides represent significant hazards in the mountainous areas of Austria. The Regional Geological Surveys are responsible to inform and protect the population, and to mitigate damage to infrastructure. Efforts of the Regional Geological Survey of Lower Austria include detailed site investigations, the planning and installation of protective structures (e.g. rock fall nets) as well as preventive measures such as regional scale landslide susceptibility assessments. For potentially endangered areas, where protection works are not feasible or would simply be too costly, monitoring systems have been installed. However, these systems are dominantly not automatic and require regular field visits to take measurements. Therefore, it is difficult to establish any relation between initiating and controlling factors, thus to fully understand the underlying process mechanism which is essential for any early warning system. Consequently, the implementation of new state-of-the-art monitoring and early warning systems has been started. In this presentation, the design of four landslide monitoring and early warning systems is introduced. The investigated landslide process types include a deep-seated landslide, a rock fall site, a complex earth flow, and a debris flow catchment. The monitoring equipment was chosen depending on the landslide processes and their activity. It aims to allow for a detailed investigation of process mechanisms in relation to its triggers and for reliable prediction of future landslide activities. The deep-seated landslide will be investigated by manual and automatic inclinometers to get detailed insights into subsurface displacements. In addition, TDR sensors and a weather station will be employed to get a better understanding on the influence of rainfall on sub-surface hydrology. For the rockfall site, a wireless sensor network will be installed to get real-time information on acceleration and inclination of potentially unstable blocks. The movement of the earth flow site will be monitored by differential GPS to get high precision information on displacements of marked points. Photogrammtetry based on octocopter surveys will provide spatial information on movement patterns. A similar approach will be followed for the debris flow catchment. Here, the focus lies on a monitoring of the landslide failures in the source area which prepares the material for subsequent debris flow transport. In addition to the methods already mentioned, repeated terrestrial laserscanning campaigns will be used to monitor geomorphological changes at all sites. All important data, which can be single measurements, episodic or continuous monitoring data for a given point (e.g. rainfall, inclination) or of spatial character (e.g. LiDAR measurements), are collected and analysed on an external server. Automatic data analysis methods, such as progressive failure analysis, are carried out automatically based on field measurements. The data and results from all monitoring sites are visualised on a web-based platform which enables registered users to analyse the respective information in near-real-time. Moreover, thresholds can be determined which trigger automated warning messages to the involved scientists if thresholds are exceeded by field measurements. The described system will enable scientists and decision-makers to access the latest data from the monitoring systems. Automatic alarms are raised when thresholds are exceeded to inform them about potentially hazardous changes. Thereby, a more efficient hazard management and early warning can be achieved. Keywords: landslide, rockfall, debris flow, earth flow, monitoring, early warning system.

Design Principles for resilient cyber-physical Early Warning Systems - Challenges, Experiences, Design Patterns, and Best Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gensch, S.; Wächter, J.; Schnor, B.

2014-12-01

Early warning systems (EWS) are safety-critical IT-infrastructures that serve the purpose of potentially saving lives or assets by observing real-world phenomena and issuing timely warning products to authorities and communities. An EWS consists of sensors, communication networks, data centers, simulation platforms, and dissemination channels. The components of this cyber-physical system may all be affected by both natural hazards and malfunctions of components alike. Resilience engineering so far has mostly been applied to safety-critical systems and processes in transportation (aviation, automobile), construction and medicine. Early warning systems need equivalent techniques to compensate for failures, and furthermore means to adapt to changing threats, emerging technology and research findings. We present threats and pitfalls from our experiences with the German and Indonesian tsunami early warning system, as well as architectural, technological and organizational concepts employed that can enhance an EWS' resilience. The current EWS is comprised of a multi-type sensor data upstream part, different processing and analysis engines, a decision support system, and various warning dissemination channels. Each subsystem requires a set of approaches towards ensuring stable functionality across system layer boundaries, including also institutional borders. Not only must services be available, but also produce correct results. Most sensors are distributed components with restricted resources, communication channels and power supply. An example for successful resilience engineering is the power capacity based functional management for buoy and tide gauge stations. We discuss various fault-models like cause and effect models on linear pathways, interaction of multiple events, complex and non-linear interaction of assumedly reliable subsystems and fault tolerance means implemented to tackle these threats.

Potential coping capacities to avoid tsunamis in Mentawai

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panjaitan, Berton; Gomez, Christopher; Pawson, Eric

2017-07-01

In 2010 a tsunamigenic earthquake triggered tsunami waves reaching the Mentawai archipelago in less than ten minutes. Similar events can occur any time as seismic scholars predict enormous energy remains trapped on the Sunda Megathrust - approximately 30 km offshore from the archipelago. Therefore, the local community of Mentawai is vulnerable to tsunami hazards. In the absence of modern technology to monitor the sea surface interventions, existing strategies need to be improved. This study was based on a qualitative research and literature review about developing coping capacity on tsunami hazards for Mentawai. A community early-warning system is the main strategy to develop the coping capacity at the community level. This consists of risk knowledge, monitoring, warning dissemination, and capability response. These are interlocked and are an end-to-end effort. From the study, the availability of risk assessments and risk mappings were mostly not found at dusun, whereas they are effective to increase tsunami risk knowledge. Also, the monitoring of tsunami waves can be maximized by strengthening and expanding the community systems for the people to avoid the waves. Moreover, the traditional tools are potential to deliver warnings. Lastly, although the local government has provided a few public facilities to increase the response capability, the people often ignore them. Therefore, their traditional values should be revitalized.

Geological hazard monitoring system in Georgia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaprindashvili, George

2017-04-01

Georgia belongs to one of world's most complex mountainous regions according to the scale and frequency of Geological processes and damage caused to population, farmlands, and Infrastructure facilities. Geological hazards (landslide, debrisflow/mudflow, rockfall, erosion and etc.) are affecting many populated areas, agricultural fields, roads, oil and gas pipes, high-voltage electric power transmission towers, hydraulic structures, and tourist complexes. Landslides occur almost in all geomorphological zones, resulting in wide differentiation in the failure types and mechanisms and in the size-frequency distribution. In Georgia, geological hazards triggered by: 1. Activation of highly intense earthquakes; 2. Meteorological events provoking the disaster processes on the background of global climatic change; 3. Large-scale Human impact on the environment. The prediction and monitoring of Geological Hazards is a very wide theme, which involves different researchers from different spheres. Geological hazard monitoring is essential to prevent and mitigate these hazards. In past years in Georgia several monitoring system, such as Ground-based geodetic techniques, Debrisflow Early Warning System (EWS) were installed on high sensitive landslide and debrisflow areas. This work presents description of Geological hazard monitoring system in Georgia.

Reducing risk from lahar hazards: concepts, case studies, and roles for scientists

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pierson, Thomas C.; Wood, Nathan J.; Driedger, Carolyn L.

2014-01-01

Lahars are rapid flows of mud-rock slurries that can occur without warning and catastrophically impact areas more than 100 km downstream of source volcanoes. Strategies to mitigate the potential for damage or loss from lahars fall into four basic categories: (1) avoidance of lahar hazards through land-use planning; (2) modification of lahar hazards through engineered protection structures; (3) lahar warning systems to enable evacuations; and (4) effective response to and recovery from lahars when they do occur. Successful application of any of these strategies requires an accurate understanding and assessment of the hazard, an understanding of the applicability and limitations of the strategy, and thorough planning. The human and institutional components leading to successful application can be even more important: engagement of all stakeholders in hazard education and risk-reduction planning; good communication of hazard and risk information among scientists, emergency managers, elected officials, and the at-risk public during crisis and non-crisis periods; sustained response training; and adequate funding for risk-reduction efforts. This paper reviews a number of methods for lahar-hazard risk reduction, examines the limitations and tradeoffs, and provides real-world examples of their application in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in other volcanic regions of the world. An overriding theme is that lahar-hazard risk reduction cannot be effectively accomplished without the active, impartial involvement of volcano scientists, who are willing to assume educational, interpretive, and advisory roles to work in partnership with elected officials, emergency managers, and vulnerable communities.

Performance evaluation of the national early warning system for shallow landslides in Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahl, Mads-Peter; Piciullo, Luca; Devoli, Graziella; Colleuille, Hervé; Calvello, Michele

2017-04-01

As a consequence of the increased number of rainfall-and snowmelt-induced landslides (debris flows, debris slides, debris avalanches and slush flows) occurring in Norway, a national landslide early warning system (EWS) has been developed for monitoring and forecasting the hydro-meteorological conditions potentially necessary of triggering slope failures. The system, operational since 2013, is managed by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) and has been designed in cooperation with the Norwegian Public Road Administration (SVV), the Norwegian National Rail Administration (JBV) and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET). Decision-making in the EWS is based upon hazard threshold levels, hydro-meteorological and real-time landslide observations as well as landslide inventory and susceptibility maps. Hazard threshold levels have been obtained through statistical analyses of historical landslides and modelled hydro-meteorological parameters. Daily hydro-meteorological conditions such as rainfall, snowmelt, runoff, soil saturation, groundwater level and frost depth have been derived from a distributed version of the hydrological HBV-model. Two different landslide susceptibility maps are used as supportive data in deciding daily warning levels. Daily alerts are issued throughout the country considering variable warning zones. Warnings are issued once per day for the following 3 days with an update possibility later during the day according to the information gathered by the monitoring variables. The performance of the EWS has been evaluated applying the EDuMaP method. In particular, the performance of warnings issued in Western Norway, in the period 2013-2014 has been evaluated using two different landslide datasets. The best performance is obtained for the smallest and more accurate dataset. Different performance results may be observed as a function of changing the landslide density criterion, Lden(k), (i.e., thresholds considered to differentiate among classes of landslide events) used as an input parameter within the EDuMaP method. To investigate this issue, a parametric analysis has been conducted; the results of the analysis show clear differences among computed performances when absolute or relative landslide density criteria are considered.

29 CFR 1926.555 - Conveyors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors § 1926.555... operator's station. Conveyor systems shall be equipped with an audible warning signal to be sounded... tagged out with a “Do Not Operate” tag during repairs and when operation is hazardous to employees...

29 CFR 1926.555 - Conveyors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors § 1926.555... operator's station. Conveyor systems shall be equipped with an audible warning signal to be sounded... tagged out with a “Do Not Operate” tag during repairs and when operation is hazardous to employees...

29 CFR 1926.555 - Conveyors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors § 1926.555... operator's station. Conveyor systems shall be equipped with an audible warning signal to be sounded... tagged out with a “Do Not Operate” tag during repairs and when operation is hazardous to employees...

29 CFR 1926.555 - Conveyors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION Helicopters, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors § 1926.555... operator's station. Conveyor systems shall be equipped with an audible warning signal to be sounded... tagged out with a “Do Not Operate” tag during repairs and when operation is hazardous to employees...

Certification of windshear performance with RTCA class D radomes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mathews, Bruce D.; Miller, Fran; Rittenhouse, Kirk; Barnett, Lee; Rowe, William

1994-01-01

Superposition testing of detection range performance forms a digital signal for input into a simulation of signal and data processing equipment and algorithms to be employed in a sensor system for advanced warning of hazardous windshear. For suitable pulse-Doppler radar, recording of the digital data at the input to the digital signal processor furnishes a realistic operational scenario and environmentally responsive clutter signal including all sidelobe clutter, ground moving target indications (GMTI), and large signal spurious due to mainbeam clutter and/or RFI respective of the urban airport clutter and aircraft scenarios (approach and landing antenna pointing). For linear radar system processes, a signal at the same point in the process from a hazard phenomena may be calculated from models of the scattering phenomena, for example, as represented in fine 3 dimensional reflectivity and velocity grid structures. Superposition testing furnishes a competing signal environment for detection and warning time performance confirmation of phenomena uncontrollable in a natural environment.

Tsunami disaster risk management capabilities in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marios Karagiannis, Georgios; Synolakis, Costas

2015-04-01

Greece is vulnerable to tsunamis, due to the length of the coastline, its islands and its geographical proximity to the Hellenic Arc, an active subduction zone. Historically, about 10% of all world tsunamis occur in the Mediterranean region. Here we review existing tsunami disaster risk management capabilities in Greece. We analyze capabilities across the disaster management continuum, including prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Specifically, we focus on issues like legal requirements, stakeholders, hazard mitigation practices, emergency operations plans, public awareness and education, community-based approaches and early-warning systems. Our research is based on a review of existing literature and official documentation, on previous projects, as well as on interviews with civil protection officials in Greece. In terms of tsunami disaster prevention and hazard mitigation, the lack of tsunami inundation maps, except for some areas in Crete, makes it quite difficult to get public support for hazard mitigation practices. Urban and spatial planning tools in Greece allow the planner to take into account hazards and establish buffer zones near hazard areas. However, the application of such ordinances at the local and regional levels is often difficult. Eminent domain is not supported by law and there are no regulatory provisions regarding tax abatement as a disaster prevention tool. Building codes require buildings and other structures to withstand lateral dynamic earthquake loads, but there are no provisions for resistance to impact loading from water born debris Public education about tsunamis has increased during the last half-decade but remains sporadic. In terms of disaster preparedness, Greece does have a National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) and is a Member of UNESCO's Tsunami Program for North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas (NEAM) region. Several exercises have been organized in the framework of the NEAM Tsunami Warning System, with the Greek NWTC actively participating as a Candidate Tsunami Watch Provider. In addition, Greece designed and conducted the first tsunami exercise program in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism in 2011, which also considered the attrition of response capabilities by the earthquake generating the tsunami. These exercises have demonstrated the capability of the Greek NWTC to provide early warning to local civil protection authorities, but warning dissemination to the population remains an issue, especially during the summer season. However, there is no earthquake or tsunami national emergency operations plan, and we found that tsunami disaster planning and preparedness activities are rather limited at the local level. We acknowledge partial support by the project ASTARTE (Assessment, STrategy And Risk Reduction for Tsunamis in Europe) FP7-ENV2013 6.4-3, Grant 603839 to the Technical University of Crete.

30 CFR 46.11 - Site-specific hazard awareness training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... environmental conditions, recognition and avoidance of hazards such as electrical and powered-haulage hazards, traffic patterns and control, and restricted areas; and warning and evacuation signals, evacuation and...

An investigation of reports of Controlled Flight Toward Terrain (CFTT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, R. F.; Loomis, J. P.

1981-01-01

Some 258 reports from more than 23,000 documents in the files of the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) were found to be to the hazard of flight into terrain with no prior awareness by the crew of impending disaster. Examination of the reports indicate that human error was a casual factor in 64% of the incidents in which some threat of terrain conflict was experienced. Approximately two-thirds of the human errors were attributed to controllers, the most common discrepancy being a radar vector below the Minimum Vector Altitude (MVA). Errors by pilots were of a much diverse nature and include a few instances of gross deviations from their assigned altitudes. The ground proximity warning system and the minimum safe altitude warning equipment were the initial recovery factor in some 18 serious incidents and were apparently the sole warning in six reported instances which otherwise would most probably have ended in disaster.

Federal Research and Development for Satellite Communications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Assembly of Engineering.

This report of the Committee on Satellite Communications (COSC) reviews a number of future communication needs which could be satisfied by satellite systems, including needs in fields such as education, health care delivery, hazard warning, navigation aids, search and rescue, electronic mail delivery, time and frequency dissemination, and…

Drought monitoring: Historical and current perspectives

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Given the complex dimensions of drought and the challenges they pose for routine drought monitoring, it is essential that we continue to find innovative and robust ways to quantify and more effectively communicate the impacts of this hazard as part of an operational Drought Early Warning System. Th...

75 FR 6343 - Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-09

... Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250-1522. FAX: (202) 720-4120. Title: Weather Radio Transmitter Grant... collection. Abstract: The National Weather Service operates an All Hazards Early Warning System that alerts people in areas covered by its transmissions of approaching dangerous weather and other emergencies. The...

48 CFR 252.223-7001 - Hazard warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause of this contract. (b) The Contractor shall label the item package (unit container) of any hazardous material to be delivered under this contract in... which hazardous material listed in the Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause...

48 CFR 252.223-7001 - Hazard warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause of this contract. (b) The Contractor shall label the item package (unit container) of any hazardous material to be delivered under this contract in... which hazardous material listed in the Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause...

48 CFR 252.223-7001 - Hazard warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause of this contract. (b) The Contractor shall label the item package (unit container) of any hazardous material to be delivered under this contract in... which hazardous material listed in the Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause...

48 CFR 252.223-7001 - Hazard warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause of this contract. (b) The Contractor shall label the item package (unit container) of any hazardous material to be delivered under this contract in... which hazardous material listed in the Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause...

48 CFR 252.223-7001 - Hazard warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause of this contract. (b) The Contractor shall label the item package (unit container) of any hazardous material to be delivered under this contract in... which hazardous material listed in the Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data clause...

An assessment of seismic monitoring in the United States; requirement for an Advanced National Seismic System

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1999-01-01

This report assesses the status, needs, and associated costs of seismic monitoring in the United States. It sets down the requirement for an effective, national seismic monitoring strategy and an advanced system linking national, regional, and urban monitoring networks. Modernized seismic monitoring can provide alerts of imminent strong earthquake shaking; rapid assessment of distribution and severity of earthquake shaking (for use in emergency response); warnings of a possible tsunami from an offshore earthquake; warnings of volcanic eruptions; information for correctly characterizing earthquake hazards and for improving building codes; and data on response of buildings and structures during earthquakes, for safe, cost-effective design, engineering, and construction practices in earthquake-prone regions.

Scientific and public responses to the ongoing volcanic crisis at Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico: Importance of an effective hazards-warning system

USGS Publications Warehouse

De la Cruz-Reyna, Servando; Tilling, Robert I.

2008-01-01

Volcanic eruptions and other potentially hazardous natural phenomena occur independently of any human actions. However, such phenomena can cause disasters when a society fails to foresee the hazardous manifestations and adopt adequate measures to reduce its vulnerability. One of the causes of such a failure is the lack of a consistent perception of the changing hazards posed by an ongoing eruption, i.e., with members of the scientific community, the Civil Protection authorities and the general public having diverging notions about what is occurring and what may happen. The problem of attaining a perception of risk as uniform as possible in a population measured in millions during an evolving eruption requires searching for communication tools that can describe—as simply as possible—the relations between the level of threat posed by the volcano, and the level of response of the authorities and the public. The hazards-warning system adopted at Popocatépetl Volcano, called the Volcanic Traffic Light Alert System(VTLAS), is a basic communications protocol that translates volcano threat into seven levels of preparedness for the emergency-management authorities, but only three levels of alert for the public (color coded green–yellow–red). The changing status of the volcano threat is represented as the most likely scenarios according to the opinions of an official scientific committee analyzing all available data. The implementation of the VTLAS was intended to reduce the possibility of ambiguous interpretations of intermediate levels by the endangered population. Although the VTLAS is imperfect and has not solved all problems involved in mass communication and decision-making during a volcanic crisis, it marks a significant advance in the management of volcanic crises in Mexico.

An airborne FLIR detection and warning system for low altitude wind shear

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sinclair, Peter C.; Kuhn, Peter M.

1991-01-01

It is shown through some preliminary flight measurement research that a forward looking infrared radiometer (FLIR) system can be used to successfully detect the cool downdraft of downbursts (microbusts/macrobursts) and thunderstorm gust front outflows that are responsible for most of the low altitude wind shear (LAWS) events. The FLIR system provides a much greater safety margin for the pilot than that provided by reactive designs such as inertial air speed systems. Preliminary results indicate that an advanced airborne FLIR system could provide the pilot with remote indication of microburst (MB) hazards along the flight path ahead of the aircraft. Results of a flight test of a prototype FLIR system show that a minimum warning time of one to four minutes (5 to 10 km), depending on aircraft speed, is available to the pilot prior to the microburst encounter.

USGS earthquake hazards program (EHP) GPS use case : earthquake early warning (EEW) and shake alert

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-03-30

GPS Adjacent Band Workshop VI RTCA Inc., Washington D.C., 30 March 2017. USGS GPS receiver use case - Real-Time GPS for EEW -Continued: CRITICAL EFFECT - The GNSS component of the Shake Alert system augments the inertial sensors and is especial...

Effects of lead time of verbal collision warning messages on driving behavior in connected vehicle settings.

PubMed

Wan, Jingyan; Wu, Changxu; Zhang, Yiqi

2016-09-01

Under the connected vehicle environment, vehicles will be able to exchange traffic information with roadway infrastructure and other vehicles. With such information, collision warning systems (CWSs) will be able to warn drivers with potentially hazardous situations within or out of sight and reduce collision accidents. The lead time of warning messages is a crucial factor in determining the effectiveness of CWSs in the prevention of traffic accidents. Accordingly, it is necessary to understand the effects of lead time on driving behaviors and explore the optimal lead time in various collision scenarios. The present driving simulator experiment studied the effects of controlled lead time at 16 levels (predetermined time headway from the subject vehicle to the collision location when the warning message broadcasted to a driver) on driving behaviors in various collision scenarios. Maximum effectiveness of warning messages was achieved when the controlled lead time was within the range of 5s to 8s. Specifically, the controlled lead time ranging from 4s to 8s led to the optimal safety benefit; and the controlled lead time ranging from 5s to 8s led to more gradual braking and shorter reaction time. Furthermore, a trapezoidal distribution of warning effectiveness was found by building a statistic model using curve estimation considering lead time, lifetime driving experience, and driving speed. The results indicated that the controlled lead time significantly affected driver performance. The findings have implications for the design of collision warning systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the benefits of risk prevention initiatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Baldassarre, G.

2012-04-01

The likelihood and adverse impacts of water-related disasters, such as floods and landslides, are increasing in many countries because of changes in climate and land-use. This presentation illustrates some preliminary results of a comprehensive demonstration of the benefits of risk prevention measures, carried out within the European FP7 KULTURisk project. The study is performed by using a variety of case studies characterised by diverse socio-economic contexts, different types of water-related hazards (floods, debris flows and landslides, storm surges) and space-time scales. In particular, the benefits of state-of-the-art prevention initiatives, such as early warning systems, non-structural options (e.g. mapping and planning), risk transfer strategies (e.g. insurance policy), and structural measures, are showed. Lastly, the importance of homogenising criteria to create hazard inventories and build memory, efficient risk communication and warning methods as well as active dialogue with and between public and private stakeholders, is highlighted.

Rainfall-triggered landslides, anthropogenic hazards, and mitigation strategies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larsen, M.C.

2008-01-01

Rainfall-triggered landslides are part of a natural process of hillslope erosion that can result in catastrophic loss of life and extensive property damage in mountainous, densely populated areas. As global population expansion on or near steep hillslopes continues, the human and economic costs associated with landslides will increase. Landslide hazard mitigation strategies generally involve hazard assessment mapping, warning systems, control structures, and regional landslide planning and policy development. To be sustainable, hazard mitigation requires that management of natural resources is closely connected to local economic and social interests. A successful strategy is dependent on a combination of multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering approaches, and the political will to take action at the local community to national scale.

Cockpit display of hazardous weather information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansman, R. John, Jr.; Wanke, Craig

1991-01-01

Information transfer and display issues associated with the dissemination of hazardous weather warnings are studied in the context of wind shear alerts. Operational and developmental wind shear detection systems are briefly reviewed. The July 11, 1988 microburst events observed as part of the Denver Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) operational evaluation are analyzed in terms of information transfer and the effectiveness of the microburst alerts. Information transfer, message content and display issues associated with microburst alerts generated from ground based sources (Doppler Radar, Low Level Wind Shear Alert System, and Pilot Reports) are evaluated by means fo pilot opinion surveys and part task simulator studies.

Landslides and engineering geology of the Seattle, Washington, area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baum, Rex L.; Godt, Jonathan W.; Highland, Lynn M.

2008-01-01

This volume brings together case studies and summary papers describing the application of state-of-the-art engineering geologic methods to landslide hazard analysis for the Seattle, Washington, area. An introductory chapter provides a thorough description of the Quaternary and bedrock geology of Seattle. Nine additional chapters review the history of landslide mapping in Seattle, present case studies of individual landslides, describe the results of spatial assessments of landslide hazard, discuss hydrologic controls on landsliding, and outline an early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides.

LDAR, A Three-Dimensional Lightning Warning System: Its Development and Use by the Government, and Transition to Public Availability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starr, Stan; Sharp, David; Merceret, Francis; Madura, John; Murphy, Martin

1998-01-01

NASA, at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), developed and operates a unique high precision lightning location system to provide lightning related weather warnings. These warnings are used to stop lightning-sensitive operations such as space vehicle launches and ground operations where equipment and personnel are at risk. The data is provided to the Range Weather Operations [45th Weather Squadron, U. S. Air Force (USAF)] where it is used with other meteorological data to issue weather advisories and warnings for Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) and KSC operations. This system, called Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR), provides users with a graphical display in three dimensions of 66 MHz radio frequency events generated by lightning processes. The locations of these events provide a sound basis for the prediction of lightning hazards. NASA and Global Atmospherics, Inc. are developing a new system that will replace the unique LDAR components with commercially available and maintainable components having improved capabilities. These components will be phased in to ensure full continuity and access to this important warning technology. These LDAR systems are expected to eventually be available for installation and use by the public at specialized facilities, such as airports, and for general weather warnings via the National Weather Service (NWS) or television broadcast. The NWS in Melbourne has had access to real-time LDAR data since 1993 on an experimental basis. This use of LDAR has shown promise for the improvement of aviation forecasts and severe weather warnings. More so, it has opened the door to investigate the feasibility of issuing lightning-related public advisories. The success of its early use suggests that this technology may improve safety and potentially save lives, therefore constituting a significant benefit to the public. This paper describes the LDR system, the plans and progress of these upgrades, and the potential benefits of its use.

Monitoring and forecasting local landslide hazard in the area of Longyearbyen, Svalbard - early progress and experiences from the Autumn 2016 events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Thea; Krøgli, Ingeborg; Boje, Søren; Colleuille, Hervé

2017-04-01

Since 2013 the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has operated a landslide early warning system (LEWS) for mainland Norway. The Svalbard islands, situated 800 km north of the Norwegian mainland, and 1200 km from the North Pole, are not part of the conventional early warning service. However, following the fatal snow avalanche event 19 Dec. 2015 in the settlement of Longyearbyen (78° north latitude), local authorities and the NVE have initiated monitoring of the hydro-meteorological conditions for the area of Longyearbyen, as an extraordinary precaution. Two operational forecasting teams from the NVE; the snow avalanche and the landslide hazard forecasters, perform hazard assessment related to snow avalanches, slush flows, debris flows, shallow slides and local flooding. This abstract will focus on recent experiences made by the landslide hazard team during the autumn 2016 landslide events, caused by a record setting wet and warm summer and autumn of 2016. The general concept of the Norwegian LEWS is based on frequency intervals of extreme hydro-meteorological conditions. This general concept has been transposed to the Longyearbyen area. Although the climate is considerably colder and drier than mainland Norway, experiences so far are positive and seem useful to the local authorities. Initially, the landslide hazard evaluation was intended to consider only slush flow hazard during the snow covered season. However, due to the extraordinary warm and wet summer and autumn 2016, the landslide hazard forecasters unexpectedly had to issue warnings for the local authorities due to increased risk of shallow landslides and debris flows. This was done in close cooperation with the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, who provided weather forecasts from the recently developed weather prediction model, AROME-Arctic. Two examples, from 14-15 Oct and 8-9 Nov 2016, will be given to demonstrate how the landslide hazard assessment for the Longyearbyen area is carried out. Several aspects contrast hazard monitoring and forecasting on the mainland, such as the challenges that transpire with sparse observations of hydrometeorologial variables, landslide inventories and hydrological simulations. Particular challenges that are faced on Svalbard, are the even greater remoteness of the settlements and the strong effect permafrost has on the soil structure. The planned development for improving the monitoring of slush avalanches and landslide hazards in the Longyearbyen area will also be presented.

Operational Forecasting and Warning systems for Coastal hazards in Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Kwang-Soon; Kwon, Jae-Il; Kim, Jin-Ah; Heo, Ki-Young; Jun, Kicheon

2017-04-01

Coastal hazards caused by both Mother Nature and humans cost tremendous social, economic and environmental damages. To mitigate these damages many countries have been running the operational forecasting or warning systems. Since 2009 Korea Operational Oceanographic System (KOOS) has been developed by the leading of Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) in Korea and KOOS has been operated in 2012. KOOS is consists of several operational modules of numerical models and real-time observations and produces the basic forecasting variables such as winds, tides, waves, currents, temperature and salinity and so on. In practical application systems include storm surges, oil spills, and search and rescue prediction models. In particular, abnormal high waves (swell-like high-height waves) have occurred in the East coast of Korea peninsula during winter season owing to the local meteorological condition over the East Sea, causing property damages and the loss of human lives. In order to improve wave forecast accuracy even very local wave characteristics, numerical wave modeling system using SWAN is established with data assimilation module using 4D-EnKF and sensitivity test has been conducted. During the typhoon period for the prediction of sever waves and the decision making support system for evacuation of the ships, a high-resolution wave forecasting system has been established and calibrated.

New Activities of the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, Mapping and Modeling Subcommittee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, R. I.; Eble, M. C.

2013-12-01

The U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) is comprised of representatives from coastal states and federal agencies who, under the guidance of NOAA, work together to develop protocols and products to help communities prepare for and mitigate tsunami hazards. Within the NTHMP are several subcommittees responsible for complimentary aspects of tsunami assessment, mitigation, education, warning, and response. The Mapping and Modeling Subcommittee (MMS) is comprised of state and federal scientists who specialize in tsunami source characterization, numerical tsunami modeling, inundation map production, and warning forecasting. Until September 2012, much of the work of the MMS was authorized through the Tsunami Warning and Education Act, an Act that has since expired but the spirit of which is being adhered to in parallel with reauthorization efforts. Over the past several years, the MMS has developed guidance and best practices for states and territories to produce accurate and consistent tsunami inundation maps for community level evacuation planning, and has conducted benchmarking of numerical inundation models. Recent tsunami events have highlighted the need for other types of tsunami hazard analyses and products for improving evacuation planning, vertical evacuation, maritime planning, land-use planning, building construction, and warning forecasts. As the program responsible for producing accurate and consistent tsunami products nationally, the NTHMP-MMS is initiating a multi-year plan to accomplish the following: 1) Create and build on existing demonstration projects that explore new tsunami hazard analysis techniques and products, such as maps identifying areas of strong currents and potential damage within harbors as well as probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis for land-use planning. 2) Develop benchmarks for validating new numerical modeling techniques related to current velocities and landslide sources. 3) Generate guidance and protocols for the production and use of new tsunami hazard analysis products. 4) Identify multistate collaborations and funding partners interested in these new products. Application of these new products will improve the overall safety and resilience of coastal communities exposed to tsunami hazards.

Volcano hazards assessment for the Lassen region, northern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clynne, Michael A.; Robinson, Joel E.; Nathenson, Manuel; Muffler, L.J. Patrick

2012-01-01

The Lassen region of the southernmost Cascade Range is an active volcanic area. At least 70 eruptions have occurred in the past 100,000 years, including 3 in the past 1,000 years, most recently in 1915. The record of past eruptions and the present state of the underlying magmatic and hydrothermal systems make it clear that future eruptions within the Lassen Volcanic Center are very likely. Although the annual probability of an eruption is small, the consequences of some types of eruptions could be severe. Compared to those of a typical Cascade composite volcano, eruptive vents at Lassen Volcanic Center and the surrounding area are widely dispersed, extending in a zone about 50 km wide from the southern boundary of Lassen Volcanic National Park north to the Pit River. This report presents a discussion of volcanic and other geologic hazards in the Lassen area and delineates hazards zones for different types of volcanic activity. Owing to its presence in a national park with significant visitorship, its explosive behavior, and its proximity to regional infrastructure, the Lassen Volcanic Center has been designated a "high threat volcano" in the U.S. Geological Survey National Volcano Early Warning System assessment. Volcanic eruptions are typically preceded by seismic activity and ground deformation, and the Lassen area has a network of seismometers and Global Positioning System stations in place to monitor for early warning of volcanic activity.

Determining the Financial Impact of Flood Hazards in Ungaged Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cotterman, K. A.; Gutenson, J. L.; Pradhan, N. R.; Byrd, A.

2017-12-01

Many portions of the Earth lack adequate authoritative or in situ data that is of great value in determining natural hazard vulnerability from both anthropogenic and physical perspective. Such locations include the majority of developing nations, which do not possess adequate warning systems and protective infrastructure. The lack of warning and protection from natural hazards make these nations vulnerable to the destructive power of events such as floods. The goal of this research is to demonstrate an initial workflow with which to characterize flood financial hazards with global datasets and crowd-sourced, non-authoritative data in ungagged river basins. This workflow includes the hydrologic and hydraulic response of the watershed to precipitation, characterized by the physics-based modeling application Gridded Surface-Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) model. In addition, data infrastructure and resources are available to approximate the human impact of flooding. Open source, volunteer geographic information (VGI) data can provide global coverage of elements at risk of flooding. Additional valuation mechanisms can then translate flood exposure into percentage and financial damage to each building. The combinations of these tools allow the authors to remotely assess flood hazards with minimal computational, temporal, and financial overhead. This combination of deterministic and stochastic modeling provides the means to quickly characterize watershed flood vulnerability and will allow emergency responders and planners to better understand the implications of flooding, both spatially and financially. In either a planning, real-time, or forecasting scenario, the system will assist the user in understanding basin flood vulnerability and increasing community resiliency and preparedness.

Design of early warning system for nuclear preparedness case study at Serpong

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farid, M. M.; Prawito, Susila, I. P.; Yuniarto, A.

2017-07-01

One effort to protect the environment from the increasing of potentially environmental radiation hazards as an impact of radiation discharge around nuclear facilities is by a continuous monitoring of the environmental radiation in real time It is important to disclose the dose rate information to public or authorities for radiological protection. In this research, we have designed a nuclear preparedness early warning system around the Serpong nuclear facility. The design is based on Arduino program, general packet radio service (GPRS) shield, and radio frequencies technology to transmit environmental radiation result of the measurement and meteorological data. Data was collected at a certain location at The Center for Informatics and Nuclear Strategic Zone Utilization BATAN Serpong. The system consistency models are defined by the quality of data and the level of radiation exposure in the deployed environment. Online users can access the website which displays the radiation dose on the environment marked on Google Map. This system is capable to issue an early warning emergency when the dose reaches three times of the background radiation exposure value, 250 nSv/hour.

Human Response to Emergency Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorensen, J.

2009-12-01

Almost every day people evacuate from their homes, businesses or other sites, even ships, in response to actual or predicted threats or hazards. Evacuation is the primary protective action utilized in large-scale emergencies such as hurricanes, floods, tornados, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, or wildfires. Although often precautionary, protecting human lives by temporally relocating populations before or during times of threat remains a major emergency management strategy. One of the most formidable challenges facing emergency officials is evacuating residents for a fast-moving and largely unpredictable event such as a wildfire or a local tsunami. How to issue effective warnings to those at risk in time for residents to take appropriate action is an on-going problem. To do so, some communities have instituted advanced communications systems that include reverse telephone call-down systems or other alerting systems to notify at-risk residents of imminent threats. This presentation examines the effectiveness of using reverse telephone call-down systems for warning San Diego residents of wildfires in the October of 2007. This is the first systematic study conducted on this topic and is based on interviews with 1200 households in the evacuation areas.

Bridging Empirical and Physical Approaches for Landslide Monitoring and Early Warning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirschbaum, Dalia; Peters-Lidard, Christa; Adler, Robert; Kumar, Sujay; Harrison, Ken

2011-01-01

Rainfall-triggered landslides typically occur and are evaluated at local scales, using slope-stability models to calculate coincident changes in driving and resisting forces at the hillslope level in order to anticipate slope failures. Over larger areas, detailed high resolution landslide modeling is often infeasible due to difficulties in quantifying the complex interaction between rainfall infiltration and surface materials as well as the dearth of available in situ soil and rainfall estimates and accurate landslide validation data. This presentation will discuss how satellite precipitation and surface information can be applied within a landslide hazard assessment framework to improve landslide monitoring and early warning by considering two disparate approaches to landslide hazard assessment: an empirical landslide forecasting algorithm and a physical slope-stability model. The goal of this research is to advance near real-time landslide hazard assessment and early warning at larger spatial scales. This is done by employing high resolution surface and precipitation information within a probabilistic framework to provide more physically-based grounding to empirical landslide triggering thresholds. The empirical landslide forecasting tool, running in near real-time at http://trmm.nasa.gov, considers potential landslide activity at the global scale and relies on Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation data and surface products to provide a near real-time picture of where landslides may be triggered. The physical approach considers how rainfall infiltration on a hillslope affects the in situ hydro-mechanical processes that may lead to slope failure. Evaluation of these empirical and physical approaches are performed within the Land Information System (LIS), a high performance land surface model processing and data assimilation system developed within the Hydrological Sciences Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. LIS provides the capabilities to quantify uncertainty from model inputs and calculate probabilistic estimates for slope failures. Results indicate that remote sensing data can provide many of the spatiotemporal requirements for accurate landslide monitoring and early warning; however, higher resolution precipitation inputs will help to better identify small-scale precipitation forcings that contribute to significant landslide triggering. Future missions, such as the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission will provide more frequent and extensive estimates of precipitation at the global scale, which will serve as key inputs to significantly advance the accuracy of landslide hazard assessment, particularly over larger spatial scales.

An early warning system for groundwater pollution based on the assessment of groundwater pollution risks.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Weihong.; Zhao, Yongsheng; Hong, Mei; Guo, Xiaodong

2009-04-01

Groundwater pollution usually is complex and concealed, remediation of which is difficult, high cost, time-consuming, and ineffective. An early warning system for groundwater pollution is needed that detects groundwater quality problems and gets the information necessary to make sound decisions before massive groundwater quality degradation occurs. Groundwater pollution early warning were performed by considering comprehensively the current groundwater quality, groundwater quality varying trend and groundwater pollution risk . The map of the basic quality of the groundwater was obtained by fuzzy comprehensive evaluation or BP neural network evaluation. Based on multi-annual groundwater monitoring datasets, Water quality state in sometime of the future was forecasted using time-sequenced analyzing methods. Water quality varying trend was analyzed by Spearman's rank correlative coefficient.The relative risk map of groundwater pollution was estimated through a procedure that identifies, cell by cell,the values of three factors, that is inherent vulnerability, load risk of pollution source and contamination hazard. DRASTIC method was used to assess inherent vulnerability of aquifer. Load risk of pollution source was analyzed based on the potential of contamination and pollution degree. Assessment index of load risk of pollution source which involves the variety of pollution source, quantity of contaminants, releasing potential of pollutants, and distance were determined. The load risks of all sources considered by GIS overlay technology. Early warning model of groundwater pollution combined with ComGIS technology organically, the regional groundwater pollution early-warning information system was developed, and applied it into Qiqiha'er groundwater early warning. It can be used to evaluate current water quality, to forecast water quality changing trend, and to analyze space-time influencing range of groundwater quality by natural process and human activities. Keywords: groundwater pollution, early warning, aquifer vulnerability, pollution load, pollution risk, ComGIS

Assessment of early warning system performance and improvements since it is in operational phase in Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ionescu, Constantin; Marmureanu, Alexandru; Marmureanu, Gheorghe; Ortansa Cioflan, Carmen

2017-04-01

Earthquake represents a major natural disaster for Romanian territory. The main goal following the occurrence of a strong earthquake is to minimize the total number of fatalities. A rapid early warning system (REWS) was developed in Romania in order to provide 25-35 seconds warning time to Bucharest facilities for the earthquakes with M>5.0. The system consists of four components: a network of strong motion sensors installed in the epicentral area, a redundant communication network, an automatic analyzing system located in the Romanian Data Centre and an alert distribution system. The detection algorithm is based on the magnitude computation using strong motion data and rapid evaluation and scaling relation between the maximum P-wave acceleration measured in the epicentral area and the higher ground motion amplitude recorded in Bucharest. In order to reduce the damages caused by earthquakes, the exploitation of the up to date technology is very important. The information is the key point in the disaster management, and the internet is one of the most used instrument, implying also low costs. The Rapid Early Warning System was expanded to cover all countries affected by major earthquakes originating in the Vrancea seismic area and reduce their impact on existing installations of national interest in neighbouring Romania and elsewhere. REWS provides an efficient instrument for prevention and reaction based on the integrated system for seismic detection in South-Eastern Europe. REWS has been operational since 2013 and sends alert the authorities, hazardous facilities in Romania and Bulgaria (NPP, emergency response agencies etc.) and to public via twitter and some smartphone applications developed in the house. Also, NIEP is part of the UNESCO initiative case on developing a platform on earthquake early warning systems (IP-MEP) that aims to promote and strengthen the development of earthquake early warning systems in earthquake-prone regions of the world by sharing scientific knowledge, capacity building and international cooperation.

Informing Workers of Chemical Hazards: The OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.

Practical information on how to implement a chemical-related safety program is outlined in this publication. Highlights of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard are presented and explained. These include: (1) hazard communication requirements (consisting of warning labels, material safety…

40 CFR 763.95 - Warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT ASBESTOS Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools § 763.95 Warning labels. (a) The local education agency shall...: ASBESTOS. HAZARDOUS. DO NOT DISTURB WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT. ...

40 CFR 763.95 - Warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT ASBESTOS Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools § 763.95 Warning labels. (a) The local education agency shall...: ASBESTOS. HAZARDOUS. DO NOT DISTURB WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT. ...

40 CFR 763.95 - Warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT ASBESTOS Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools § 763.95 Warning labels. (a) The local education agency shall...: ASBESTOS. HAZARDOUS. DO NOT DISTURB WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT. ...

40 CFR 763.95 - Warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT ASBESTOS Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools § 763.95 Warning labels. (a) The local education agency shall...: ASBESTOS. HAZARDOUS. DO NOT DISTURB WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT. ...

40 CFR 763.95 - Warning labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT ASBESTOS Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools § 763.95 Warning labels. (a) The local education agency shall...: ASBESTOS. HAZARDOUS. DO NOT DISTURB WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT. ...

An Evaluation of detectable warning surfaces for sidewalk curb ramps.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-01-01

The 1991 Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines required the installation of a detectable warning surface (raised truncated domes) on sidewalk curb ramps to alert visually impaired people to potential hazards. Although this requirem...

Preliminary Report Summarizes Tsunami Impacts and Lessons Learned from the September 7, 2017, M8.1 Tehuantepec Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, R. I.; Ramirez-Herrera, M. T.; Dengler, L. A.; Miller, K.; LaDuke, Y.

2017-12-01

The preliminary tsunami impacts from the September 7, 2017, M8.1 Tehuantepec Earthquake have been summarized in the following report: https://www.eeri.org/wp-content/uploads/EERI-Recon-Rpt-090717-Mexico-tsunami_fn.pdf. Although the tsunami impacts were not as significant as those from the earthquake itself (98 fatalities and 41,000 homes damaged), the following are highlights and lessons learned: The Tehuantepec earthquake was one of the largest down-slab normal faulting events ever recorded. This situation complicated the tsunami forecast since forecast methods and pre-event modeling are primarily associated with megathrust earthquakes where the most significant tsunamis are generated. Adding non-megathrust source modeling to the tsunami forecast databases of conventional warning systems should be considered. Offshore seismic and tsunami hazard analyses using past events should incorporate the potential for large earthquakes occurring along sources other than the megathrust boundary. From an engineering perspective, initial reports indicate there was only minor tsunami damage along the Mexico coast. There was damage to Marina Chiapas where floating docks overtopped their piles. Increasing pile heights could reduce the potential for damage to floating docks. Tsunami warning notifications did not get to the public in time to assist with evacuation. Streamlining the messaging in Mexico from the warning system directly to the public should be considered. And, for local events, preparedness efforts should place emphasis on responding to feeling the earthquake and not waiting to be notified. Although the U.S. tsunami warning centers were timely with their international and domestic messaging, there were some issues with how those messages were presented and interpreted. The use of a "Tsunami Threat" banner on the new main warning center website created confusion with emergency managers in the U.S. where no tsunami threat was expected to exist. Also, some U.S. states and territories in the Pacific were listed in both domestic and international messages, which caused confusion for American Samoa where these messages contained somewhat conflicting information. These issues are being addressed by the warning centers and the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.

On the Development of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Networks: Practical experiences from North and Central America.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mencin, David; Hodgkinson, Kathleen; Braun, John; Meertens, Charles; Mattioli, Glen; Phillips, David; Blume, Fredrick; Berglund, Henry; Fox, Otina; Feaux, Karl

2015-04-01

The GAGE facility, managed by UNAVCO, maintains and operates about 1300 GNSS stations distributed across North and Central America as part of the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) and the Continuously Operating Caribbean GPS Observational Network (COCONet). UNAVCO has upgraded about 450 stations in these networks to real-time and high-rate (RT-GNSS) and included surface meteorological instruments. The majority of these streaming stations are part of the PBO but also include approximately 50 RT-GNSS stations in the Caribbean and Central American region as part of the COCONet and TLALOCNet projects. Based on community input UNAVCO has been exploring ways to increase the capability and utility of these resources to improve our understanding in diverse areas of geophysics including seismic, volcanic, magmatic and tsunami deformation sources, extreme weather events such as hurricanes and storms, and space weather. The RT-GNSS networks also have the potential to profoundly transform our ability to rapidly characterize geophysical events, provide early warning, as well as improve hazard mitigation and response. Specific applications currently under development with university, commercial, non-profit and government collaboration on national and international scales include earthquake and tsunami early warning systems and near real-time tropospheric modeling of hurricanes and precipitable water vapor estimate assimilation. Using tsunami early warning as an example, an RT-GNSS network can provide multiple inputs in an operational system starting with rapid assessment of earthquake sources and associated deformation which informs the initial modeled tsunami. The networks can then can also provide direct measurements of the tsunami wave heights and propagation by tracking the associated ionospheric disturbance from several 100's of km away as the waves approaches the shoreline. These GNSS based constraints can refine the tsunami and inundation models and potentially mitigate hazards. Other scientific and operational applications for high-rate GPS include glacier and ice sheet motions, tropospheric modeling, and better constraints on the dynamics of space weather. Our operational system has multiple communities that use and depend on a Pan-Pacific real-time open data set. The ability to merge existing data sets and user communities, seismic and tide gauge observations, with GNSS and Met data products has proven complicated because of issues related to meta-data, appropriate data formats, data quality assessment in real-time and specific issues related to using these products in operational forecasting. Additional issues related to data access across national borders and cognizant government sanctioned "early warning" agencies, some committed to specific technologies, methodologies, internal structure and further constrained by data policies make a truly operational system an on-going work in progress. We present a short history of evolving a very large and expensive RT-GNSS network originally designed to answer specific long term scientific questions about structure and evolution of North American plate boundaries into a much needed national hazard system while continuing to serve our core community in long term scientific studies. Out primary focus in this presentation is an analysis of our current goals and impediments to achieving these broader objectives.

Municipalities' Preparedness for Weather Hazards and Response to Weather Warnings

PubMed Central

Mehiriz, Kaddour; Gosselin, Pierre

2016-01-01

The study of the management of weather-related disaster risks by municipalities has attracted little attention even though these organizations play a key role in protecting the population from extreme meteorological conditions. This article contributes to filling this gap with new evidence on the level and determinants of Quebec municipalities’ preparedness for weather hazards and response to related weather warnings. Using survey data from municipal emergency management coordinators and secondary data on the financial and demographic characteristics of municipalities, the study shows that most Quebec municipalities are sufficiently prepared for weather hazards and undertake measures to protect the population when informed of imminent extreme weather events. Significant differences between municipalities were noted though. Specifically, the level of preparedness was positively correlated with the municipalities’ capacity and population support for weather-related disaster management policies. In addition, the risk of weather-related disasters increases the preparedness level through its effect on population support. We also found that the response to weather warnings depended on the risk of weather-related disasters, the preparedness level and the quality of weather warnings. These results highlight areas for improvement in the context of increasing frequency and/or severity of such events with current climate change. PMID:27649547

Municipalities' Preparedness for Weather Hazards and Response to Weather Warnings.

PubMed

Mehiriz, Kaddour; Gosselin, Pierre

2016-01-01

The study of the management of weather-related disaster risks by municipalities has attracted little attention even though these organizations play a key role in protecting the population from extreme meteorological conditions. This article contributes to filling this gap with new evidence on the level and determinants of Quebec municipalities' preparedness for weather hazards and response to related weather warnings. Using survey data from municipal emergency management coordinators and secondary data on the financial and demographic characteristics of municipalities, the study shows that most Quebec municipalities are sufficiently prepared for weather hazards and undertake measures to protect the population when informed of imminent extreme weather events. Significant differences between municipalities were noted though. Specifically, the level of preparedness was positively correlated with the municipalities' capacity and population support for weather-related disaster management policies. In addition, the risk of weather-related disasters increases the preparedness level through its effect on population support. We also found that the response to weather warnings depended on the risk of weather-related disasters, the preparedness level and the quality of weather warnings. These results highlight areas for improvement in the context of increasing frequency and/or severity of such events with current climate change.

AEGIS: a wildfire prevention and management information system

Treesearch

Kostas Kalabokidis; Alan Ager; Mark Finney; Nikos Athanasis; Palaiologos Palaiologou; Christos Vasilakos

2016-01-01

We describe a Web-GIS wildfire prevention and management platform (AEGIS) developed as an integrated and easy-to-use decision support tool to manage wildland fire hazards in Greece (http://aegis.aegean.gr). The AEGIS platform assists with early fire warning, fire planning, fire control and coordination of firefighting forces by providing online access to...

Fire Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

An early warning fire detection sensor developed for NASA's Space Shuttle Orbiter is being evaluated as a possible hazard prevention system for mining operations. The incipient Fire Detector represents an advancement over commercially available smoke detectors in that it senses and signals the presence of a fire condition before the appearance of flame and smoke, offering an extra margin of safety.

The RHYTMME system: an operational real-time warning and mapping system for flash floods, debris flows, landslide and rock falls in Southeastern France.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fouchier, Catherine; Mériaux, Patrice; Atger, Frédéric; Ecrepont, Stéphane; Liébault, Frédéric; Bertrand, Mélanie; Bel, Coraline; Batista, Dominique; Azemard, Pierre; Saint-Martin, Clotilde; Javelle, Pierre

2016-04-01

Almost all municipalities of Southeastern France are concerned by natural hazards triggered by heavy rainfalls such as floods, debris flows, landslides and rock falls. Although some tools exist to forecast and monitor heavy rains and floods in France, their spatial resolution sometimes does not meet the needs of local risk managers who have to monitor events at a small spatial scale. In order to improve the risk management in the mountainous and Mediterranean areas of Southeastern France, Irstea and Météo-France have led the RHYTMME project. The goal of this project is to improve the ability to forecast and localize high-risk rainfall-induced hazards in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur administrative area. This goal is currently under achievement thanks to the implementation of a real-time warning and mapping system for rainfall induced natural hazards, fed by radar data and whose outputs are made available via the Internet to operators in charge of risk management (local and regional authorities, emergency and rescue services, road and rail networks managers, ...). This system provides maps which display in real-time: - the radar estimations of rainfall for different rain durations and at the spatial resolution of 1 km² (Westrelin et al., 2013), - the estimation of the scarcity of these rainfall estimations, also at the spatial resolution of 1 km², thanks to a comparison with threshold values provided by a regionalized stochastic hourly point rainfall generator (Arnaud et al., 2007), - an anticipation of the rivers discharges, computed at the outlet of 1700 watersheds of Southeastern France thanks to the AIGA warning system which combines a rainfall runoff model and an estimation of the scarcity of the discharges thanks to a comparison with threshold values (Javelle et al., 2014). Maps of susceptibility to debris flow, landslide and rock falls can also be displayed in the RHYTMME warning system along with the real time maps of rainfall hazard (Batista, 2013a, 2013b; Bertrand, 2014). It enables to identify, during intense events, the reaches the more likely to generate and/or to spread debris flow and the areas the more likely to generate landslide and/or rock falls. The RHYTMME warning and mapping system is now fully operational. It is currently being provided to local authorities (City councils, River boards, …) as well as State authorities in charge of risk managements in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur administrative area. Training sessions are organized in order to help these end-users to handle the system. References Arnaud P., Fine J.-A. and Lavabre J. (2007). An hourly rainfall generation model applicable to all types of climate. Atmospheric Research 85(2): 230-242. Batista D., Azémard P., Boutry M. (2013). Prévision de l'aléa glissement de terrain et analyse statistique des facteurs de prédisposition par l'outil SIG, sur la région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Journées Aléas Gravitaires, 17 et 18/9/2013 - Grenoble, 11 p. Batista D., Azémard P., Rougé A.C., Dumalin M., Rault C. (2013). Prévision de l'aléa chute de blocs, analyse statistique des facteurs de prédisposition et des critères de déclenchement sur la région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Journées Aléas Gravitaires, 17 et 18/9/2013 - Grenoble, 11 p. Bertrand M. (2014). Approches régionales de la susceptibilité torrentielle dans les Alpes du Sud. Thèse de Doctorat, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 162 pp. Javelle P., Demargne J., Defrance D., Pansu J., Arnaud P. (2014). Evaluating flash-flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: A case study with the AIGA warning system. Hydrological Sciences Journal 59 (7): 1390-1402. Westrelin S., Mériaux P., Dalle S., Fradon B., Jamet G. (2013). Déploiement d'un réseau de radars pour anticiper les risques hydro-météorologiques, La Météorologie 8 (83): 69-79.

Tsunami Early Warning for the Indian Ocean Region - Status and Outlook

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauterjung, Joern; Rudloff, Alexander; Muench, Ute; Gitews Project Team

2010-05-01

The German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) for the Indian Ocean region has gone into operation in Indonesia in November 2008. The system includes a seismological network, together with GPS stations and a network of GPS buoys additionally equipped with ocean bottom pressure sensors and a tide gauge network. The different sensor systems have, for the most part, been installed and now deliver respective data either online or interactively upon request to the Warning Centre in Jakarta. Before 2011, however, the different components requires further optimization and fine tuning, local personnel needs to be trained and eventual problems in the daily operation have to be dealt with. Furthermore a company will be founded in the near future, which will guarantee a sustainable maintenance and operation of the system. This concludes the transfer from a temporarily project into a permanent service. This system established in Indonesia differs from other Tsunami Warning Systems through its application of modern scientific methods and technologies. New procedures for the fast and reliable determination of strong earthquakes, deformation monitoring by GPS, the modeling of tsunamis and the assessment of the situation have been implemented in the Warning System architecture. In particular, the direct incorporation of different sensors provides broad information already at the early stages of Early Warning thus resulting in a stable system and minimizing breakdowns and false alarms. The warning system is designed in an open and modular structure based on the most recent developments and standards of information technology. Therefore, the system can easily integrate additional sensor components to be used for other multi-hazard purposes e.g. meteorological and hydrological events. Up to now the German project group is cooperating in the Indian Ocean region with Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Iran, Yemen, Tanzania and Kenya to set up the equipment primarily for seismological monitoring and data analysis. The automatic seismic data processing software SeisComP3, is not only operational in the warning centre in Jakarta and successfully used for rapid earthquake information, but also in different Indian Ocean rim countries like the once mentioned before as well as in India, Thailand and Pakistan. Close cooperation has been established with Australia, South Africa and India for the real-time exchange mainly of seismological and sea level data.

CISN ShakeAlert: Using early warnings for earthquakes in California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinci, M.; Hellweg, M.; Jones, L. M.; Khainovski, O.; Schwartz, K.; Lehrer, D.; Allen, R. M.; Neuhauser, D. S.

2009-12-01

Educated users who have developed response plans and procedures are just as important for an earthquake early warning (EEW) system as are the algorithms and computers that process the data and produce the warnings. In Japan, for example, the implementation of the EEW system which now provides advanced alerts of ground shaking included intense outreach efforts to both institutional and individual recipients. Alerts are now used in automatic control systems that stop trains, place sensitive equipment in safe mode and isolate hazards while the public takes cover. In California, the California Integrated Seismic Network (CISN) is now developing and implementing components of a prototype system for EEW, ShakeAlert. As this processing system is developed, we invite a suite of perspective users from critical industries and institutions throughout California to partner with us in developing useful ShakeAlert products and procedures. At the same time, we will support their efforts to determine and implement appropriate responses to an early warning of earthquake shaking. As a first step, in a collaboration with BART, we have developed a basic system allowing BART’s operation center to receive realtime ground shaking information from more than 150 seismic stations operating in the San Francisco Bay Area. BART engineers are implementing a display system for this information. Later phases will include the development of improved response procedures utilizing this information. We plan to continue this collaboration to include more sophisticated information from the prototype CISN ShakeAlert system.

Influence of behavioral biases on the assessment of multi-hazard risks and the implementation of multi-hazard risks mitigation measures: case study of multi-hazard cyclone shelters in Tamil Nadu, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komendantova, Nadejda; Patt, Anthony

2013-04-01

In December 2004, a multiple hazards event devastated the Tamil Nadu province of India. The Sumatra -Andaman earthquake with a magnitude of Mw=9.1-9.3 caused the Indian Ocean tsunami with wave heights up to 30 m, and flooding that reached up to two kilometers inland in some locations. More than 7,790 persons were killed in the province of Tamil Nadu, with 206 in its capital Chennai. The time lag between the earthquake and the tsunami's arrival in India was over an hour, therefore, if a suitable early warning system existed, a proper means of communicating the warning and shelters existing for people would exist, than while this would not have prevented the destruction of infrastructure, several thousands of human lives would have been saved. India has over forty years of experience in the construction of cyclone shelters. With additional efforts and investment, these shelters could be adapted to other types of hazards such as tsunamis and flooding, as well as the construction of new multi-hazard cyclone shelters (MPCS). It would therefore be possible to mitigate one hazard such as cyclones by the construction of a network of shelters while at the same time adapting these shelters to also deal with, for example, tsunamis, with some additional investment. In this historical case, the failure to consider multiple hazards caused significant human losses. The current paper investigates the patterns of the national decision-making process with regards to multiple hazards mitigation measures and how the presence of behavioral and cognitive biases influenced the perceptions of the probabilities of multiple hazards and the choices made for their mitigation by the national decision-makers. Our methodology was based on the analysis of existing reports from national and international organizations as well as available scientific literature on behavioral economics and natural hazards. The results identified several biases in the national decision-making process when the construction of cyclone shelters was being undertaken. The availability heuristics caused a perception of low probability of tsunami following an earthquake, as the last large similar event happened over a hundred years ago. Another led to a situation when decisions were taken on the basis of experience and not statistical evidence, namely, experience showed that the so-called "Ring of Fire" generates underground earthquakes and tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean. This knowledge made decision-makers to neglect the numerical estimations about probability of underground earthquake in the Indian Ocean even though seismologists were warning about probability of a large underground earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The bounded rationality bias led to misperception of signals from the early warning center in the Pacific Ocean. The resulting limited concern resulted in risk mitigation measures that considered cyclone risks, but much less about tsunami. Under loss aversion considerations, the decision-makers perceived the losses connected with the necessary additional investment as being greater than benefits from mitigating a less probable hazard.

Development of a Low Cost Earthquake Early Warning System in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Y. M.

2017-12-01

The National Taiwan University (NTU) developed an earthquake early warning (EEW) system for research purposes using low-cost accelerometers (P-Alert) since 2010. As of 2017, a total of 650 stations have been deployed and configured. The NTU system can provide earthquake information within 15 s of an earthquake occurrence. Thus, this system may provide early warnings for cities located more than 50 km from the epicenter. Additionally, the NTU system also has an onsite alert function that triggers a warning for incoming P-waves greater than a certain magnitude threshold, thus providing a 2-3 s lead time before peak ground acceleration (PGA) for regions close to an epicenter. Detailed shaking maps are produced by the NTU system within one or two minutes after an earthquake. Recently, a new module named ShakeAlarm has been developed. Equipped with real-time acceleration signals and the time-dependent anisotropic attenuation relationship of the PGA, ShakingAlarm can provide an accurate PGA estimation immediately before the arrival of the observed PGA. This unique advantage produces sufficient lead time for hazard assessment and emergency response, which is unavailable for traditional shakemap, which are based on only the PGA observed in real time. The performance of ShakingAlarm was tested with six M > 5.5 inland earthquakes from 2013 to 2016. Taking the 2016 M6.4 Meinong earthquake simulation as an example, the predicted PGA converges to a stable value and produces a predicted shake map and an isocontour map of the predicted PGA within 16 seconds of earthquake occurrence. Compared with traditional regional EEW system, ShakingAlarm can effectively identify possible damage regions and provide valuable early warning information (magnitude and PGA) for risk mitigation.

33 CFR 150.628 - How must the operator label, tag, and mark a container of hazardous material?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Workplace Safety and Health Hazard Communication Program § 150.628 How must the operator label, tag, and..., reactive and other special condition hazard warnings. The only exception is for portable containers that...

Suitability of Open-Ocean Instrumentation for Use in Near-Field Tsunami Early Warning Along Seismically Active Subduction Zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williamson, Amy L.; Newman, Andrew V.

2018-05-01

Over the past decade, the number of open-ocean gauges capable of parsing information about a passing tsunami has steadily increased, particularly through national cable networks and international buoyed efforts such as the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART). This information is analyzed to disseminate tsunami warnings to affected regions. However, most current warnings that incorporate tsunami are directed at mid- and far-field localities. In this study, we analyze the region surrounding four seismically active subduction zones, Cascadia, Japan, Chile, and Java, for their potential to facilitate local tsunami early warning using such systems. We assess which locations currently have instrumentation in the right locations for direct tsunami observations with enough time to provide useful warning to the nearest affected coastline—and which are poorly suited for such systems. Our primary findings are that while some regions are ill-suited for this type of early warning, such as the coastlines of Chile, other localities, like Java, Indonesia, could incorporate direct tsunami observations into their hazard forecasts with enough lead time to be effective for coastal community emergency response. We take into account the effect of tsunami propagation with regard to shallow bathymetry on the fore-arc as well as the effect of earthquake source placement. While it is impossible to account for every type of off-shore tsunamigenic event in these locales, this study aims to characterize a typical large tsunamigenic event occurring in the shallow part of the megathrust as a guide in what is feasible with early tsunami warning.

NEO Impact Hazard Scales in the Context of Other Hazard Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, C. R.; Mulligan, B. M.

2002-09-01

Astronomers are unaccustomed to practical matters like warning society about dangers. The NEO impact hazard has thrust new responsibilities upon us, which have been dealt with previously by other specialties, involving hurricanes, space weather, earthquakes, terrorism, etc. We discuss some lessons from the problems and successes of other warning scales. For example, a failing of the Torino Scale (TS) mirrors a failure of the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS, "terrorism scale"): it doesn't clearly tell ordinary folk what they should do; it says that TS=1 events merit "careful monitoring," a task for astronomers, not the public. The Red Cross has augmented the HSAS to separately advise individuals, families, neighborhoods, businesses, and schools what they should do; the TS could be similarly improved. The recent 2002 NT7 media scare was exacerbated by public use of the Palermo Technical Scale (PTS), which was not intended for such use, rather than the appropriate Torino Scale. Seismologists have more successfully avoided public confusion while internally debating different earthquake scales. Astronomers need to empathize with the needs of science journalists and communicators and with the low level of scientific comprehension by the public, who may be genuinely scared by mispresented cosmic hazards. A single warning scale should be used by all astronomers, should be very simple (e.g. one-dimensional), should have a public face that is consistent for years and decades (even if some fine-tuning is done behind the scenes in calculating values), and should suggest how a prudent person should react to a given hazard level. The TS has been used widely for several years by the popular media. It should remain the tool that we use to put particular impact predictions into context. While leaving the numbers and colors the same, we could augment and clarify the public advice. We could also make technical tweaks to how values are calculated. For example, it is possible to technically define Torino Scale values in a way more directly converted from PTS values.

Introduction to "Tsunami Science: Ten Years After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Volume I"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabinovich, Alexander B.; Geist, Eric L.; Fritz, Hermann M.; Borrero, Jose C.

2015-03-01

Twenty-two papers on the study of tsunamis are included in Volume I of the PAGEOPH topical issue "Tsunami Science: Ten Years after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami." Eight papers examine various aspects of past events with an emphasis on case and regional studies. Five papers are on tsunami warning and forecast, including the improvement of existing tsunami warning systems and the development of new warning systems in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean region. Three more papers present the results of analytical studies and discuss benchmark problems. Four papers report the impacts of tsunamis, including the detailed calculation of inundation onshore and into rivers and probabilistic analysis for engineering purposes. The final two papers relate to important investigations of the source and tsunami generation. Overall, the volume not only addresses the pivotal 2004 Indian Ocean (Sumatra) and 2011 Japan (Tohoku) tsunamis, but also examines the tsunami hazard posed to other critical coasts in the world.

Reliability Analysis of a Glacier Lake Warning System Using a Bayesian Net

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sturny, Rouven A.; Bründl, Michael

2013-04-01

Beside structural mitigation measures like avalanche defense structures, dams and galleries, warning and alarm systems have become important measures for dealing with Alpine natural hazards. Integrating them into risk mitigation strategies and comparing their effectiveness with structural measures requires quantification of the reliability of these systems. However, little is known about how reliability of warning systems can be quantified and which methods are suitable for comparing their contribution to risk reduction with that of structural mitigation measures. We present a reliability analysis of a warning system located in Grindelwald, Switzerland. The warning system was built for warning and protecting residents and tourists from glacier outburst floods as consequence of a rapid drain of the glacier lake. We have set up a Bayesian Net (BN, BPN) that allowed for a qualitative and quantitative reliability analysis. The Conditional Probability Tables (CPT) of the BN were determined according to manufacturer's reliability data for each component of the system as well as by assigning weights for specific BN nodes accounting for information flows and decision-making processes of the local safety service. The presented results focus on the two alerting units 'visual acoustic signal' (VAS) and 'alerting of the intervention entities' (AIE). For the summer of 2009, the reliability was determined to be 94 % for the VAS and 83 % for the AEI. The probability of occurrence of a major event was calculated as 0.55 % per day resulting in an overall reliability of 99.967 % for the VAS and 99.906 % for the AEI. We concluded that a failure of the VAS alerting unit would be the consequence of a simultaneous failure of the four probes located in the lake and the gorge. Similarly, we deduced that the AEI would fail either if there were a simultaneous connectivity loss of the mobile and fixed network in Grindelwald, an Internet access loss or a failure of the regional operations centre. However, the probability of a common failure of these components was assumed to be low. Overall it can be stated that due to numerous redundancies, the investigated warning system is highly reliable and its influence on risk reduction is very high. Comparable studies in the future are needed to classify these results and to gain more experience how the reliability of warning systems could be determined in practice.

Risk Management and Physical Modelling for Mountainous Natural Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehning, Michael; Wilhelm, Christian

Population growth and climate change cause rapid changes in mountainous regions resulting in increased risks of floods, avalanches, debris flows and other natural hazards. Xevents are of particular concern, since attempts to protect against them result in exponentially growing costs. In this contribution, we suggest an integral risk management approach to dealing with natural hazards that occur in mountainous areas. Using the example of a mountain pass road, which can be protected from the danger of an avalanche by engineering (galleries) and/or organisational (road closure) measures, we show the advantage of an optimal combination of both versus the traditional approach, which is to rely solely on engineering structures. Organisational measures become especially important for Xevents because engineering structures cannot be designed for those events. However, organisational measures need a reliable and objective forecast of the hazard. Therefore, we further suggest that such forecasts should be developed using physical numerical modelling. We present the status of current approaches to using physical modelling to predict snow cover stability for avalanche warnings and peak runoff from mountain catchments for flood warnings. While detailed physical models can already predict peak runoff reliably, they are only used to support avalanche warnings. With increased process knowledge and computer power, current developments should lead to a enhanced role for detailed physical models in natural mountain hazard prediction.

Implications Of The 11 March Tohoku Tsunami On Warning Systems And Vertical Evacuation Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, S.; Leonard, G.; Johnston, D.

2011-12-01

The Mw 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11th 2011 claimed over 20,000 lives in an event which inundated over 500 km2 of land on the north-east coast of Japan. Successful execution of tsunami warning procedures and evacuation strategies undoubtedly saved thousands of lives, and there is evidence that vertical evacuation facilities were a key part of reducing the fatality rate in several municipalities in the Sendai Plains. As with all major disasters, however, post-event observations show that there are lessons to be learned in minimising life loss in future events. This event has raised or reinforced several key points that should be considered for implementation in all areas at risk from tsunami around the world. Primary areas for discussion are the need for redundant power supplies in tsunami warning systems; considerations of natural warnings when official warnings may not come; adequate understanding and estimation of the tsunami hazard; thorough site assessments for critical infrastructure, including emergency management facilities and tsunami refuges; and adequate signage of evacuation routes and refuges. This paper will present observations made on two field visits to the Tohoku region during 2011, drawing conclusions from field observations and discussions with local emergency officials. These observations will inform the enhancement of current tsunami evacuation strategies in New Zealand; it is believed discussion of these observations can also benefit continuing development of warning and evacuation strategies existing in the United States and elsewhere.

Uniform Traffic Control and Warning Messages for Portable Changeable Message Signs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

The purpose of this study was to develop and test word and symbol traffic control and hazard warning messages for use on portable changeable message signs (PCMSs). The literature was reviewed, State highway engineers were interviewed, PCMS manufactur...

Cockpit display of hazardous weather information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansman, R. John, Jr.; Wanke, Craig

1990-01-01

Information transfer and display issues associated with the dissemination of hazardous weather warnings are studied in the context of windshear alerts. Operational and developmental windshear detection systems are briefly reviewed. The July 11, 1988 microburst events observed as part of the Denver Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) operational evaluation are analyzed in terms of information transfer and the effectiveness of the microburst alerts. Information transfer, message content and display issues associated with microburst alerts generated from ground based sources are evaluated by means of pilot opinion surveys and part task simulator studies.

Cockpit display of hazardous weather information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansman, R. John, Jr.; Wanke, Craig

1989-01-01

Information transfer and display issues associated with the dissemination of hazardous-weather warnings are studied in the context of wind-shear alerts. Operational and developmental wind-shear detection systems are briefly reviewed. The July 11, 1988 microburst events observed as part of the Denver TDWR operational evaluation are analyzed in terms of information transfer and the effectiveness of the microburst alerts. Information transfer, message content, and display issues associated with microburst alerts generated from ground-based sources (Doppler radars, LLWAS, and PIREPS) are evaluated by means of pilot opinion surveys and part-task simulator studies.

Developing an early warning system for storm surge inundation in the Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tablazon, Judd; Mahar Francisco Lagmay, Alfredo; Francia Mungcal, Ma. Theresa; Gonzalo, Lia Anne; Dasallas, Lea; Briones, Jo Brianne Louise; Santiago, Joy; Suarez, John Kenneth; Lapidez, John Phillip; Caro, Carl Vincent; Ladiero, Christine; Malano, Vicente

2014-05-01

A storm surge is the sudden rise of sea water generated by an approaching storm, over and above the astronomical tides. This event imposes a major threat in the Philippine coastal areas, as manifested by Typhoon Haiyan on 08 November 2013 where more than 6,000 people lost their lives. It has become evident that the need to develop an early warning system for storm surges is of utmost importance. To provide forecasts of the possible storm surge heights of an approaching typhoon, the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Project NOAH) simulated historical tropical cyclones that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility. Bathymetric data, storm track, central atmospheric pressure, and maximum wind speed were used as parameters for the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) Storm Surge Model. The researchers calculated the frequency distribution of maximum storm surge heights of all typhoons under a specific Public Storm Warning Signal (PSWS) that passed through a particular coastal area. This determines the storm surge height corresponding to a given probability of occurrence. The storm surge heights from the model were added to the maximum astronomical tide data from WXTide software. The team then created maps of probable area inundation and flood levels of storm surges along coastal areas for a specific PSWS using the results of the frequency distribution. These maps were developed from the time series data of the storm tide at 10-minute intervals of all observation points in the Philippines. This information will be beneficial in developing early warnings systems, static maps, disaster mitigation and preparedness plans, vulnerability assessments, risk-sensitive land use plans, shoreline defense efforts, and coastal protection measures. Moreover, these will support the local government units' mandate to raise public awareness, disseminate information about storm surge hazards, and implement appropriate counter-measures for a given PSWS.

Developing an early warning system for storm surge inundation in the Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tablazon, J.; Caro, C. V.; Lagmay, A. M. F.; Briones, J. B. L.; Dasallas, L.; Lapidez, J. P.; Santiago, J.; Suarez, J. K.; Ladiero, C.; Gonzalo, L. A.; Mungcal, M. T. F.; Malano, V.

2014-10-01

A storm surge is the sudden rise of sea water generated by an approaching storm, over and above the astronomical tides. This event imposes a major threat in the Philippine coastal areas, as manifested by Typhoon Haiyan on 8 November 2013 where more than 6000 people lost their lives. It has become evident that the need to develop an early warning system for storm surges is of utmost importance. To provide forecasts of the possible storm surge heights of an approaching typhoon, the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Project NOAH) simulated historical tropical cyclones that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility. Bathymetric data, storm track, central atmospheric pressure, and maximum wind speed were used as parameters for the Japan Meteorological Agency Storm Surge Model. The researchers calculated the frequency distribution of maximum storm surge heights of all typhoons under a specific Public Storm Warning Signal (PSWS) that passed through a particular coastal area. This determines the storm surge height corresponding to a given probability of occurrence. The storm surge heights from the model were added to the maximum astronomical tide data from WXTide software. The team then created maps of probable area inundation and flood levels of storm surges along coastal areas for a specific PSWS using the results of the frequency distribution. These maps were developed from the time series data of the storm tide at 10 min intervals of all observation points in the Philippines. This information will be beneficial in developing early warnings systems, static maps, disaster mitigation and preparedness plans, vulnerability assessments, risk-sensitive land use plans, shoreline defense efforts, and coastal protection measures. Moreover, these will support the local government units' mandate to raise public awareness, disseminate information about storm surge hazards, and implement appropriate counter-measures for a given PSWS.

Volcanic ash and aviation–The challenges of real-time, global communication of a natural hazard

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lechner, Peter; Tupper, Andrew C.; Guffanti, Marianne C.; Loughlin, Sue; Casadevall, Thomas

2017-01-01

More than 30 years after the first major aircraft encounters with volcanic ash over Indonesia in 1982, it remains challenging to inform aircraft in flight of the exact location of potentially dangerous ash clouds on their flight path, particularly shortly after the eruption has occurred. The difficulties include reliably forecasting and detecting the onset of significant explosive eruptions on a global basis, observing the dispersal of eruption clouds in real time, capturing their complex structure and constituents in atmospheric transport models, describing these observations and modelling results in a manner suitable for aviation users, delivering timely warning messages to the cockpit, flight planners and air traffic management systems, and the need for scientific development in order to undertake operational enhancements. The framework under which these issues are managed is the International Airways Volcano Watch (IAVW), administered by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO outlines in its standards and recommended practices (International Civil Aviation Organization, 2014) the basic volcanic monitoring and communication that is necessary at volcano observatories in Member States (countries). However, not all volcanoes are monitored and not all countries with volcanoes have mandated volcano observatories or equivalents. To add to the efforts of volcano observatories, a system of Meteorological Watch Offices, Air Traffic Management Area Control Centres, and nine specialist Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) are responsible for observing, analysing, forecasting and communicating the aviation hazard (airborne ash), using agreed techniques and messages in defined formats. Continuous improvement of the IAVW framework is overseen by expert groups representing the operators of the system, the user community, and the science community. The IAVW represents a unique marriage of two scientific disciplines - volcanology and meteorology - with the aviation user community. There have been many multifaceted volcanic eruptions in complex meteorological conditions during the history of the IAVW. Each new eruption brings new insights into how the warning system can be improved, and each reinforces the lessons that have gone before. The management of these events has improved greatly since the major ash encounters in the 1980s, but discontinuities in the warning and communications system still occur. A good example is a 2014 ash encounter over Indonesia following the eruption of Kelut where the warnings did not reach the aircraft crew. Other events present enormous management challenges – for example the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland was, overall, less hazardous than many less publicised eruptions, but numerous small to moderate explosions over several weeks produced widespread disruption and a large economic impact. At the time of writing, while there has been hundreds of millions of US dollars in damage to aircraft from encounters with ash, there have been no fatalities resulting from aviation incidents in, or proximal to volcanic ash cloud. This reflects, at least in part, the hard work done in putting together a global warning system - although to some extent it also reflects a measure of good statistical fortune. In order to minimise the risk of aircraft encounters with volcanic ash clouds, the global effort continues. The future priorities for the IAVW are strongly focused on enhancing communication before, and at the very onset of a volcanic ash-producing event (typically the more dangerous stage), together with improved downstream information and warning systems to help reduce the economic impact of eruptions on aviation.

MyEEW: A Smartphone App for the ShakeAlert System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strauss, J. A.; Allen, S.; Allen, R. M.; Hellweg, M.

2015-12-01

Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) is a system that can provide a few to tens of seconds warning prior to ground shaking at a user's location. The goal and purpose of such a system is to reduce, or minimize, the damage, costs, and casualties resulting from an earthquake. A demonstration earthquake early warning system (ShakeAlert) is undergoing testing in the United States by the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory, Caltech, ETH Zurich, University of Washington, the USGS, and beta users in California and the Pacific Northwest. The UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory has created a smartphone app called MyEEW, which interfaces with the ShakeAlert system to deliver early warnings to individual users. Many critical facilities (transportation, police, and fire) have control rooms, which could run a centralized interface, but our ShakeAlert Beta Testers have also expressed their need for mobile options. This app augments the basic ShakeAlert Java desktop applet by allowing workers off-site (or merely out of hearing range) to be informed of coming hazards. MyEEW receives information from the ShakeAlert system to provide users with real-time information about shaking that is about to happen at their individual location. It includes a map, timer, and earthquake information similar to the Java desktop User Display. The app will also feature educational material to help users craft their own response and resiliency strategies. The app will be open to UC Berkeley Earthquake Research Affiliates members for testing in the near future.

Robotic Vehicle Communications Interoperability

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-01

starter (cold start) X X Fire suppression X Fording control X Fuel control X Fuel tank selector X Garage toggle X Gear selector X X X X Hazard warning...optic Sensors Sensor switch Video Radar IR Thermal imaging system Image intensifier Laser ranger Video camera selector Forward Stereo Rear Sensor control...optic sensors Sensor switch Video Radar IR Thermal imaging system Image intensifier Laser ranger Video camera selector Forward Stereo Rear Sensor

A seamless global hydrological monitoring and forecasting system for water resources assessment and hydrological hazard early warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheffield, Justin; He, Xiaogang; Wood, Eric; Pan, Ming; Wanders, Niko; Zhan, Wang; Peng, Liqing

2017-04-01

Sustainable management of water resources and mitigation of the impacts of hydrological hazards are becoming ever more important at large scales because of inter-basin, inter-country and inter-continental connections in water dependent sectors. These include water resources management, food production, and energy production, whose needs must be weighed against the water needs of ecosystems and preservation of water resources for future generations. The strains on these connections are likely to increase with climate change and increasing demand from burgeoning populations and rapid development, with potential for conflict over water. At the same time, network connections may provide opportunities to alleviate pressures on water availability through more efficient use of resources such as trade in water dependent goods. A key constraint on understanding, monitoring and identifying solutions to increasing competition for water resources and hazard risk is the availability of hydrological data for monitoring and forecasting water resources and hazards. We present a global online system that provides continuous and consistent water products across time scales, from the historic instrumental period, to real-time monitoring, short-term and seasonal forecasts, and climate change projections. The system is intended to provide data and tools for analysis of historic hydrological variability and trends, water resources assessment, monitoring of evolving hazards and forecasts for early warning, and climate change scale projections of changes in water availability and extreme events. The system is particular useful for scientists and stakeholders interested in regions with less available in-situ data, and where forecasts have the potential to help decision making. The system is built on a database of high-resolution climate data from 1950 to present that merges available observational records with bias-corrected reanalysis and satellite data, which then drives a coupled land surface model-flood inundation model to produce hydrological variables and indices at daily, 0.25-degree resolution, globally. The system is updated in near real-time (< 2 days) using satellite precipitation and weather model data, and produces forecasts at short-term (out to 7 days) based on the Global Forecast System (GFS) and seasonal (up to 6 months) based on U.S. National Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME) seasonal forecasts. Climate change projections are based on bias-corrected and downscaled CMIP5 climate data that is used to force the hydrological model. Example products from the system include real-time and forecast drought indices for precipitation, soil moisture, and streamflow, and flood magnitude and extent indices. The model outputs are complemented by satellite based products and indices based on satellite data for vegetation health (MODIS NDVI) and soil moisture (SMAP). We show examples of the validation of the system at regional scales, including how local information can significantly improve predictions, and examples of how the system can be used to understand large-scale water resource issues, and in real-world contexts for early warning, decision making and planning.

Real-Time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster Mitigation (READI) Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bock, Y.

2014-12-01

Real-time GNSS networks are making a significant impact on our ability to forecast, assess, and mitigate the effects of geological hazards. I describe the activities of the Real-time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster Mitigation (READI) working group. The group leverages 600+ real-time GPS stations in western North America operated by UNAVCO (PBO network), Central Washington University (PANGA), US Geological Survey & Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SCIGN project), UC Berkeley & US Geological Survey (BARD network), and the Pacific Geosciences Centre (WCDA project). Our goal is to demonstrate an earthquake and tsunami early warning system for western North America. Rapid response is particularly important for those coastal communities that are in the near-source region of large earthquakes and may have only minutes of warning time, and who today are not adequately covered by existing seismic and basin-wide ocean-buoy monitoring systems. The READI working group is performing comparisons of independent real time analyses of 1 Hz GPS data for station displacements and is participating in government-sponsored earthquake and tsunami exercises in the Western U.S. I describe a prototype seismogeodetic system using a cluster of southern California stations that includes GNSS tracking and collocation with MEMS accelerometers for real-time estimation of seismic velocity and displacement waveforms, which has advantages for improved earthquake early warning and tsunami forecasts compared to seismic-only or GPS-only methods. The READI working group's ultimate goal is to participate in an Indo-Pacific Tsunami early warning system that utilizes GNSS real-time displacements and ionospheric measurements along with seismic, near-shore buoys and ocean-bottom pressure sensors, where available, to rapidly estimate magnitude and finite fault slip models for large earthquakes, and then forecast tsunami source, energy scale, geographic extent, inundation and runup. This will require cooperation with other real-time efforts around the Pacific Rim in terms of sharing, analysis centers, and advisory bulletins to the responsible government agencies. The IAG's Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), in particular its natural hazards theme, provides a natural umbrella for achieving this objective.

Decision Support Systems and Early Warning Solutions: a review in European context.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortes, V. J.; Frigerio, S.; Schenato, L.; Sterlacchini, S.; Pasuto, A.

2012-04-01

According to the aim of the CHANGES network, an EU funded project, research is carried out towards the improvement of the emergency management strategies for hydro-meteorological hazards under the effects of climate and the pressure of socio-economic changes. Aim supported on the need to enhance local resilience to these hazards under different scenarios, if possible by means of a multi-disciplinary and multi-hazard approach. Both requirements recognized on the scientific and practical community. In this context, the current management of hydro-meteorological hazards have posed some difficulties due to the complexity of the phenomena and the processes associated. These impacts, usually developed as a domino effect are still not properly understood and require a management strategy that combines active and passive mitigation measures. On the other hand, the every time most destructive effect of these hazards and the available information and communication techniques has also stressed the responsible authorities to prepare, develop and implement more effective safeguard plans. Finally, a combined approach to this situation depicts a research way by integrating the development and implementation of early warning systems (EWS) and contingency plans (CP), which is generally constricted by the state-of-art and particular conditions for the assessment of hazards in place. Consequently, here is presented a review of Decision Support Systems (DSS) and EWS on hydrometeorological hazards such as flash floods, debris flows and landslides as a starting point for such a research initiative. Identification of common and basic features, advantages and disadvantages are expected to derive some elements for possible developments. The review is carried from the key conclusions and recommendations identified with past experiences of testing and developing a common platform; which generally comprises workflow management modules encrypted in a DSS with GIS interface and communication strategies and tools by ICT (Information & Communication Technology) for preparedness and response activities in the field of Civil Protection. The test experience was a joint development between CNR -IDPA and CNRS & University of Strasbourg for the Consortium of Mountain Municipalities Valtellina di Tirano, (Lombardia region, Italy)and the ONF-RTM Service of Barcelonnette (French South Alps).

Verbal collision avoidance messages during simulated driving: perceived urgency, alerting effectiveness and annoyance.

PubMed

Baldwin, Carryl L

2011-04-01

Matching the perceived urgency of an alert with the relative hazard level of the situation is critical for effective alarm response. Two experiments describe the impact of acoustic and semantic parameters on ratings of perceived urgency, annoyance and alerting effectiveness and on alarm response speed. Within a simulated driving context, participants rated and responded to collision avoidance system (CAS) messages spoken by a female or male voice (experiments 1 and 2, respectively). Results indicated greater perceived urgency and faster alarm response times as intensity increased from -2 dB signal to noise (S/N) ratio to +10 dB S/N, although annoyance ratings increased as well. CAS semantic content interacted with alarm intensity, indicating that at lower intensity levels participants paid more attention to the semantic content. Results indicate that both acoustic and semantic parameters independently and interactively impact CAS alert perceptions in divided attention conditions and this work can inform auditory alarm design for effective hazard matching. Matching the perceived urgency of an alert with the relative hazard level of the situation is critical for effective alarm response. Here, both acoustic and semantic parameters independently and interactively impacted CAS alert perceptions in divided attention conditions. This work can inform auditory alarm design for effective hazard matching. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Results indicate that both acoustic parameters and semantic content can be used to design collision warnings with a range of urgency levels. Further, these results indicate that verbal warnings tailored to a specific hazard situation may improve hazard-matching capabilities without substantial trade-offs in perceived annoyance.

Future Earth: Reducing Loss By Automating Response to Earthquake Shaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, R. M.

2014-12-01

Earthquakes pose a significant threat to society in the U.S. and around the world. The risk is easily forgotten given the infrequent recurrence of major damaging events, yet the likelihood of a major earthquake in California in the next 30 years is greater than 99%. As our societal infrastructure becomes ever more interconnected, the potential impacts of these future events are difficult to predict. Yet, the same inter-connected infrastructure also allows us to rapidly detect earthquakes as they begin, and provide seconds, tens or seconds, or a few minutes warning. A demonstration earthquake early warning system is now operating in California and is being expanded to the west coast (www.ShakeAlert.org). In recent earthquakes in the Los Angeles region, alerts were generated that could have provided warning to the vast majority of Los Angelinos who experienced the shaking. Efforts are underway to build a public system. Smartphone technology will be used not only to issue that alerts, but could also be used to collect data, and improve the warnings. The MyShake project at UC Berkeley is currently testing an app that attempts to turn millions of smartphones into earthquake-detectors. As our development of the technology continues, we can anticipate ever-more automated response to earthquake alerts. Already, the BART system in the San Francisco Bay Area automatically stops trains based on the alerts. In the future, elevators will stop, machinery will pause, hazardous materials will be isolated, and self-driving cars will pull-over to the side of the road. In this presentation we will review the current status of the earthquake early warning system in the US. We will illustrate how smartphones can contribute to the system. Finally, we will review applications of the information to reduce future losses.

Robust Kalman filter design for predictive wind shear detection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stratton, Alexander D.; Stengel, Robert F.

1991-01-01

Severe, low-altitude wind shear is a threat to aviation safety. Airborne sensors under development measure the radial component of wind along a line directly in front of an aircraft. In this paper, optimal estimation theory is used to define a detection algorithm to warn of hazardous wind shear from these sensors. To achieve robustness, a wind shear detection algorithm must distinguish threatening wind shear from less hazardous gustiness, despite variations in wind shear structure. This paper presents statistical analysis methods to refine wind shear detection algorithm robustness. Computational methods predict the ability to warn of severe wind shear and avoid false warning. Comparative capability of the detection algorithm as a function of its design parameters is determined, identifying designs that provide robust detection of severe wind shear.

Contribution of Near Real Time MODIS-Based Forest Disturbance Detection Products to a National Forest Threat Early Warning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spruce, Joseph; Hargrove, William; Gasser, Gerald; Smoot, James; Kuper, Philip

2011-01-01

U.S. forests occupy approx. 751 million acres (approx. 1/3 of total land). These forests are exposed to multiple biotic and abiotic threats that collectively damage extensive acreages each year. Hazardous forest disturbances can threaten human life and property, bio-diversity and water supplies. Timely regional forest monitoring products are needed to aid forest management and decision making by the US Forest Service and its state and private partners. Daily MODIS data products provide a means to monitor regional forest disturbances on a weekly basis. In response, we began work in 2006 to develop a Near Real Time (NRT) forest monitoring capability, based on MODIS NDVI data, as part of a national forest threat early warning system (EWS)

Summary of the stakeholders workshop to develop a National Volcano Early Warning System (NVEWS)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guffanti, Marianne; Scott, William E.; Driedger, Carolyn L.; Ewert, John W.

2006-01-01

The importance of investing in monitoring, mitigation, and preparedness before natural hazards occur has been amply demonstrated by recent disasters such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Playing catch-up with hazardous natural phenomena such as these limits our ability to work with public officials and the public to lessen adverse impacts. With respect to volcanic activity, the starting point of effective pre-event mitigation is monitoring capability sufficient to detect and diagnose precursory unrest so that communities at risk have reliable information and sufficient time to respond to hazards with which they may be confronted. Recognizing that many potentially dangerous U.S. volcanoes have inadequate or no ground-based monitoring, the U.S Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program (VHP) and partners recently evaluated U.S. volcano-monitoring capabilities and published 'An Assessment of Volcanic Threat and Monitoring Capabilities in the United States: Framework for a National Volcano Early Warning System (NVEWS).' Results of the NVEWS volcanic threat and monitoring assessment are being used to guide long-term improvements to the national volcano-monitoring infrastructure operated by the USGS and affiliated groups. The NVEWS report identified the need to convene a workshop of a broad group of stakeholders--such as representatives of emergency- and land-management agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels and the aviation sector--to solicit input about implementation of NVEWS and their specific information requirements. Accordingly, an NVEWS Stakeholders Workshop was held in Portland, Oregon, on 22-23 February 2006. A summary of the workshop is presented in this document.

Radiation Hazard Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

NASA technology has made commercially available a new, inexpensive, conveniently-carried device for protection, of people exposed to potentially dangerous levels of microwave radiation. Microwaves are radio emissions of extremely high frequency. They can be hazardous but the degree of hazard is not yet well understood. Generally, it is believed that low intensity radiation of short duration is not harmful but that exposure to high levels can induce deep internal burns, affecting the circulatory and nervous systems, and particularly the eyes. The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established an allowable safe threshold of exposure. However, people working near high intensity sources of microwave energy-for example, radar antennas and television transmitters-may be unknowingly exposed to radiation levels beyond the safe limit. This poses not only a personal safety problem but also a problem for employers in terms of productivity loss, workman's compensation claims and possible liability litigation. Earlier-developed monitoring devices which warn personnel of dangerous radiation levels have their shortcomings. They can be cumbersome and awkward to use while working. They also require continual visual monitoring to determine if a person is in a dangerous area of radiation, and they are relatively expensive, another deterrent to their widespread adoption. In response to the need for a cheaper and more effective warning system, Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed, under NASA auspices, a new, battery-powered Microwave Radiation Hazard Detector. To bring the product to the commercial market, California Institute Research Foundation, the patent holder, granted an exclusive license to Cicoil Corporation, Chatsworth, California, an electronic components manufacturer.

Consensus Seasonal Flood Forecasts and Warning Response System (FFWRS): an alternate for nonstructural flood management in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Chowdhury, Rashed

2005-06-01

Despite advances in short-range flood forecasting and information dissemination systems in Bangladesh, the present system is less than satisfactory. This is because of short lead-time products, outdated dissemination networks, and lack of direct feedback from the end-user. One viable solution is to produce long-lead seasonal forecasts--the demand for which is significantly increasing in Bangladesh--and disseminate these products through the appropriate channels. As observed in other regions, the success of seasonal forecasts, in contrast to short-term forecast, depends on consensus among the participating institutions. The Flood Forecasting and Warning Response System (henceforth, FFWRS) has been found to be an important component in a comprehensive and participatory approach to seasonal flood management. A general consensus in producing seasonal forecasts can thus be achieved by enhancing the existing FFWRS. Therefore, the primary objective of this paper is to revisit and modify the framework of an ideal warning response system for issuance of consensus seasonal flood forecasts in Bangladesh. The five-stage FFWRS-i) Flood forecasting, ii) Forecast interpretation and message formulation, iii) Warning preparation and dissemination, iv) Responses, and v) Review and analysis-has been modified. To apply the concept of consensus forecast, a framework similar to that of the Southern African Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF) has been discussed. Finally, the need for a climate Outlook Fora has been emphasized for a comprehensive and participatory approach to seasonal flood hazard management in Bangladesh.

Implementing drought early warning systems: policy lessons and future needs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iglesias, Ana; Werner, Micha; Maia, Rodrigo; Garrote, Luis; Nyabeze, Washington

2014-05-01

Drought forecasting and Warning provides the potential of reducing impacts to society due to drought events. The implementation of effective drought forecasting and warning, however, requires not only science to support reliable forecasting, but also adequate policy and societal response. Here we propose a protocol to develop drought forecasting and early warning based in the international cooperation of African and European institutions in the DEWFORA project (EC, 7th Framework Programme). The protocol includes four major phases that address the scientific knowledge and the social capacity to use the knowledge: (a) What is the science available? Evaluating how signs of impending drought can be detected and predicted, defining risk levels, and analysing of the signs of drought in an integrated vulnerability approach. (b) What are the societal capacities? In this the institutional framework that enables policy development is evaluated. The protocol gathers information on vulnerability and pending hazard in advance so that early warnings can be declared at sufficient lead time and drought mitigation planning can be implemented at an early stage. (c) How can science be translated into policy? Linking science indicators into the actions/interventions that society needs to implement, and evaluating how policy is implemented. Key limitations to planning for drought are the social capacities to implement early warning systems. Vulnerability assessment contributes to identify these limitations and therefore provides crucial information to policy development. Based on the assessment of vulnerability we suggest thresholds for management actions to respond to drought forecasts and link predictive indicators to relevant potential mitigation strategies. Vulnerability assessment is crucial to identify relief, coping and management responses that contribute to a more resilient society. (d) How can society benefit from the forecast? Evaluating how information is provided to potentially affected groups, and how mitigation strategies can be taken in response. This paper presents an outline of the protocol that was developed in the DEWFORA project, outlining the complementary roles of science, policy and societal uptake in effective drought forecasting and warning. A consensus on the need to emphasise the social component of early warning was reached when testing the DEWFORA early warning system protocol among experts from 18 countries.

Towards a debris-flow warning system based on hydrological measurements of the triggering conditions. A study of El Rebaixader catchment (Central Pyrenees, Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abancó, Clàudia; Hürlimann, Marcel; Moya, José

2014-05-01

Debris flows represent a risk to the society due to their high destructive power. Rainfall is the main debris-flow triggering factor. Rainfall thresholds are generally used for warning of debris flow occurrence in susceptible catchments. However, the efficiency of such thresholds for real time hazard assessment is often conditioned by many factors, such as: the location and number of the rain gauges used (both to define the thresholds, and for setting off warnings); the temporal and spatial evolution of rainfall's convective cells or the effect of snow cover melting. These factors affect the length of the warning time, which is of crucial importance for issuing alert messages or alarms to the people and infrastructures at risk. The Rebaixader catchment (Central Pyrenees, Spain) is being monitored since 2009 by six stations recording information on initiation (4 stations) and flow detection and cinematic behaviour (2 stations). Until December 2013, 7 debris flows, 17 debris floods and 4 rockfalls have been recorded. The objectives of this work were: a) the definition of rainfall thresholds at two different rain gauges; b) the analysis of the infiltration patterns in order to define their potential use for warning systems and c) preliminary testing of rainfall thresholds' efficiency in terms of warning time, in this catchment. This last goal consisted in the comparison of the time elapsed between the rainfall threshold was exceeded and the event occurrence was detected by the stations at the channel area. The results suggest that the intensity-duration rainfall thresholds sometimes provide warning times which would be too short for an adequate reaction in the Rebaixader catchment (less than 10 minutes). The combination of such rainfall thresholds with infiltration measurements is useful to increase the warning time. This occurs especially in the events triggered in spring, when the snowmelt plays an important role in the event's triggering conditions. However, the effects of infiltration associated to the summer convective rainfalls are almost imperceptible; therefore their importance in warning systems decreases.

49 CFR 172.407 - Label specifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... one color background of green, red or blue. (ii) White must be used for the text and class number for... Hazardous Materials Safety, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards, Room 8422, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh... markings and hazard warning labels and placards: (i) For Red—Use PANTONE ® 186 U (ii) For Orange—Use...

Use of Advanced Tsunami Hazard Assessment Techniques and Tsunami Source Characterizations in U.S. and International Nuclear Regulatory Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kammerer, A. M.; Godoy, A. R.

2009-12-01

In response to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, as well as the anticipation of the submission of license applications for new nuclear facilities, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) initiated a long-term research program to improve understanding of tsunami hazard levels for nuclear power plants and other coastal facilities in the United States. To undertake this effort, the US NRC organized a collaborative research program jointly undertaken with researchers at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the purpose of assessing tsunami hazard on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. This study identified and modeled both seismic and landslide tsunamigenic sources in the near- and far-field. The results from this work are now being used directly as the basis for the review of tsunami hazard at potential nuclear plant sites. This application once again shows the importance that the earth sciences can play in addressing issues of importance to society. Because the Indian Ocean Tsunami was a global event, a number of cooperative international activities have also been initiated within the nuclear community. The results of US efforts are being incorporated into updated regulatory guidance for both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Coordinated efforts are underway to integrate state-of-the art tsunami warning tools developed by NOAA into NRC and IAEA activities. The goal of the warning systems project is to develop automated protocols that allow scientists at these agencies to have up-to-the minute user-specific information in hand shortly after a potential tsunami has been identified by the US Tsunami Warning System. Lastly, USGS and NOAA scientists are assisting the NRC and IAEA in a special Extra-Budgetary Program (IAEA EBP) on tsunami being coordinated by the IAEA’s International Seismic Safety Center. This IAEA EBP is focused on sharing lessons learned, tsunami hazard assessment techniques, and numerical tools among UN Member States. The complete body of basic and applied research undertaken in these many projects represents the combined effort of a diverse group of marine geologists, geophysicists, geotechnical engineers, seismologists and hydrodynamic modelers at multiple organizations.

How soon is too soon? When to cancel a warning after a damaging tsunami

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fryer, G. J.; Becker, N. C.; Wang, D.; Weinstein, S.; Richards, K.

2012-12-01

Following an earthquake a tsunami warning center (TWC) must determine if a coastal evacuation is necessary and must do so fast enough for the warning to be useful to affected coastlines. Once a damaging tsunami has arrived, the TWC must decide when to cancel its warning, a task often more challenging than the initial hazard assessment. Here we demonstrate the difficulties by investigating the impact of the Tohoku tsunami of 11 March 2011 on the State of Hawaii, which relies on the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) for tsunami hazard guidance. PTWC issued a Tsunami Watch for Hawaii at 10 March 1956 HST (10 minutes after the earthquake) and upgraded to a Tsunami Warning at 2131 HST. The tsunami arrived in Hawaii just before 0300 HST the next day, reached a maximum runup of over 5 m, and did roughly $50 million in damage throughout the state. PTWC downgraded the Warning to an Advisory at 0730 HST, and canceled the Advisory at 1140 HST. The timing of the downgrade was appropriate—by then it was safe for coastal residents to re-enter the evacuation zone but not to enter the water—but in retrospect PTWC cancelled its Advisory too early. By late morning tide gauges throughout the state had all registered maximum wave heights of 30 cm or less for a couple of hours, so PTWC cancelled. The Center was unaware, however, of ocean behavior at locations without instruments. At Ma'alaea Harbor on the Island of Maui, for example, sea level oscillations exposed the harbor bottom every 20 minutes for several hours after the cancellation. At Waikiki on Oahu, lifeguards rescued 25 swimmers (who had either ignored or were unaware of the cancellation message's caution about hazardous currents) in the hours after the cancellation and performed CPR on one near-drowning victim. Fortunately, there were no deaths. Because of dangerous surges, ocean safety officials closed Hanauma Bay, a popular snorkeling spot on Oahu, for a full day after the tsunami hit. They reassessed the bay the following morning just as waves reflected from South America started to arrive (36 hours after the earthquake), and prudently chose to keep the bay closed for two further days. The Tohoku tsunami showed that resonances and trapped waves in shallow water can last for many hours and that energy reflected from distant shorelines can rejuvenate them. PTWC's real-time simulation of the tsunami, including animation of its propagation, now helps to identify which reflections will be most troublesome and should permit the Center to specify in advance how long a Warning should remain in effect. The current open-ended warnings, which specify when the tsunami will arrive but not how long the Warning should last, should be replaced with warnings active for a specified time ("until 3 a.m. tomorrow"), with PTWC adjusting the projected cancellation time based on coastal sea-level observations. Such warnings should greatly reduce public misconceptions and state and local government expectations about how long the hazard will last. The National Weather Service, parent agency of the US TWCs, already issues weather Warnings and Advisories active for specific durations, so this message format is already familiar to both the public and emergency managers.

Public responses to flood warning messages: the Floodline service in Scotland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cranston, Michael; Geddes, Alistair; Black, Andrew; Ambler, Alice; Menmuir, Cordelia

2017-04-01

Over the past decade, efforts have been made to improve the national flood warning system in Scotland, with new capabilities in the underlying flood forecasting tools, as well as development of an active flood warning dissemination service. This paper focusses on the latter service, for which there are around 26,000 customers registered at present, and which saw over 300,000 individual messages being issued during recent floods in winter 2015/16. However, notwithstanding such promising signs of change, evidence of how (if at all) the flood warning messages disseminated by the service actually impacts on recipient behaviour remains more limited. For example, this includes knowledge of the extent to which the messages influence actions on flood preparedness and mitigation. In consequence, there are also ongoing questions over the cost-effectiveness of the service in its current format, and of its scalability to even larger numbers of recipients. This paper will present initial findings from the first detailed study of customer perceptions of the messages distributed via the Scottish flood warning system, officially known as Floodline. In particular, the primary focus will be on results generated from a web-based questionnaire survey of registered Floodline customers. The survey was designed to assess associations between multiple customer characteristics, including location and risk level, type of warning message received, prior experience of flooding, risk awareness, and demographics. The study was conducted for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, which is responsible for running the Floodline service. More broadly it resonates with current emphases on exploring effective means of hazard communication and encouraging public engagement in flood risk management.

Directing driver attention with augmented reality cues

PubMed Central

Rusch, Michelle L.; Schall, Mark C.; Gavin, Patrick; Lee, John D.; Dawson, Jeffrey D.; Vecera, Shaun; Rizzo, Matthew

2013-01-01

This simulator study evaluated the effects of augmented reality (AR) cues designed to direct the attention of experienced drivers to roadside hazards. Twenty-seven healthy middle-aged licensed drivers with a range of attention capacity participated in a 54 mile (1.5 hour) drive in an interactive fixed-base driving simulator. Each participant received AR cues to potential roadside hazards in six simulated straight (9 mile long) rural roadway segments. Drivers were evaluated on response time for detecting a potentially hazardous event, detection accuracy for target (hazard) and non-target objects, and headway with respect to the hazards. Results showed no negative outcomes associated with interference. AR cues did not impair perception of non-target objects, including for drivers with lower attentional capacity. Results showed near significant response time benefits for AR cued hazards. AR cueing increased response rate for detecting pedestrians and warning signs but not vehicles. AR system false alarms and misses did not impair driver responses to potential hazards. PMID:24436635

32 CFR 632.5 - Use of firearms.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... not fire if shots are likely to harm innocent bystanders. (3) Since warning shots could harm innocent bystanders, avoid firing them. However, when lesser degrees of force have failed, the law enforcement or.... If able to avoid hazards to innocent persons in these cases, fire warning shots. (4) Aim to disable...

Final report for the second train warning sign demonstration project on the Los Angeles Metro Blue Line

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-01-10

This demonstration project was carried out to investigate the use of a train activated warning sign as a means of reducing the added hazard for pedestrians of two trains in a highway railroad intersection (HRI) at the same time. The demonstration pro...

Acquisition and use of Orlando, Florida and Continental Airbus radar flight test data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eide, Michael C.; Mathews, Bruce

1992-01-01

Westinghouse is developing a lookdown pulse Doppler radar for production as the sensor and processor of a forward looking hazardous windshear detection and avoidance system. A data collection prototype of that product was ready for flight testing in Orlando to encounter low level windshear in corroboration with the FAA-Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR). Airborne real-time processing and display of the hazard factor were demonstrated with TDWR facilitated intercepts and penetrations of over 80 microbursts in a three day period, including microbursts with hazard factors in excess of .16 (with 500 ft. PIREP altitude loss) and the hazard factor display at 6 n.mi. of a visually transparent ('dry') microburst with TDWR corroborated outflow reflectivities of +5 dBz. Range gated Doppler spectrum data was recorded for subsequent development and refinement of hazard factor detection and urban clutter rejection algorithms. Following Orlando, the data collection radar was supplemental type certified for in revenue service on a Continental Airlines Airbus in an automatic and non-interferring basis with its ARINC 708 radar to allow Westinghouse to confirm its understanding of commercial aircraft installation, interface realities, and urban airport clutter. A number of software upgrades, all of which were verified at the Receiver-Transmitter-Processor (RTP) hardware bench with Orlando microburst data to produce desired advanced warning hazard factor detection, included some preliminary loads with automatic (sliding window average hazard factor) detection and annunciation recording. The current (14-APR-92) configured software is free from false and/or nuisance alerts (CAUTIONS, WARNINGS, etc.) for all take-off and landing approaches, under 2500 ft. altitude to weight-on-wheels, into all encountered airports, including Newark (NJ), LAX, Denver, Houston, Cleveland, etc. Using the Orlando data collected on hazardous microbursts, Westinghouse has developed a lookdown pulse Doppler radar product with signal and data processing algorithms which detect realistic microburst hazards and has demonstrated those algorithms produce no false alerts (or nuisance alerts) in urban airport ground moving vehicle (GMTI) and/or clutter environments.

78 FR 47205 - National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-05

... material, isolation and capping of non- hazardous materials, installation of fencing, posting of warning... on the site, No excavations causing erosion, No excavation below base material of the road bed (State...

ADVICE: A New Approach for Near-Real-Time Monitoring of Surface Displacements in Landslide Hazard Scenarios

PubMed Central

Allasia, Paolo; Manconi, Andrea; Giordan, Daniele; Baldo, Marco; Lollino, Giorgio

2013-01-01

We present a new method for near-real-time monitoring of surface displacements due to landslide phenomena, namely ADVanced dIsplaCement monitoring system for Early warning (ADVICE). The procedure includes: (i) data acquisition and transfer protocols; (ii) data collection, filtering, and validation; (iii) data analysis and restitution through a set of dedicated software; (iv) recognition of displacement/velocity threshold, early warning messages via SMS and/or emails; (v) automatic publication of the results on a dedicated webpage. We show how the system evolved and the results obtained by applying ADVICE over three years into a real early warning scenario relevant to a large earthflow located in southern Italy. ADVICE has speed-up and facilitated the understanding of the landslide phenomenon, the communication of the monitoring results to the partners, and consequently the decision-making process in a critical scenario. Our work might have potential applications not only for landslide monitoring but also in other contexts, as monitoring of other geohazards and of complex infrastructures, as open-pit mines, buildings, dams, etc. PMID:23807688

ADVICE: a new approach for near-real-time monitoring of surface displacements in landslide hazard scenarios.

PubMed

Allasia, Paolo; Manconi, Andrea; Giordan, Daniele; Baldo, Marco; Lollino, Giorgio

2013-06-27

We present a new method for near-real-time monitoring of surface displacements due to landslide phenomena, namely ADVanced dIsplaCement monitoring system for Early warning (ADVICE). The procedure includes: (i) data acquisition and transfer protocols; (ii) data collection, filtering, and validation; (iii) data analysis and restitution through a set of dedicated software; (iv) recognition of displacement/velocity threshold, early warning messages via SMS and/or emails; (v) automatic publication of the results on a dedicated webpage. We show how the system evolved and the results obtained by applying ADVICE over three years into a real early warning scenario relevant to a large earthflow located in southern Italy. ADVICE has speed-up and facilitated the understanding of the landslide phenomenon, the communication of the monitoring results to the partners, and consequently the decision-making process in a critical scenario. Our work might have potential applications not only for landslide monitoring but also in other contexts, as monitoring of other geohazards and of complex infrastructures, as open-pit mines, buildings, dams, etc.

Landslides in Nicaragua - Mapping, Inventory, Hazard Assessment, Vulnerability Reduction, and Forecasting Attempts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dévoli, G.; Strauch, W.; Álvarez, A.; Muñoz, A.; Kjekstad, O.

2009-04-01

A successful landslide hazard and risk assessment requires awareness and good understanding of the potential landslide problems within the geographic area involved. However, this requirement is not always met in developing countries where population, scientific community, and the government may not be aware of the landslide threat. The landslide hazard assessment is often neglected or is based on sparse and not well documented technical information. In Nicaragua (Central America), the basic conditions for landslide hazard and risk assessment were first created after the catastrophic landslides triggered by Hurricane Mitch in October 1998. A single landslide took the life of thousands of people at Casita volcano forcing entire communities to be evacuated or relocated and, furthermore, thousands of smaller landslides caused loss of fertile soils and pasture lands, and made serious damages to the infrastructure. Since those events occurred, the public awareness has increased and the country relies now on new local and national governmental laws and policies, on a number of landslide investigations, and on educational and training programs. Dozens of geologists have been capacitated to investigate landslide prone areas, The Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER), governmental geo-scientific institution, has assumed the responsibility to help land-use planners and public officials to reduce geological hazard losses. They are committed to work cooperatively with national, international, and local agencies, universities and the private sector to provide scientific information and improve public safety through forecasting and warnings. However, in order to provide successful long-term landslide hazard assessment, the institutions must face challenges related to the scarcity and varied quality of available landslide information; collection and access to dispersed data and documents; organization of landslide information in a form that can be easy to access, manage, update and distribute in a short time to all sectors and users; and finally, the need of a comprehensive understanding of landslide processes. Many efforts have been made in the last 10 years to gain a more comprehensive and predictive understanding of landslide processes in Nicaragua. Since 1998, landslide inventory GIS based maps have been produced in different areas of the country, as part of international and multidisciplinary development projects. Landslide susceptibility and hazard maps are available now at INETEŔs Website for all municipalities of the country. The insights on landslide hazard have been transmitted to governmental agencies, local authorities, NGÓs, international agencies to be used in measures for risk reduction. A massive application example was the integration of hazard assessment studies in a large house building program in Nicaragua. Hazards of landslides, and other dangerous phenomena, were evaluated in more than 90 house building projects, each with 50 - 200 houses to be build, sited mainly in rural areas of the country. For more than 7000 families, this program could finally assure that their new houses were build in safe areas. Attempts have been made to develop a strategy for early warning of landslides in Nicaragua. First approaches relied on precipitation gauges with satellite based telemetry which were installed in some Nicaraguan volcanoes where lahars occur frequently. The occurrence of lahars in certain gullies could be detected by seismic stations. A software system gave acoustic alarm at INETEŔs Monitoring Centre when certain trigger levels of the accumulated precipitation were reached. The monitoring and early warning for all areas under risk would have required many rain gauges. A new concept is tested which uses near real time precipitation estimates from NOAA meteorological satellite data. A software system sends out alarm messages if strong or long lasting rains are observed over certain landslide "hot spots". The work in Nicaragua also aims to develop methods which can be followed in Central America and by other developing countries in the data collection, hazard mapping and assessment, Web publishing, and early warning.

Volcanic debris flows in developing countries - The extreme need for public education and awareness of debris-flow hazards

USGS Publications Warehouse

Major, J.J.; Schilling, S.P.; Pullinger, C.R.; ,

2003-01-01

In many developing countries, volcanic debris flows pose a significant societal risk owing to the distribution of dense populations that commonly live on or near a volcano. At many volcanoes, modest volume (up to 500,000 m 3) debris flows are relatively common (multiple times per century) and typically flow at least 5 km along established drainages. Owing to typical debris-flow velocities there is little time for authorities to provide effective warning of the occurrence of a debris flow to populations within 10 km of a source area. Therefore, people living, working, or recreating along channels that drain volcanoes must learn to recognize potentially hazardous conditions, be aware of the extent of debris-flow hazard zones, and be prepared to evacuate to safer ground when hazardous conditions develop rather than await official warnings or intervention. Debris-flow-modeling and hazard-assessment studies must be augmented with public education programs that emphasize recognizing conditions favorable for triggering landslides and debris flows if effective hazard mitigation is to succeed. ?? 2003 Millpress,.

Looking beyond the destruction of the GLOF-Early Warning System of the Lake 513 in the Peruvian Andes by the local rural population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christine, Jurt; Vicuña, Luis; Dulce Burga, María; Huggel, Christian; Frey, Holger

2017-04-01

The news about the destruction of the early warning system of the glacial Lake 513 at the headwaters of the Chucchún catchment in Peru's Cordillera Blanca left many people perplexed. The early warning system was installed after around 40 years of glacier hazard management in the region. It was developed within a project that is widely considered as particularly successful with a close cooperation of several Peruvian institutions, the local municipality, the community and Swiss scientists. From a risk reduction point of view, the early warning system is a critical factor and its destruction by local people themselves is hardly comprehensible. Three month of fieldwork on site in the local communities of the Chucchún catchment during and after the installation of the system, including semi-structured interviews, group discussions and participatory observations as well the participation in the project allowed us to get deeper insights into the context and background of what has occurred. Here, we approach the destruction of the early warning system by analyzing different perspectives on encounters between different actors involved - local groups, scientists from Peru and Switzerland, technical staff, NGO in the field of development, representatives of governmental institutions. Such encounters between the different actors during the practice of science (e.g. doing fieldwork) or during the installation of the early warning system (as for instance in meetings on site) are crucial for overcoming gaps between scientific and local knowledge as well as between knowledge and practice. This led to new insights into the discussion of the case of destruction in Chucchún. Mutual perceptions among the groups, self-perceptions and perceptions of both visible and invisible risks shape the discourses about risks and measures in specific situations of encounters during the project. Particularly striking, however, are different perspectives on encounters in the past between representatives of groups which are now involved in the project, and how these encounters are analyzed in the actual in terms of the present and future.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gunawan, Hendar; Puspito, Nanang T.; Ibrahim, Gunawan

Earthquake pose serious threat of live and properties for urban area near subduction zone offshore and active fault on land. Jakarta and Bandung is an example of big city that no system of Earthquake early warning (EEW) event very high urbanization, and has many important infra structure in the area. The capital city is potentially high risk ground shaking. EEW can be usefull tool for reducing earthquake hazard, if spatial relation between cities and earthquake source is favorable for such warning and their citizens are properly trained to response early warning message. An EEW and rapid response system can providemore » the critical information needed to minimized lost of live and property and direct rescue. Earthquake ground shaking with magnitude M>6.0 from zone of Megathrust, southern of West Java should potentially damage in the area of west java especially Bandung and Jakarta City. This research development of EEW parameter such as amplitude displacement (Pd), rapid magnitude determination (M) and Peak ground Velocity (PGV). We explore the practical approach to EEW with the use of Broadband seismogram signal. Time effective EEW which epicenter from megathrust zone has potential to provide EEW in the area of west java such as Jakarta first ground shaking more or less 60 second later and strong shaking 118 second after EEW Alarm on CISI Station. EEW notification at potentially damage in the area of west java can be predicted from the characteristic of Pd > 0.5 cm, M> 6 and PGV > 10 cm/sec. GIS as a tool for presentation of hazard mapping in the affected area.« less

Coupling a regional warning system to a semantic engine on online news for enhancing landslide prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battistini, Alessandro; Rosi, Ascanio; Segoni, Samuele; Catani, Filippo; Casagli, Nicola

2017-04-01

Landslide inventories are basic data for large scale landslide modelling, e.g. they are needed to calibrate and validate rainfall thresholds, physically based models and early warning systems. The setting up of landslide inventories with traditional methods (e.g. remote sensing, field surveys and manual retrieval of data from technical reports and local newspapers) is time consuming. The objective of this work is to automatically set up a landslide inventory using a state-of-the art semantic engine based on data mining on online news (Battistini et al., 2013) and to evaluate if the automatically generated inventory can be used to validate a regional scale landslide warning system based on rainfall-thresholds. The semantic engine scanned internet news in real time in a 50 months test period. At the end of the process, an inventory of approximately 900 landslides was set up for the Tuscany region (23,000 km2, Italy). The inventory was compared with the outputs of the regional landslide early warning system based on rainfall thresholds, and a good correspondence was found: e.g. 84% of the events reported in the news is correctly identified by the model. In addition, the cases of not correspondence were forwarded to the rainfall threshold developers, which used these inputs to update some of the thresholds. On the basis of the results obtained, we conclude that automatic validation of landslide models using geolocalized landslide events feedback is possible. The source of data for validation can be obtained directly from the internet channel using an appropriate semantic engine. We also automated the validation procedure, which is based on a comparison between forecasts and reported events. We verified that our approach can be automatically used for a near real time validation of the warning system and for a semi-automatic update of the rainfall thresholds, which could lead to an improvement of the forecasting effectiveness of the warning system. In the near future, the proposed procedure could operate in continuous time and could allow for a periodic update of landslide hazard models and landslide early warning systems with minimum human intervention. References: Battistini, A., Segoni, S., Manzo, G., Catani, F., Casagli, N. (2013). Web data mining for automatic inventory of geohazards at national scale. Applied Geography, 43, 147-158.

Design and application analysis of prediction system of geo-hazards based on GIS in the Three Gorges Reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Deying; Yin, Kunlong; Gao, Huaxi; Liu, Changchun

2009-10-01

Although the project of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River in China can utilize this huge potential source of hydroelectric power, and eliminate the loss of life and damage by flood, it also causes environmental problems due to the big rise and fluctuation of the water, such as geo-hazards. In order to prevent and predict geo-hazards, the establishment of prediction system of geo-hazards is very necessary. In order to implement functions of hazard prediction of regional and urban geo-hazard, single geo-hazard prediction, prediction of landslide surge and risk evaluation, logical layers of the system consist of data capturing layer, data manipulation and processing layer, analysis and application layer, and information publication layer. Due to the existence of multi-source spatial data, the research on the multi-source transformation and fusion data should be carried on in the paper. Its applicability of the system was testified on the spatial prediction of landslide hazard through spatial analysis of GIS in which information value method have been applied aims to identify susceptible areas that are possible to future landslide, on the basis of historical record of past landslide, terrain parameter, geology, rainfall and anthropogenic activity. Detailed discussion was carried out on spatial distribution characteristics of landslide hazard in the new town of Badong. These results can be used for risk evaluation. The system can be implemented as an early-warning and emergency management tool by the relevant authorities of the Three Gorges Reservoir in the future.

Integrating observation and statistical forecasts over sub-Saharan Africa to support Famine Early Warning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Funk, Chris; Verdin, James P.; Husak, Gregory

2007-01-01

Famine early warning in Africa presents unique challenges and rewards. Hydrologic extremes must be tracked and anticipated over complex and changing climate regimes. The successful anticipation and interpretation of hydrologic shocks can initiate effective government response, saving lives and softening the impacts of droughts and floods. While both monitoring and forecast technologies continue to advance, discontinuities between monitoring and forecast systems inhibit effective decision making. Monitoring systems typically rely on high resolution satellite remote-sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and rainfall imagery. Forecast systems provide information on a variety of scales and formats. Non-meteorologists are often unable or unwilling to connect the dots between these disparate sources of information. To mitigate these problem researchers at UCSB's Climate Hazard Group, NASA GIMMS and USGS/EROS are implementing a NASA-funded integrated decision support system that combines the monitoring of precipitation and NDVI with statistical one-to-three month forecasts. We present the monitoring/forecast system, assess its accuracy, and demonstrate its application in food insecure sub-Saharan Africa.

Evaluating optical hazards from plasma arc cutting.

PubMed

Glassford, Eric; Burr, Gregory

2018-01-01

The Health Hazard Evaluation Program of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health evaluated a steel building materials manufacturer. The employer requested the evaluation because of concerns about optical radiation hazards from a plasma arc cutting system and the need to clarify eye protection requirements for plasma operators, other employees, and visitors. The strength of the ultraviolet radiation, visible radiation (light), and infrared radiation generated by the plasma arc cutter was measured at various distances from the source and at different operating amperages. Investigators also observed employees performing the plasma arc cutting. Optical radiation above safe levels for the unprotected eyes in the ultraviolet-C, ultraviolet-B, and visible light ranges were found during plasma arc cutting. In contrast, infrared and ultraviolet-A radiation levels during plasma arc cutting were similar to background levels. The highest non-ionizing radiation exposures occurred when no welding curtains were used. A plasma arc welding curtain in place did not eliminate optical radiation hazards to the plasma arc operator or to nearby employees. In most instances, the measured intensities for visible light, UV-C, and UV-B resulted in welding shade lens numbers that were lower than those stipulated in the OSHA Filter Lenses for Protection Against Radiant Energy table in 29 CFR 1910.133(a)(5). [1] Investigators recommended using a welding curtain that enclosed the plasma arc, posting optical radiation warning signs in the plasma arc cutter area, installing audible or visual warning cues when the plasma arc cutter was operating, and using welding shades that covered the plasma arc cutter operator's face to protect skin from ultraviolet radiation hazards.

A max-to-min technique for making projections of NDVI change in semi-arid Africa for food security early warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, M. E.; Funk, C. C.

2005-12-01

Climatic hazards such as droughts and floods often result in a decline in food production in economically vulnerable pre-industrial economies such as those in Africa. Early warning systems (EWS) have been developed to identify slow onset disasters such famine and epidemic disease that may result from hazardous environmental conditions. These conditions often precede food crises by many months, thus effective monitoring via satellite and in situ observations can allow for successful mitigation activities. Accurate forecasts of NDVI could increase monitoring lead times and allow for effective institutional planning of intervention, making early warning earlier. This paper presents a simple empirical max-to-min model for making 1 to 4 month NDVI projections. These statistical projections are based on parameterized satellite rainfall estimates (RFE) and relative humidity demand (RHD). A heuristic example in central Zimbabwe introduces the RFE growth and RHD loss terms. A quasi-global, one month ahead, 1 degree study then demonstrates reasonable accuracies in many semi-arid regions. In Africa, a 0.1 degree cross-validated skill assessment quantifies the technique's applicability at 1 to 4 month forecast intervals. These results suggest that useful projections can be made over many semi-arid, food insecure regions of Africa, with plausible extensions to drought prone areas of Asia, Australia and South America.

MARSite-MARMARA SUPERSITE: Accomplishments and Outlook

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meral Ozel, Nurcan; Necmioglu, Ocal; Ergintav, Semih; Oguz Ozel, Asım; Italiano, Franco; Favali, Paolo; Bigarre, Pascal; Cakir, Ziyadin; Geli, Louis; Aochi, Hideo; Bossu, Remy; Zulfikar, Can; Sesetyan, Karin

2017-04-01

MARsite Project, funded under FP7-ENV.2012 6.4-2 (Grant 308417) and successfully implemented to Marmara Region during 2014-2016 indicated that focusing on the monitoring of the region and the integration of data from land, sea and space and the processing of this composed data based on sound earth-science research is an effective tool for mitigating damage from future earthquakes. This was achieved by monitoring the earthquake hazard through the ground-shaking and forecast maps, short- and long-term earthquake rate forecasting and time-dependent seismic hazard maps to make important risk-mitigation decisions regarding building design, insurance rates, land-use planning, and public-policy issues that need to balance safety and economic and social interests. MARSite has demonstrated the power of the use of different sensors in the assessment of the earthquake hazard. In addition to the more than 30 scientific publication within the MARsite Project framework, a multidisciplinary innovative borehole seismic observatory and a dilatometer have been installed within MARSite where its a data can be used for a range of seismic studies. Due to the encouraging results obtained from this experiment, it was determined that in the future likely smaller number of stations will be required reducing the cost of national seismic networks. The technical infrastructure of the continuous GPS stations of MAGNET network has been updated within MARSite. Tsunami hazard studies in MARSite in Marmara Sea showed that the tsunami hazard in the Marmara Region is primarily due to submarine landslides triggered by an earthquake and a conceptual Tsunami Early Warning System in the Marmara region strongly coupled with the strong ground motion and existing Earthquake Early Warning System was developed. The existing Earthquake Early Warning and Rapid Response system in the Marmara Region was improved and the installation and test of a pilot seismic landslide monitoring system was taken place in the Avcilar-Beylikdüzü Peninsula, a large landslide prone area located in westward part of Istanbul and facing the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ). An integrated approach based on multi-parameter seafloor observatories was implemented to continuously monitor the micro-seismicity along with the fluid expulsion activity within the submerged fault zone. During MARSite, strong integration and links had been established with major European initiatives focused on the collection of multidisciplinary data, their dissemination, interpretation and fusion to produce consistent theoretical and practical models, the implementation of good practices so as to provide the necessary information to end users, and the updating of seismic hazard and risk evaluations in the Marmara region. In this perspective, to continue the understanding of and improvement in the preparedness for geological disasters, the existing monitoring infrastructure of Marsite requires the continuation of a strong a European initiative. This presentation will provide a venue for information exchange towards the establishment of such an initiative.

Remote sensing applied in natural hazards mitigation - experiences from the international UNESCO/IUGS GARS-Program 1984 - 2002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bannert, D.

Worldwide resources of arable land, water, groundwater, forest and expanding human habitat are under increasing pressure almost anywhere. Especially the non- industrialised countries with their rapidly increasing population are facing severe problems from natural catastrophes such as landslides, volcanic and seismic hazards, soil degradation and shortage of water or flooding. Geo-environmental research can help to identify the causes for these events, define the rehabilitation and can lead to early warning systems. Remote sensing adds considerable knowledge by providing a wide variety of sensors applied form airborne and space platforms, the data of which, once analysed, can provide completely new observations on natural risk areas. The UNESCO/IUGS sponsored GARS Program since 1984 is conducting- joint research with institutions in industrialised and developing countries. As of today, more than 40 institutes and individuals worldwide have joined the GARS- Program. Results of their research are among others contributions toLandslide assessment qVolcanic risk qCoastal hazards qDesertification processes q Space organisations and financing institutions serving developing nations are requested to help to deploy new sensors to monitor geo-dynamic processes, providing free and direct data reception in all parts of the world in order to allow national institutes to develop their own early warning capabilities.

DECATASTROPHIZE - Use of SDSS and MCDA to prepare for disasters or plan for multiple hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damalas, Andreas; Mettas, Christodoulos; Evagorou, Evagoras; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos

2017-04-01

This project presents effective early warning and alert systems in order to ensure lives and protect citizens, property and the environment in regards to natural and also man-made disasters. Civil protection can be rewarded from developed analysis tools in order to manage the resources available at all levels within the organization. The utilization of Geo-Spatial Early-warning Decision Support Systems (GE-DSS) combined with integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) solutions and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) fuses text and geographic information into one view. DECAT' s purpose is the use of GE-DSS for rapid preparation ability and sustainability to assess and respond to multiple natural, man-made hazards disasters and environmental circumstances. This will be achieved by using existing models / systems in the direction of one multiplatform, which is distributed and integrated framework known as DECAT. The project is expected to create better prerequisites for, and improve preparedness, as well as enhance awareness of, civil protection, natural hazard and marine pollution professionals and volunteers. It intends to support and equilibrate the efforts of the participating states for the protection of citizens, environment and property in regards to natural and man-made disaster. Moreover, the respective project is pointing out the importance exchanging information and experience in meanings of improving the operations of all parties involved in civil protection (private and public professionals and volunteers). DECATASTROPHIZE targets for the support of the EU coordinate countries and potentials who do not participate in the ''Mechanisms and European Neighborhood Policy'' countries in the view of disaster Preparedness. Enhancing their cooperation their cooperation within the union Civil Protection Mechanism is also of high importance.

The use of animals as a surveillance tool for monitoring environmental health hazards, human health hazards and bioterrorism.

PubMed

Neo, Jacqueline Pei Shan; Tan, Boon Huan

2017-05-01

This review discusses the utilization of wild or domestic animals as surveillance tools for monitoring naturally occurring environmental and human health hazards. Besides providing early warning to natural hazards, animals can also provide early warning to societal hazards like bioterrorism. Animals are ideal surveillance tools to humans because they share the same environment as humans and spend more time outdoors than humans, increasing their exposure risk. Furthermore, the biologically compressed lifespans of some animals may allow them to develop clinical signs more rapidly after exposure to specific pathogens. Animals are an excellent channel for monitoring novel and known pathogens with outbreak potential given that more than 60 % of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate as zoonoses. This review attempts to highlight animal illnesses, deaths, biomarkers or sentinel events, to remind human and veterinary public health programs that animal health can be used to discover, monitor or predict environmental health hazards, human health hazards, or bioterrorism. Lastly, we hope that this review will encourage the implementation of animals as a surveillance tool by clinicians, veterinarians, ecosystem health professionals, researchers and governments. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensors Provide Early Warning of Biological Threats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

Early Warning Inc. of Troy, New York, licensed powerful biosensor technology from Ames Research Center. Incorporating carbon nanotubes tipped with single strands of nucleic acid from waterborne pathogens, the sensor can detect even minute amounts of targeted, disease causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Early Warning features the NASA biosensor in its water analyzer, which can provide advance alert of potential biological hazards in water used for agriculture, food and beverages, showers, and at beaches and lakes -- within hours instead of the days required by conventional laboratory methods.

Method for detecting and avoiding flight hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Viebahn, Harro; Schiefele, Jens

1997-06-01

Today's aircraft equipment comprise several independent warning and hazard avoidance systems like GPWS, TCAS or weather radar. It is the pilot's task to monitor all these systems and take the appropriate action in case of an emerging hazardous situation. The developed method for detecting and avoiding flight hazards combines all potential external threats for an aircraft into a single system. It is based on an aircraft surrounding airspace model consisting of discrete volume elements. For each element of the volume the threat probability is derived or computed from sensor output, databases, or information provided via datalink. The position of the own aircraft is predicted by utilizing a probability distribution. This approach ensures that all potential positions of the aircraft within the near future are considered while weighting the most likely flight path. A conflict detection algorithm initiates an alarm in case the threat probability exceeds a threshold. An escape manoeuvre is generated taking into account all potential hazards in the vicinity, not only the one which caused the alarm. The pilot gets a visual information about the type, the locating, and severeness o the threat. The algorithm was implemented and tested in a flight simulator environment. The current version comprises traffic, terrain and obstacle hazards avoidance functions. Its general formulation allows an easy integration of e.g. weather information or airspace restrictions.

Reducing the risk of potential hazard in tourist activities of Mount Bromo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meilani, R.; Muthiah, J.; Muntasib, E. K. S. H.

2018-05-01

Mount Bromo has been crowned as one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, having a particular landscape uniqueness. Not only volcano, Bromo also has savanna, sea of sands, and culture of Tengger tribe. Its panoramic landscape has attracted a large number of tourists, both domestic and foreign, despites the threat of eruption. To ensure tourists safety and satisfaction, the potentials hazard, both from eruption and other features should be managed carefully. The study objective was to identify and map hazard potentials and identify the existing hazard management. It was carried out in Mei – June 2017. Lava, tephra, eruption cloud, ash, earthquake, land sliding, extreme weather, slope, transportation modes (jeep, motorcycle, and horse), human, and land fire were found as potential hazards in Mount Bromo. Five locations had been identified as hazard area in the tourism areas, i.e. savanna, sea of sand, Bromo caldera and Pananjakan I trail and viewing point. Early warning system should be developed as part of hazard management in the area. Capacity building of local stakeholders and visitors would be needed to reduce risk of the hazard.

Acquiring Comprehensive Observations using an Integrated Sensorweb for Early Warning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habib, Shahid; Ambrose, Steve

2006-01-01

As an integrated observing strategy, the concept of sensorweb for Earth observations is appealing in many aspects. For instance, by increasing the spatial and temporal coverage of observations from space and other vantage points, one can eventually aid in increasing the accuracy of the atmospheric models which are precursor to hurricane track prediction, volcanic eruption forecast, and trajectory path of transcontinental transport of dust, harmful nuclear and chemical plumes. In reality, there is little analysis'available in terms of benefits, costs and optimized set of sensors needed to make these necessary observations. This is a complex problem that must be carefully studied and balanced over many boundaries such as science, defense, early warning security, and surveillance. Simplistically, the sensorweb concept from the technological point of view alone has a great appeal in the defense, early warning and security applications. In fact, it can be relatively less expensive in per unit cost as opposed to building and deploying it for the scientific use. However, overall observing approach should not be singled out and aligned somewhat . orthogonally to serve a particular need. On the other hand, the sensorweb should be designed and deployed to serve multiple subject areas and customers simultaneously; and can behave as directed measuring systems for both science and operational entities. Sensorweb can be designed to act as expert systems, and/or also provide a dedicated integrated surveillance network. Today, there is no system in the world that is fully integrated in terms of reporting timely multiple hazards warnings, computing the lass of life and property damage estimates, and is also designed to cater to everyone's needs. It is not an easier problem to undertake and more so is not practically solvable. At this time due to some recent events in the world, the scientific community, social scientists, and operational agencies are more cognizant and getting together to address such colossal problems. Increasing our knowledge of the home planet, via amplified set of observations, is certainly a right step in a right direction. Furthermore, this is a pre-requisite in understanding multiple hazard phenomena's. This paper examines various sensorweb options and observing architectures that can be useful specifically in addressing some of these complex issues. The ultimate goal is to serve the society by providing potential natural hazards information to the decision makers in the most expeditious manner so they can prepare themselves to mitigate potential risks to human life, livestock and property.

Acquiring Comprehensive Observations using an integrated Sensorweb for Early Warning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habib, Shahid; Ambrose, Steve

2006-01-01

As an integrated observing strategy, the concept of sensorweb for Earth observations is appealing in many aspects. For instance, by increasing the spatial and temporal coverage of observations from space and other vantage points, one can eventually aid in increasing the accuracy of the atmospheric models which are precursor to hurricane track prediction, volcanic eruption forecast, and trajectory path of transcontinental transport of dust, harmful nuclear and chemical plumes. In reality, there is little analysis'available in terms of benefits, costs and optimized set of sensors needed to make these necessary observations. This is a complex problem that must be carefully studied and balanced over many boundaries such as science, defense, early warning, security, and surveillance. Simplistically, the sensorweb concept from the technological point of view alone has a great appeal in the defense, early warning and security applications. In fact, it can be relatively less expensive in per unit cost as opposed to building and deploying it for the scientific use. However, overall observing approach should not be singled out and aligned somewhat orthogonally to serve a particular need. On the other hand, the sensorweb should be designed and deployed to serve multiple subject areas and customers simultaneously; and can behave as directed measuring systems for both science and operational entities. Sensorweb can be designed to act as expert systems, and/or also provide a dedicated integrated surveillance network. Today, there is no system in the world that is fully integrated in terms of reporting timely multiple hazards warnings, computing the loss of life and property damage estimates, and is also designed to cater to everyone's needs. It is not an easier problem to undertake and more so is not practically solvable. At this time due to some recent events in the world, the scientific community, social scientists, and operational agencies are more cognizant and getting together to address such colossal problems. Increasing our knowledge of the home planet, via amplified set of observations, is certainly a right step in a right direction. Furthermore, this is a pre-requisite in understanding multiple hazard phenomena's. This paper examines various sensorweb options and observing architectures that can be useful specifically in addressing some of these complex issues. The ultimate goal is to serve the society by providing potential natural hazards information to the decision makers in the most expeditious manner so they can prepare themselves to mitigate potential risks to human life, livestock and property.

Storm-based Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Probabilities and Warnings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calhoun, K. M.; Meyer, T.; Kingfield, D.

2017-12-01

A new cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning probability algorithm has been developed using machine-learning methods. With storm-based inputs of Earth Networks' in-cloud lightning, Vaisala's CG lightning, multi-radar/multi-sensor (MRMS) radar derived products including the Maximum Expected Size of Hail (MESH) and Vertically Integrated Liquid (VIL), and near storm environmental data including lapse rate and CAPE, a random forest algorithm was trained to produce probabilities of CG lightning up to one-hour in advance. As part of the Prototype Probabilistic Hazard Information experiment in the Hazardous Weather Testbed in 2016 and 2017, National Weather Service forecasters were asked to use this CG lightning probability guidance to create rapidly updating probability grids and warnings for the threat of CG lightning for 0-60 minutes. The output from forecasters was shared with end-users, including emergency managers and broadcast meteorologists, as part of an integrated warning team.

Volcano Hazards Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Venezky, Dina Y.; Myers, Bobbie; Driedger, Carolyn

2008-01-01

Diagram of common volcano hazards. The U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program (VHP) monitors unrest and eruptions at U.S. volcanoes, assesses potential hazards, responds to volcanic crises, and conducts research on how volcanoes work. When conditions change at a monitored volcano, the VHP issues public advisories and warnings to alert emergency-management authorities and the public. See http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ to learn more about volcanoes and find out what's happening now.

Building regional early flood warning systems by AI techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, F. J.; Chang, L. C.; Amin, M. Z. B. M.

2017-12-01

Building early flood warning system is essential for the protection of the residents against flood hazards and make actions to mitigate the losses. This study implements AI technology for forecasting multi-step-ahead regional flood inundation maps during storm events. The methodology includes three major schemes: (1) configuring the self-organizing map (SOM) to categorize a large number of regional inundation maps into a meaningful topology; (2) building dynamic neural networks to forecast multi-step-ahead average inundated depths (AID); and (3) adjusting the weights of the selected neuron in the constructed SOM based on the forecasted AID to obtain real-time regional inundation maps. The proposed models are trained, and tested based on a large number of inundation data sets collected in regions with the most frequent and serious flooding in the river basin. The results appear that the SOM topological relationships between individual neurons and their neighbouring neurons are visible and clearly distinguishable, and the hybrid model can continuously provide multistep-ahead visible regional inundation maps with high resolution during storm events, which have relatively small RMSE values and high R2 as compared with numerical simulation data sets. The computing time is only few seconds, and thereby leads to real-time regional flood inundation forecasting and make early flood inundation warning system. We demonstrate that the proposed hybrid ANN-based model has a robust and reliable predictive ability and can be used for early warning to mitigate flood disasters.

Preliminary Cost Benefit Assessment of Systems for Detection of Hazardous Weather. Volume I,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-07-01

not be sufficient for adequate stream flow forecasting , it has important potential for real - time flash flood warning. This was illustrated by the 1977...provide a finer spatial resolution of the gridded data. See Table 9. 42 The results of a demonstration of the real - time capabilities of a radar-man system ...detailed real time measurement capabilities and scope for quantitative forecasting is most likely to provide the degree of lead time required if maximum

ARISTOTLE (All Risk Integrated System TOwards The hoListic Early-warning)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michelini, Alberto; Wotawa, Gerhard; Arnold-Arias, Delia

2017-04-01

The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is the EU coordination office for humanitarian aid and civil protection operations of DG ECHO (EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection). ERCC needs rapidly authoritative multi-hazard scientific expertise and analysis on 24*7 basis since, when a disaster strikes, every minute counts for saving lives and immediate, coordinated and pre-planned response is essential. The EU is committed to providing disaster response in a timely and efficient manner and to ensure European assistance meets the real needs in the population affected, whether in Europe or beyond. The ARISTOTLE consortium was awarded the European Commission's DG ECHO "Pilot project in the area of Early Warning System for natural disasters" (OJ 2015 S/154-283349). The tender articulates the needs and expectations of DG ECHO in respect of the provision of multi-hazard advice to the Emergency Response & Coordination Centre in Brussels. Specifically, the tender aims to fill the gap in knowledge that exists in the: • first 3 hours immediately after an event that has the potential to require a country to call on international help • provision of longer term advice following an emergency • provision of advice when a potential hazardous event is starting to form; this will usually be restricted to severe weather and flooding events and when possible to volcanic events. The ARISTOTLE Consortium was awarded the tender and the project effectively started on February 1st, 2016, for a duration of 2 years. ARISTOTLE (aristotle.ingv.it) is a multi-hazard partnership created by combining expertise from of total of 5 hazard groups [4 main hazard groups plus a sub-hazard - Severe Weather, Floods, Volcanos (only for ashes and gases hazard deriving from eruptions), Earthquakes and the related Tsunamis as a sub-hazard given its peculiarities and potential huge impact]. Each Hazard Group brings together experts from the particular hazard domain to deliver a 'collective analysis' which is then fed into the partnership multi-hazard discussions. The hazards are very different and have very diverse timelines for phenomenological occurrence (Figure 1). The ARISTOTLE consortium includes 15 partner institutions (11 from EU Countries; 2 from non-EU countries and 2 European organizations) operating in the Meteorological and Geophysical domains. The project coordination is shared among INGV and ZAMG for the geophysical and meteorological communities, respectively. Primary target of the tender project is the prototyping and the implementation of a scalable system (in terms of number of partners and hazards) capable of providing to ERCC the "desiderata" above. To this end, the activities of the project have been focusing on the establishment of a multi-hazard operational board (MHOB) that is assigned the 24*7 operational duty regulated by a "Standard Operating Protocol". The presentation will illustrate the different modes of operation envisaged and the status and the solutions found by the project consortium to respond to the ERCC requirements.

Helping coastal communities at risk from tsunamis: the role of U.S. Geological Survey research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, Eric L.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Jaffe, Bruce E.; Reid, Jane A.

2000-01-01

In 1946, 1960, and 1964, major tsunamis (giant sea waves usually caused by earthquakes or submarine landslides) struck coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean. In the U.S. alone, these tsunamis killed hundreds of people and caused many tens of millions of dollars in damage. Recent events in Papua New Guinea (1998) and elsewhere are reminders that a catastrophic tsunami could strike U.S. coasts at any time. The USGS, working closely with NOAA and other partners in the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, is helping to reduce losses from tsunamis through increased hazard assessment and improved real-time warning systems.

Building a Communication, Education, an Outreach Program for the ShakeAlert National Earthquake Early Warning Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeGroot, R. M.; Strauss, J. A.; Given, D. D.; Cochran, E. S.; Burkett, E. R.; Long, K.

2016-12-01

Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems can provide as much as tens of seconds of warning to people and automated systems before strong shaking arrives. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners are developing an EEW system for the West Coast of the United States. To be an integral part of successful implementation, EEW engagement programs and materials must integrate with and leverage broader earthquake risk programs. New methods and products for dissemination must be multidisciplinary, cost effective, and consistent with existing hazards education efforts. Our presentation outlines how the USGS and its partners will approach this effort in the context of the EEW system through the work of a multistate and multiagency committee that participates in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a portfolio of programs and products. This committee, referred to as the ShakeAlert Joint Committee for Communication, Education, and Outreach (ShakeAlert CEO), is working to identify, develop, and cultivate partnerships with EEW stakeholders including Federal, State, academic partners, private companies, policy makers, and local organizations. Efforts include developing materials, methods for delivery, and reaching stakeholders with information on EEW, earthquake preparedness, and emergency protective actions. It is essential to develop standards to ensure information communicated via the EEW alerts is consistent across the public and private sector and achieving a common understanding of what actions users take when they receive an EEW warning. The USGS and the participating states and agencies acknowledge that the implementation of EEW is a collective effort requiring the participation of hundreds of stakeholders committed to ensuring public accessibility.

Summarizing metocean operating conditions as a climatology of marine hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reid, Heather; Finnis, Joel

2018-03-01

Marine occupations are plagued by some of the highest accident and mortality rates of any occupation, due in part to the variety and severity of environmental hazards presented by the ocean environment. In order to better study and communicate the potential impacts of these hazards on occupational health and safety, a semi-objective, hazard-focused climatology of a particularly dangerous marine environment (Northwestern Atlantic) has been developed. Specifically, climate has been summarized as the frequency with which responsible government agencies are expected to issue relevant warnings or watches, couching results in language relevant to marine stakeholders. Applying cluster analysis to warning/watch frequencies identified seven distinct `hazard climatologies', ranging from near-Arctic conditions to areas dominated by calm seas and warm waters. Spatial and temporal variability in these clusters reflects relevant annual cycles, such as the advance/retreat of sea ice and shifts in the Atlantic storm track; the clusters also highlight regions and seasons with comparable operational risks. Our approach is proposed as an effective means to summarize and communicate marine risk with stakeholders, and a potential framework for describing climate change impacts.

Integrating Multiple Space Ground Sensors to Track Volcanic Activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve; Davies, Ashley; Doubleday, Joshua; Tran, Daniel; Jones, Samuel; Kjartansson, Einar; Thorsteinsson, Hrobjartur; Vogfjord, Kristin; Guomundsson, Magnus; Thordarson, Thor;

Assessing earthquake early warning using sparse networks in developing countries: Case study of the Kyrgyz Republic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parolai, Stefano; Boxberger, Tobias; Pilz, Marco; Fleming, Kevin; Haas, Michael; Pittore, Massimiliano; Petrovic, Bojana; Moldobekov, Bolot; Zubovich, Alexander; Lauterjung, Joern

2017-09-01

The first real-time digital strong-motion network in Central Asia has been installed in the Kyrgyz Republic since 2014. Although this network consists of only 19 strong-motion stations, they are located in near-optimal locations for earthquake early warning and rapid response purposes. In fact, it is expected that this network, which utilizes the GFZ-Sentry software, allowing decentralized event assessment calculations, not only will provide useful strong motion data useful for improving future seismic hazard and risk assessment, but will serve as the backbone for regional and on-site earthquake early warning operations. Based on the location of these stations, and travel-time estimates for P- and S-waves, we have determined potential lead times for several major urban areas in Kyrgyzstan (i.e., Bishkek, Osh, and Karakol) and Kazakhstan (Almaty), where we find the implementation of an efficient earthquake early warning system would provide lead times outside the blind zone ranging from several seconds up to several tens of seconds. This was confirmed by the simulation of the possible shaking (and intensity) that would arise considering a series of scenarios based on historical and expected events, and how they affect the major urban centres. Such lead times would allow the instigation of automatic mitigation procedures, while the system as a whole would support prompt and efficient actions to be undertaken over large areas.

A spatial Bayesian network model to assess the benefits of early warning for urban flood risk to people

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balbi, Stefano; Villa, Ferdinando; Mojtahed, Vahid; Hegetschweiler, Karin Tessa; Giupponi, Carlo

2016-06-01

This article presents a novel methodology to assess flood risk to people by integrating people's vulnerability and ability to cushion hazards through coping and adapting. The proposed approach extends traditional risk assessments beyond material damages; complements quantitative and semi-quantitative data with subjective and local knowledge, improving the use of commonly available information; and produces estimates of model uncertainty by providing probability distributions for all of its outputs. Flood risk to people is modeled using a spatially explicit Bayesian network model calibrated on expert opinion. Risk is assessed in terms of (1) likelihood of non-fatal physical injury, (2) likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder and (3) likelihood of death. The study area covers the lower part of the Sihl valley (Switzerland) including the city of Zurich. The model is used to estimate the effect of improving an existing early warning system, taking into account the reliability, lead time and scope (i.e., coverage of people reached by the warning). Model results indicate that the potential benefits of an improved early warning in terms of avoided human impacts are particularly relevant in case of a major flood event.

Basic features of the predictive tools of early warning systems for water-related natural hazards: examples for shallow landslides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greco, Roberto; Pagano, Luca

2017-12-01

To manage natural risks, an increasing effort is being put in the development of early warning systems (EWS), namely, approaches facing catastrophic phenomena by timely forecasting and alarm spreading throughout exposed population. Research efforts aimed at the development and implementation of effective EWS should especially concern the definition and calibration of the interpretative model. This paper analyses the main features characterizing predictive models working in EWS by discussing their aims and their features in terms of model accuracy, evolutionary stage of the phenomenon at which the prediction is carried out and model architecture. Original classification criteria based on these features are developed throughout the paper and shown in their practical implementation through examples of flow-like landslides and earth flows, both of which are characterized by rapid evolution and quite representative of many applications of EWS.

Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hood, R. E.

2016-12-01

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is working with the National Weather Service, the National Ocean Service, other Federal agencies, private industry, and academia to evaluate the feasibility of UAS observations to provide time critical information needed for situational awareness, prediction, warning, and damage assessment of hazards. This activity is managed within a portfolio of projects entitled "Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology (SHOUT)." The diversity of this portfolio includes evaluations of high altitude UAS observations for high impact oceanic storms prediction to low altitude UAS observations of rivers, severe storms, and coastal areas for pre-hazard situational awareness and post-hazard damage assessments. Each SHOUT evaluation project begins with a proof-of-concept field demonstration of a UAS observing strategy for a given hazard and then matures to joint studies of both scientific data impact along with cost and operational feasibility of the observing strategy for routine applications. The technology readiness and preliminary evaulation results will be presented for several UAS observing strategies designed for improved observations of oceanic storms, floods, severe storms, and coastal ecosystem hazards.

a model based on crowsourcing for detecting natural hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, J.; Ma, C.; Zhang, J.; Liu, S.; Liu, J.

2015-12-01

Remote Sensing Technology provides a new method for the detecting,early warning,mitigation and relief of natural hazards. Given the suddenness and the unpredictability of the location of natural hazards as well as the actual demands for hazards work, this article proposes an evaluation model for remote sensing detecting of natural hazards based on crowdsourcing. Firstly, using crowdsourcing model and with the help of the Internet and the power of hundreds of millions of Internet users, this evaluation model provides visual interpretation of high-resolution remote sensing images of hazards area and collects massive valuable disaster data; secondly, this evaluation model adopts the strategy of dynamic voting consistency to evaluate the disaster data provided by the crowdsourcing workers; thirdly, this evaluation model pre-estimates the disaster severity with the disaster pre-evaluation model based on regional buffers; lastly, the evaluation model actuates the corresponding expert system work according to the forecast results. The idea of this model breaks the boundaries between geographic information professionals and the public, makes the public participation and the citizen science eventually be realized, and improves the accuracy and timeliness of hazards assessment results.

Communicating Volcanic Hazards in the North Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehn, J.; Webley, P.; Cunningham, K. W.

2014-12-01

For over 25 years, effective hazard communication has been key to effective mitigation of volcanic hazards in the North Pacific. These hazards are omnipresent, with a large event happening in Alaska every few years to a decade, though in many cases can happen with little or no warning (e.g. Kasatochi and Okmok in 2008). Here a useful hazard mitigation strategy has been built on (1) a large database of historic activity from many datasets, (2) an operational alert system with graduated levels of concern, (3) scenario planning, and (4) routine checks and communication with emergency managers and the public. These baseline efforts are then enhanced in the time of crisis with coordinated talking points, targeted studies and public outreach. Scientists naturally tend to target other scientists as their audience, whereas in effective monitoring of hazards that may only occur on year to decadal timescales, details can distract from the essentially important information. Creating talking points and practice in public communications can help make hazard response a part of the culture. Promoting situational awareness and familiarity can relieve indecision and concerns at the time of a crisis.

A Walk through TRIDEC's intermediate Tsunami Early Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, M.; Reißland, S.; Lendholt, M.

2012-04-01

The management of natural crises is an important application field of the technology developed in the project Collaborative, Complex, and Critical Decision-Support in Evolving Crises (TRIDEC), co-funded by the European Commission in its Seventh Framework Programme. TRIDEC is based on the development of the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) and the Distant Early Warning System (DEWS) providing a service platform for both sensor integration and warning dissemination. In TRIDEC new developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are used to extend the existing platform realising a component-based technology framework for building distributed tsunami warning systems for deployment, e.g. in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAM) region. The TRIDEC system will be implemented in three phases, each with a demonstrator. Successively, the demonstrators are addressing challenges, such as the design and implementation of a robust and scalable service infrastructure supporting the integration and utilisation of existing resources with accelerated generation of large volumes of data. These include sensor systems, geo-information repositories, simulation tools and data fusion tools. In addition to conventional sensors also unconventional sensors and sensor networks play an important role in TRIDEC. The system version presented is based on service-oriented architecture (SOA) concepts and on relevant standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). In this way the system continuously gathers, processes and displays events and data coming from open sensor platforms to enable operators to quickly decide whether an early warning is necessary and to send personalized warning messages to the authorities and the population at large through a wide range of communication channels. The system integrates OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) compliant sensor systems for the rapid detection of hazardous events, like earthquakes, sea level anomalies, ocean floor occurrences, and ground displacements. Using OGC Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) spatial data are utilized to depict the situation picture. The integration of a simulation system to identify affected areas is considered using the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS). Warning messages are compiled and transmitted in the OASIS Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) together with addressing information defined via the OASIS Emergency Data Exchange Language - Distribution Element (EDXL-DE). The first system demonstrator has been designed and implemented to support plausible scenarios demonstrating the treatment of simulated tsunami threats with an essential subset of a National Tsunami Warning Centre (NTWC). The feasibility and the potentials of the implemented approach are demonstrated covering standard operations as well as tsunami detection and alerting functions. The demonstrator presented addresses information management and decision-support processes in a hypothetical natural crisis situation caused by a tsunami in the Eastern Mediterranean. Developments of the system are based to the largest extent on free and open source software (FOSS) components and industry standards. Emphasis has been and will be made on leveraging open source technologies that support mature system architecture models wherever appropriate. All open source software produced is foreseen to be published on a publicly available software repository thus allowing others to reuse results achieved and enabling further development and collaboration with a wide community including scientists, developers, users and stakeholders. This live demonstration is linked with the talk "TRIDEC Natural Crisis Management Demonstrator for Tsunamis" (EGU2012-7275) given in the session "Architecture of Future Tsunami Warning Systems" (NH5.7/ESSI1.7).

Environmental Assessment for North Warning System (Alaska)

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-11-10

With Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields , 300 kHz to 100 GHz, ANSI C95.1-1982, IEEE, New York. CH 2M Hill, 1981...Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements), 1986.Biological Effects and Exposure Criteria for Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields . NCRP Report...6 4.1.3.1 Radiofrequency Radiation ..................... 4-7 4.1.3.1.1 Electromagnetic Hazards.......... 4-7 4.1.3.1.2 Electromagnetic Interference

Kriging and local polynomial methods for blending satellite-derived and gauge precipitation estimates to support hydrologic early warning systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verdin, Andrew; Funk, Christopher C.; Rajagopalan, Balaji; Kleiber, William

2016-01-01

Robust estimates of precipitation in space and time are important for efficient natural resource management and for mitigating natural hazards. This is particularly true in regions with developing infrastructure and regions that are frequently exposed to extreme events. Gauge observations of rainfall are sparse but capture the precipitation process with high fidelity. Due to its high resolution and complete spatial coverage, satellite-derived rainfall data are an attractive alternative in data-sparse regions and are often used to support hydrometeorological early warning systems. Satellite-derived precipitation data, however, tend to underrepresent extreme precipitation events. Thus, it is often desirable to blend spatially extensive satellite-derived rainfall estimates with high-fidelity rain gauge observations to obtain more accurate precipitation estimates. In this research, we use two different methods, namely, ordinary kriging and κ-nearest neighbor local polynomials, to blend rain gauge observations with the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation satellite-derived precipitation estimates in data-sparse Central America and Colombia. The utility of these methods in producing blended precipitation estimates at pentadal (five-day) and monthly time scales is demonstrated. We find that these blending methods significantly improve the satellite-derived estimates and are competitive in their ability to capture extreme precipitation.

Variable message fog hazard warning signs to control vehicle operating characteristics : interim report, Interstate 5, North Albany.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1972-04-01

This project is aimed at determining the effectiveness of variable message signs in controlling traffic on an Interstate highway during periods of hazardous driving conditions such as fog, vehicle accidents, or congestion. : The effectiveness of the ...

A volcanic activity alert-level system for aviation: Review of its development and application in Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guffanti, Marianne C.; Miller, Thomas

2013-01-01

An alert-level system for communicating volcano hazard information to the aviation industry was devised by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) during the 1989–1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano. The system uses a simple, color-coded ranking that focuses on volcanic ash emissions: Green—normal background; Yellow—signs of unrest; Orange—precursory unrest or minor ash eruption; Red—major ash eruption imminent or underway. The color code has been successfully applied on a regional scale in Alaska for a sustained period. During 2002–2011, elevated color codes were assigned by AVO to 13 volcanoes, eight of which erupted; for that decade, one or more Alaskan volcanoes were at Yellow on 67 % of days and at Orange or Red on 12 % of days. As evidence of its utility, the color code system is integrated into procedures of agencies responsible for air-traffic management and aviation meteorology in Alaska. Furthermore, it is endorsed as a key part of globally coordinated protocols established by the International Civil Aviation Organization to provide warnings of ash hazards to aviation worldwide. The color code and accompanying structured message (called a Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation) comprise an effective early-warning message system according to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The aviation color code system currently is used in the United States, Russia, New Zealand, Iceland, and partially in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. Although there are some barriers to implementation, with continued education and outreach to Volcano Observatories worldwide, greater use of the aviation color code system is achievable.

A volcanic activity alert-level system for aviation: review of its development and application in Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guffanti, Marianne; Miller, Thomas P.

2013-01-01

An alert-level system for communicating volcano hazard information to the aviation industry was devised by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) during the 1989–1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano. The system uses a simple, color-coded ranking that focuses on volcanic ash emissions: Green—normal background; Yellow—signs of unrest; Orange—precursory unrest or minor ash eruption; Red—major ash eruption imminent or underway. The color code has been successfully applied on a regional scale in Alaska for a sustained period. During 2002–2011, elevated color codes were assigned by AVO to 13 volcanoes, eight of which erupted; for that decade, one or more Alaskan volcanoes were at Yellow on 67 % of days and at Orange or Red on 12 % of days. As evidence of its utility, the color code system is integrated into procedures of agencies responsible for air-traffic management and aviation meteorology in Alaska. Furthermore, it is endorsed as a key part of globally coordinated protocols established by the International Civil Aviation Organization to provide warnings of ash hazards to aviation worldwide. The color code and accompanying structured message (called a Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation) comprise an effective early-warning message system according to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The aviation color code system currently is used in the United States, Russia, New Zealand, Iceland, and partially in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. Although there are some barriers to implementation, with continued education and outreach to Volcano Observatories worldwide, greater use of the aviation color code system is achievable.

Onsite Portable Alarm System - Its Merit and Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saita, J.; Sato, T.; Nakamura, Y.

2007-12-01

Recently an existence of the earthquake early warning system (EEWS) becomes popular. In general, the EEWS will be installed in a fixed observation site and it may consist of several separated components such as a sensing portion, A/D converter, an information processing potion and so on. The processed information for warning may be transmitted to network via fixed communication line, and therefore this kind of alarm system is called as Network Alarm System. On the other hand, after the severe earthquake damage, it is very important to save the disaster victims immediately. These rescue staffs are also under the risk of aftershocks and need a local alarm not depending on the network, so this kind of alarm can be called as Onsite Alarm. But the common early warning system is too complex to set onsite temporary, and even if possible to install, the alarm is too late to receive at the epicentral area. However, the new generation earthquake early warning system FREQL can issue the P wave alarm by minimum 0.2 seconds after P wave detection. And FREQL is characterized as the unique all-in-one seismometer with power unit. At the time of the 2004 Niigata-Ken-Chuetsu earthquake, a land slide attacked a car just passing. A hyper rescue team of Tokyo Fire Department pulled the survivor, one baby, from the land slide area. During their activity the rescue team was exposed to the risk of secondary hazards caused by the aftershocks. It was clear that it is necessary to use a portable warning system to issue the onsite P wave alarm. Because FREQL was originally developed as portable equipment, Tokyo Fire Department asked us to modify it to the portable equipment with the loud sound and the light signal. In this moment, this portable FREQL has equipped in nation wide. When the hyper rescue team of Tokyo Fire Department was sent to Pakistan as a task force for rescue work of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, the portable FREQL was used as important onsite portable warning system and P wave alarms was actually issued by three times during the rescue work. Although this is one example for the actual application of portable onsite alarm, it is possible to apply the other field as the construction field. In this presentation, Portable Onsite Alarm is discussed from views of its necessity and application.

The seismic project of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oppenheimer, D.H.; Bittenbinder, A.N.; Bogaert, B.M.; Buland, R.P.; Dietz, L.D.; Hansen, R.A.; Malone, S.D.; McCreery, C.S.; Sokolowski, T.J.; Whitmore, P.M.; Weaver, C.S.

2005-01-01

In 1997, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the five western States of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington joined in a partnership called the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) to enhance the quality and quantity of seismic data provided to the NOAA tsunami warning centers in Alaska and Hawaii. The NTHMP funded a seismic project that now provides the warning centers with real-time seismic data over dedicated communication links and the Internet from regional seismic networks monitoring earthquakes in the five western states, the U.S. National Seismic Network in Colorado, and from domestic and global seismic stations operated by other agencies. The goal of the project is to reduce the time needed to issue a tsunami warning by providing the warning centers with high-dynamic range, broadband waveforms in near real time. An additional goal is to reduce the likelihood of issuing false tsunami warnings by rapidly providing to the warning centers parametric information on earthquakes that could indicate their tsunamigenic potential, such as hypocenters, magnitudes, moment tensors, and shake distribution maps. New or upgraded field instrumentation was installed over a 5-year period at 53 seismic stations in the five western states. Data from these instruments has been integrated into the seismic network utilizing Earthworm software. This network has significantly reduced the time needed to respond to teleseismic and regional earthquakes. Notably, the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center responded to the 28 February 2001 Mw 6.8 Nisqually earthquake beneath Olympia, Washington within 2 minutes compared to an average response time of over 10 minutes for the previous 18 years. ?? Springer 2005.

A GIS-based generic real-time risk assessment framework and decision tools for chemical spills in the river basin.

PubMed

Jiang, Jiping; Wang, Peng; Lung, Wu-seng; Guo, Liang; Li, Mei

2012-08-15

This paper presents a generic framework and decision tools of real-time risk assessment on Emergency Environmental Decision Support System for response to chemical spills in river basin. The generic "4-step-3-model" framework is able to delineate the warning area and the impact on vulnerable receptors considering four types of hazards referring to functional area, societal impact, and human health and ecology system. Decision tools including the stand-alone system and software components were implemented on GIS platform. A detailed case study on the Songhua River nitrobenzene spill illustrated the goodness of the framework and tool Spill first responders and decision makers of catchment management will benefit from the rich, visual and dynamic hazard information output from the software. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Augmented reality warnings in vehicles: Effects of modality and specificity on effectiveness.

PubMed

Schwarz, Felix; Fastenmeier, Wolfgang

2017-04-01

In the future, vehicles will be able to warn drivers of hidden dangers before they are visible. Specific warning information about these hazards could improve drivers' reactions and the warning effectiveness, but could also impair them, for example, by additional cognitive-processing costs. In a driving simulator study with 88 participants, we investigated the effects of modality (auditory vs. visual) and specificity (low vs. high) on warning effectiveness. For the specific warnings, we used augmented reality as an advanced technology to display the additional auditory or visual warning information. Part one of the study concentrates on the effectiveness of necessary warnings and part two on the drivers' compliance despite false alarms. For the first warning scenario, we found several positive main effects of specificity. However, subsequent effects of specificity were moderated by the modality of the warnings. The specific visual warnings were observed to have advantages over the three other warning designs concerning gaze and braking reaction times, passing speeds and collision rates. Besides the true alarms, braking reaction times as well as subjective evaluation after these warnings were still improved despite false alarms. The specific auditory warnings were revealed to have only a few advantages, but also several disadvantages. The results further indicate that the exact coding of additional information, beyond its mere amount and modality, plays an important role. Moreover, the observed advantages of the specific visual warnings highlight the potential benefit of augmented reality coding to improve future collision warnings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Multi-Parameter Wireless Sensing System (MPwise): Its Description and Application to Earthquake Risk Mitigation.

PubMed

Boxberger, Tobias; Fleming, Kevin; Pittore, Massimiliano; Parolai, Stefano; Pilz, Marco; Mikulla, Stefan

2017-10-20

The Multi-Parameter Wireless Sensing (MPwise) system is an innovative instrumental design that allows different sensor types to be combined with relatively high-performance computing and communications components. These units, which incorporate off-the-shelf components, can undertake complex information integration and processing tasks at the individual unit or node level (when used in a network), allowing the establishment of networks that are linked by advanced, robust and rapid communications routing and network topologies. The system (and its predecessors) was originally designed for earthquake risk mitigation, including earthquake early warning (EEW), rapid response actions, structural health monitoring, and site-effect characterization. For EEW, MPwise units are capable of on-site, decentralized, independent analysis of the recorded ground motion and based on this, may issue an appropriate warning, either by the unit itself or transmitted throughout a network by dedicated alarming procedures. The multi-sensor capabilities of the system allow it to be instrumented with standard strong- and weak-motion sensors, broadband sensors, MEMS (namely accelerometers), cameras, temperature and humidity sensors, and GNSS receivers. In this work, the MPwise hardware, software and communications schema are described, as well as an overview of its possible applications. While focusing on earthquake risk mitigation actions, the aim in the future is to expand its capabilities towards a more multi-hazard and risk mitigation role. Overall, MPwise offers considerable flexibility and has great potential in contributing to natural hazard risk mitigation.

The Multi-Parameter Wireless Sensing System (MPwise): Its Description and Application to Earthquake Risk Mitigation

PubMed Central

Boxberger, Tobias; Fleming, Kevin; Pittore, Massimiliano; Parolai, Stefano; Pilz, Marco; Mikulla, Stefan

2017-01-01

The Multi-Parameter Wireless Sensing (MPwise) system is an innovative instrumental design that allows different sensor types to be combined with relatively high-performance computing and communications components. These units, which incorporate off-the-shelf components, can undertake complex information integration and processing tasks at the individual unit or node level (when used in a network), allowing the establishment of networks that are linked by advanced, robust and rapid communications routing and network topologies. The system (and its predecessors) was originally designed for earthquake risk mitigation, including earthquake early warning (EEW), rapid response actions, structural health monitoring, and site-effect characterization. For EEW, MPwise units are capable of on-site, decentralized, independent analysis of the recorded ground motion and based on this, may issue an appropriate warning, either by the unit itself or transmitted throughout a network by dedicated alarming procedures. The multi-sensor capabilities of the system allow it to be instrumented with standard strong- and weak-motion sensors, broadband sensors, MEMS (namely accelerometers), cameras, temperature and humidity sensors, and GNSS receivers. In this work, the MPwise hardware, software and communications schema are described, as well as an overview of its possible applications. While focusing on earthquake risk mitigation actions, the aim in the future is to expand its capabilities towards a more multi-hazard and risk mitigation role. Overall, MPwise offers considerable flexibility and has great potential in contributing to natural hazard risk mitigation. PMID:29053608

An Assessment of Capacity, Gaps and Opportunities toward Building a Global Early Warning System for Flood Disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Y.; Adler, R.; Huffman, G.

2007-12-01

Many governmental emergency management agencies or non-governmental organizations need real-time information on emerging disasters for preparedness and response. However, progress in warnings for hydrologic disasters has been constrained by the difficulty of measuring spatiotemporal variability of rainfall fluxes continuously over space and time, due largely to insufficient ground monitoring networks, long delay in data transmission and absence of data sharing protocols among many geopolitically trans-boundary basins. In addition, in-situ gauging stations are often washed away by the very floods they are designed to monitor, making reconstruction of gauges a common post-flood activity around the world. In reality, remote sensing precipitation estimates may be the only source of rainfall information available over much of the globe, particularly for vulnerable countries in the tropics where abundant extreme rain storms and severe flooding events repeat every year. Building on progress in remote sensing technology, researchers have improved the accuracy, coverage, and resolution of rainfall estimates by combining imagery from infrared, passive microwave, and weather radar sensors. Today, remote sensing imagery acquired and processed in real time can provide near-real-time rainfall fluxes at relatively fine spatiotemporal scales (kilometers to tens of kilometers and 30-minute to 3-hour). These new suites of rainfall products have the potential to support daily decision-making in analysis of hydrologic hazards. This talk will address several key issues, including remote sensing rainfall retrieval and data assimilation, for hydrologists to develop alternative satellite-based flood warning systems that may supplement in-situ infrastructure when conventional data sources are denied due to natural or administrative causes. This talk will also assess a module-structure global flood prediction system that has been running at real-time by integrating remote sensing forcing data with simplified hydrological models, in an effort to offer a practical solution to the challenge of building cost-effective flood warning systems for the data-spares regions of the world. The real-time outlook of hazardous floods will quickly disseminate through an open-access web-interface to many agencies and organizations for their daily decision-making, with the potential to save human life and reduce economic impacts. The interactive Web interface will also show close-up maps of the disaster risks overlaid on population or integrated with the Google-Earth visualization tool.

Late Lessons from Early Warnings: Toward Realism and Precaution with Endocrine-Disrupting Substances

PubMed Central

Gee, David

2006-01-01

The histories of selected public and environmental hazards, from the first scientifically based early warnings about potential harm to the subsequent precautionary and preventive measures, have been reviewed by the European Environment Agency. This article relates the “late lessons” from these early warnings to the current debates on the application of the precautionary principle to the hazards posed by endocrine-disrupting substances (EDSs). Here, I summarize some of the definitional and interpretative issues that arise. These issues include the contingent nature of knowledge; the definitions of precaution, prevention, risk, uncertainty, and ignorance; the use of differential levels of proof; and the nature and main direction of the methodological and cultural biases within the environmental health sciences. It is argued that scientific methods need to reflect better the realities of multicausality, mixtures, timing of dose, and system dynamics, which characterize the exposures and impacts of EDSs. This improved science could provide a more robust basis for the wider and wise use of the precautionary principle in the assessment and management of the threats posed by EDSs. The evaluation of such scientific evidence requires assessments that also account for multicausal reality. Two of the often used, and sometimes misused, Bradford Hill “criteria,” consistency and temporality, are critically reviewed in light of multicausality, thereby illustrating the need to review all of the criteria in light of 40 years of progress in science and policymaking. PMID:16818262

Climate related natural hazards management in the vulnerable regions of Uzbekistan - experiences in the frame of projects Climate Risk Management in Uzbekistan (CRM-Uz) and Water in Central Asia (CAWa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merkushkin, Alexander; Gafurov, Abror; Agaltseva, Natalya; Pak, Alexander; Mannig, Birgit; Paeth, Heiko; Vorogushyn, Sergiy; Unger-Shayesteh, Katy

2014-05-01

Increased frequency of natural hazards under conditions of observed climate change in Uzbekistan has become challenging concern and shows the need to develop more effective climate risk mechanisms towards improving the security of society and sustainable development. In the framework of presented study, the importance of drought monitoring and methodologies for early warning for such purposes in Uzbekistan are demonstrated. For the conditions of Uzbekistan, droughts are most dangerous climate related natural phenomenon. Therefore, the CRM-Uz Project on Climate Risk Management was established with focus on reducing climate risks, strengthening adaptive capacity for stimulating the development of early warning mechanisms, as well as to build up the basis for long-term investments. This serves to increase resilience to climate impacts in the country. In the frame of the CRM-Uz Project, Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), has been developed and implemented in one of the southern provinces of Uzbekistan (Kashkadarya). The main task of DEWS is to provide population with information on the possibility of upcoming drought season in advance. DEWS is used for the assessment, monitoring, prevention, early warning and decision making in this region. Such early warning system provides the required information to undertake appropriate measures against drought and to mitigate its adverse effects to society. It is clear that during years with expected drought the hydrological forecasts become much more important. Complex mathematical model which simulates of run-off formation as a basis of DEWS provides the seasonal hydrological forecasts that are used to inform all concerned sectors, especially the agricultural sector on water availability during the vegetation period. In the frame of cooperation with German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) within the CAWa Project, the DEWS was extended through implementation of MODSNOW - the operational tool for snow cover monitoring at the Drought Monitoring Centre at UzHydromet. The upgrade of the DEWS withMODSNOW strengthens DEWS's capacity in terms of improvement the hydrological forecasting. Moreover, based on climate scenarios provided within the CAWa project by the University of Würzburg, the regional hydrological model AISHF was used to asses medium and long term water availability in the Kashkadarya River which indicates a reduction of water resources in the selected basin in the future.

Adapting Coastal State Indicators to end-users: the iCoast Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demarchi, Alessandro; Isotta Cristofori, Elena; Gracia, Vicente; Sairouní, Abdel; García-León, Manuel; Cámaro, Walther; Facello, Anna

2016-04-01

The extraordinary development of the built environment and of the population densities in the coastal areas are making coastal communities highly exposed. The sea level rise induced by climate change will worsen this coastal vulnerability scenario and a considerable amount of people are expected to be threatened by coastal flooding in the future. Due to the increasing number of catastrophic events, and the consequent increased number of damages and people affected, over the last decades coastal hazard management has become a fundamental activity in order to improve the resilience of coastal community. In this scenario, iCoast (integrated COastal Alert SysTem) project has been founded to develop a tool able to address coastal risks caused by extreme waves and high sea water levels in European coastal areas. In the framework of iCoast Project, a set of Coastal State Indicators (CSIs) has been developed in order to improve the forecasting and the assessment of coastal risks. CSIs are indeed parameters able to provide end-users with an essential information about coastal hazards and related impacts. Within the iCoast Project, following a comprehensive literature review about existing indicators concerning coastal risks, a list of CSIs have been chosen as parameters that can be derived from the meteorological and the hydrodynamic modules. They include both physical variables used as trigger for meteorological and flood warnings from the majority of the operational National/Regional warning systems and further essential parameters, so called 'storm integrated' coastal-storm indicators, able to describe the physical processes that drive coastal damages, such as erosion, accumulation, flooding, destructions. Nowadays, it is generally acknowledged that communities are not homogenous and hence their different vulnerable groups might need different warnings. Generally, even existing national EWS in developed countries are often ineffective to issue targeted warnings for specific user groups because they generate warnings whenever strong winds or high waves are expected. Once aggregated, weighted and compared with established thresholds, CSIs whereas allow to produce alert messages that can be tailored to different end-users needs. In the present study, the set of CSIs chosen in the framework of the iCoast Project, along with their performances tested for the case study of the Spanish NW Mediterranean Coast (i.e. Catalan Coast), is presented.

Warning: Health Hazards for Office Workers. An Overview of Problems and Solutions in Occupational Health in the Office.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Working Women Education Fund, Cleveland, OH.

This publication reports the results of a review of scientific research on office job hazards, survey responses from more than 1,200 office workers in Cleveland and Boston, and in-depth interviews with more than 100 office workers. The report covers the following areas of health hazards for office workers: (1) job stress--physical and…

Performance of Early Warning Systems on Landslides in Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strauch, W.; Devoli, G.

2012-04-01

We performed a reconnaissance about Early Warning Systems (EWS) on Landslides (EWSL) in the countries of Central America. The advance of the EWSL began in the 1990-ies and accelerated dramatically after the regional disaster provoked by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. In the last decade, Early Warning Systems were intensely promoted by national and international development programs aimed on disaster prevention. Early Warning on landslides is more complicated than for other geological phenomena. But, we found information on more than 30 EWSL in the region. In practice, for example in planning, implementation and evaluation of development projects, it is often not clearly defined what exactly is an Early Warning System. Only few of the systems can be classified as true EWSL that means 1) being directly and solely aimed at persons living in the well-defined areas of greatest risk and 2) focusing their work on saving lives before the phenomenon impacts. There is little written information about the work of the EWSL after the initial phase. Even, there are no statistics whether they issued warnings, if the warnings were successful, how many people were evacuated, if there were few false alerts, etc.. Actually, we did not find a single report on a successful landslide warning issued by an EWSL. The lack of information is often due to the fact that communitarian EWSL are considered local structures and do not have a clearly defined position in the governmental hierarchy; there is little oversight and no qualified support and long-term support. The EWSL suffer from severe problems as lack of funding on the long term, low technical level, and insufficient support from central institutions. Often the EWSL are implemented by NGÓs with funding from international agencies, but leave the project alone after the initial phase. In many cases, the hope of the local people to get some protection against the landslide hazard is not really fulfilled. There is one case, where an EWSL with a good technical base was installed in 2001 in an area with risk of lahars. The system was too complicated to be managed by the municipality or there was not sufficient training, and soon the system stopped working. In 2009, lahars were triggered by extreme rains and around 100 people died in the area previously covered by this EWSL. We discuss the reasons for the poor performance of the projects developing EWSL in Central America and present proposals to make the more efficient and sustainable. This work was carried out in the frame of a project of UNESCO (Office San José, Costa Rica) in association with CEPREDENAC-SICA within the 7-th Plan of ECHO for Central America.

The New Geodesy: A Powerful Tool in the Mitigation of Natural Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LaBrecque, J. L.

2017-12-01

Geodesy has transitioned from a little understood arcane science into an indispensible tool that is used by most citizens in their everyday lives. Who does not use GNSS to navigate with little thought to the contributions of geodecists, physicists and the technological marvels that made this possible. Less understood is how geodetic science and technology is transforming our approach to disaster warning and mitigation. Space Geodesy and the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are directly impacting the effectiveness and efficiency of understanding, preparedness and response in such disparate areas as weather, water resources, earthquakes, climate change impacts, soil moisture, land cover, and tsunami early warning. However, the full benefits of geodesy to society cannot be achieved without international accords and investments to access the full spectrum geodetic information with minimal latency.

The Global Drought Information System - A Decision Support Tool with Global Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heim, R. R.; Brewer, M.

2012-12-01

Drought is a natural hazard which can cause famine in developing countries and severe economic hardship in developed countries. Given current concerns with the increasing frequency and magnitude of droughts in many regions of the world, especially in the light of expected climate change, drought monitoring and dissemination of early warning information in a timely fashion on a global scale is a critical concern as an important adaptation and mitigation strategy. While a number of nations, and a few continental-scale activities have developed drought information system activities, a global drought early warning system (GDEWS) remains elusive, despite the benefits highlighted by ministers to the Global Earth Observation System of System in 2008. In an effort to begin a process of drought monitoring with international collaboration, the National Integrated Drought Information System's (NIDIS) U.S. Drought Portal, a web-based information system created to address drought services and early warning in the United States, including drought monitoring, forecasting, impacts, mitigation, research, and education, volunteered to develop a prototype Global Drought Monitoring Portal (GDMP). Through integration of data and information at the global level, and with four continental-level partners, the GDMP has proven successful as a tool to monitor drought around the globe. At a recent meeting between NIDIS, the World Meteorological Organization, and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, it was recommended that the GDMP form the basis for a Global Drought Information System (GDIS). Currently, GDIS activities are focused around incorporating additional drought monitoring information, especially from those areas without regional or continental-scale input, and incorporating drought-specific climate forecast information from the World Climate Research Programme. Additional GDIS pilot activities are underway with an emphasis on information and decision making, and how to effectively provide drought early warning. This talk will provide an update on the status of GDIS and its role in international drought monitoring.

The Global Drought Information System - A Decision Support Tool with Global Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arndt, D. S.; Brewer, M.; Heim, R. R., Jr.

2014-12-01

Drought is a natural hazard which can cause famine in developing countries and severe economic hardship in developed countries. Given current concerns with the increasing frequency and magnitude of droughts in many regions of the world, especially in the light of expected climate change, drought monitoring and dissemination of early warning information in a timely fashion on a global scale is a critical concern as an important adaptation and mitigation strategy. While a number of nations, and a few continental-scale activities have developed drought information system activities, a global drought early warning system (GDEWS) remains elusive, despite the benefits highlighted by ministers to the Global Earth Observation System of System in 2008. In an effort to begin a process of drought monitoring with international collaboration, the National Integrated Drought Information System's (NIDIS) U.S. Drought Portal, a web-based information system created to address drought services and early warning in the United States, including drought monitoring, forecasting, impacts, mitigation, research, and education, volunteered to develop a prototype Global Drought Monitoring Portal (GDMP). Through integration of data and information at the global level, and with four continental-level partners, the GDMP has proven successful as a tool to monitor drought around the globe. At a past meeting between NIDIS, the World Meteorological Organization, and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, it was recommended that the GDMP form the basis for a Global Drought Information System (GDIS). Currently, GDIS activities are focused around providing operational global drought monitoring products and assessments, incorporating additional drought monitoring information, especially from those areas without regional or continental-scale input, and incorporating drought-specific climate forecast information from the World Climate Research Programme. Additional GDIS pilot activities are underway with an emphasis on information and decision making, and how to effectively provide drought early warning. This talk will provide an update on the status of GDIS and its role in international drought monitoring.

Study of Disseminating Landslide Early Warning Information in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koay, Swee Peng; Lateh, Habibah; Tien Tay, Lea; Ahamd, Jamilah; Chan, Huah Yong; Sakai, Naoki; Jamaludin, Suhaimi

2015-04-01

In Malaysia, rain induced landslides are occurring more often than before. The Malaysian Government allocates millions of Malaysian Ringgit for slope monitoring and slope failure remedial measures in the budget every year. In rural areas, local authorities also play a major role in monitoring the slope to prevent casualty by giving information to the residents who are staying near to the slopes. However, there are thousands of slopes which are classified as high risk slopes in Malaysia. Implementing site monitoring system in these slopes to monitor the movement of the soil in the slopes, predicting the occurrence of slopes failure and establishing early warning system are too costly and almost impossible. In our study, we propose Accumulated Rainfall vs. Rainfall Intensity prediction method to predict the slope failure by referring to the predicted rainfall data from radar and the rain volume from rain gauges. The critical line which determines if the slope is in danger, is generated by simulator with well-surveyed the soil property in the slope and compared with historical data. By establishing such predicting system, the slope failure warning information can be obtained and disseminated to the surroundings via SMS, internet and siren. However, establishing the early warning dissemination system is not enough in disaster prevention, educating school children and the community by giving knowledge on landslides, such as landslide's definition, how and why does the slope failure happen and when will it fail, to raise the risk awareness on landslides will reduce landslides casualty, especially in rural area. Moreover, showing video on the risk and symptom of landslides in school will also help the school children gaining the knowledge of landslides. Generating hazard map and landslides historical data provides further information on the occurrence of the slope failure. In future, further study on fine tuning of landslides prediction method, applying IT technology to educate school children and disseminate warning information will assist the government authorities to reduce landslide casualty by disseminating prompt slope failure warning and improving the community's awareness of disaster prevention.

Development of building security integration system using sensors, microcontroller and GPS (Global Positioning System) based android smartphone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sihombing, P.; Siregar, Y. M.; Tarigan, J. T.; Jaya, I.; Turnip, A.

2018-03-01

Security system is one of the common problems to protect an environment such as personal house or a warehouse. There are numerous methods and technologies that can be used as part of a security system. In this paper, we present a security system that offers a better efficiency. The purpose of this study is to build a system that can monitor home security at any time in particular fire and theft. Through sensors, the system will be able to provide warning information of hazard conditions via LCD monitor, sound, and alarm. This information will be sent automatically to the home owner’s smartphone as well as to the corresponding to the security agency. Thus the prevention of theft and fire hazards can be immediately anticipated by the police and firefighters. The system will also notify the position of the coordinates of the location of the building (the house) by a link to the Google map in order to make it easier to get the location quickly.

U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program—Assess, forecast, prepare, engage

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stovall, Wendy K.; Wilkins, Aleeza M.; Mandeville, Charles W.; Driedger, Carolyn L.

2016-07-13

At least 170 volcanoes in 12 States and 2 territories have erupted in the past 12,000 years and have the potential to erupt again. Consequences of eruptions from U.S. volcanoes can extend far beyond the volcano’s immediate area. Many aspects of our daily life are vulnerable to volcano hazards, including air travel, regional power generation and transmission infrastructure, interstate transportation, port facilities, communications infrastructure, and public health. The U.S. Geological Survey has the Federal responsibility to issue timely warnings of potential volcanic activity to the affected populace and civil authorities. The Volcano Hazards Program (VHP) is funded to carry out that mission and does so through a combination of volcano monitoring, short-term warnings, research on how volcanoes work, and community education and outreach.

ISHM Decision Analysis Tool: Operations Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

The state-of-the-practice Shuttle caution and warning system warns the crew of conditions that may create a hazard to orbiter operations and/or crew. Depending on the severity of the alarm, the crew is alerted with a combination of sirens, tones, annunciator lights, or fault messages. The combination of anomalies (and hence alarms) indicates the problem. Even with much training, determining what problem a particular combination represents is not trivial. In many situations, an automated diagnosis system can help the crew more easily determine an underlying root cause. Due to limitations of diagnosis systems,however, it is not always possible to explain a set of alarms with a single root cause. Rather, the system generates a set of hypotheses that the crew can select from. The ISHM Decision Analysis Tool (IDAT) assists with this task. It presents the crew relevant information that could help them resolve the ambiguity of multiple root causes and determine a method for mitigating the problem. IDAT follows graphical user interface design guidelines and incorporates a decision analysis system. I describe both of these aspects.

NOAA Weather Radio - All Hazards

Science.gov Websites

Station Search Coverage Maps Outages View Outages Report Outages Information General Information Receiver Information Reception Problems NWR Alarms Automated Voices FIPS Codes NWR - Special Needs SAME USING SAME SAME Weather Service (NWS) warnings, watches, forecasts and other non-weather related hazard information 24

40 CFR 156.78 - Precautionary statements for physical or chemical hazards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Precautionary statements for physical... Precautionary Statements § 156.78 Precautionary statements for physical or chemical hazards. (a) Requirement... if a product meets the criteria in this section. Warning statements pertaining to other physical...

Comprehending product warning information: age-related effects and the roles of memory, inferencing, and knowledge.

PubMed

Hancock, Holly E; Fisk, Arthur D; Rogers, Wendy A

2005-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to determine if age affects comprehension for explicit and implied warning information and, if so, to reveal the nature of such effects. Experiment 1 measured younger (18-23 years) and older (65-75 years) adults' comprehension for real-world warnings via a verification test presented immediately after reading the warnings or after a delay. In Experiment 2, younger (18-22 years) and older (64-76 years) participants also read fabricated warnings that were inconsistent with real-world knowledge. In both experiments, older adults frequently failed to infer the correct hazard and safety information. The older adults also had trouble understanding warning information even when it was explicitly stated (when no inferences were required), especially when memory demands were high and product-specific knowledge could not be used. That many of the older adults did not understand commonly used product warnings indicates that the wording on many household products is not conducive to being understood by everyone who uses them. Actual or potential applications of this research include the recommendation that designers of product labels, warnings, and instructions should consider minimizing memory load and maximizing opportunities for knowledge application when designing consumer warnings.

Contribution of an exposure indicator to better anticipate damages with the AIGA flood warning method: a case study in the South of France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saint-Martin, Clotilde; Fouchier, Catherine; Douvinet, Johnny; Javelle, Pierre; Vinet, Freddy

2016-04-01

On the 3rd October 2015, heavy localized precipitations have occurred in South Eastern France leading to major flash floods on the Mediterranean coast. The severity of those floods has caused 20 fatalities and important damage in almost 50 municipalities in the French administrative area of Alpes-Maritimes. The local recording rain gauges have shown how fast the event has happened: 156 mm of rain were recorded in Mandelieu-la-Napoule and 145 mm in Cannes within 2 hours. As the affected rivers are not monitored, no anticipation was possible from the authorities in charge of risk management. In this case, forecasting floods is indeed complex because of the small size of the watersheds which implies a reduced catchment response time. In order to cope with the need of issuing flood warnings on un-monitored small catchments, Irstea and Météo-France have developed an alternative warning system for ungauged basins called the AIGA method. AIGA is a flood warning system based on a simple distributed hydrological model run at a 1 km² resolution using real time radar rainfall information (Javelle, Demargne, Defrance, Pansu, & Arnaud, 2014). The flood warnings, produced every 15 minutes, result of the comparison of the real time runoff data produced by the model with statistical runoff values. AIGA is running in real time in the South of France, within the RHYTMME project (https://rhytmme.irstea.fr/). Work is on-going in order to offer a similar service for the whole French territory. More than 200 impacts of the 3rd October floods have been located using media, social networks and fieldwork. The first comparisons between these impacts and the AIGA warning levels computed for this event show several discrepancies. However, these latter discrepancies appear to be explained by the land-use. An indicator of the exposure of territories to flooding has thus been created to weight the levels of the AIGA hydrological warnings with the land-use of the area surrounding the streams for which the warnings are issued. This paper aims to explain how this indicator has been created and to assess its relevance with the example of the 3rd October 2015 flood. By completing this approach, the AIGA warnings may characterize not only the flood hazard but more inclusively the risk of flooding, allowing to forecast this type of event. Javelle, P., Demargne, J., Defrance, D., Pansu, J., & Arnaud, P. (2014). Evaluating flash-flood warnings at ungauged locations using post-event surveys: a case study with the AIGA warning system. Hydrological Sciences Journal-Journal Des Sciences Hydrologiques, 59(7), 1390-1402. doi: 10.1080/02626667.2014.923970

The Impact of Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels and Smoke-Free Law on Health Awareness and Thoughts of Quitting in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Fong-Ching; Chung, Chi-Hui; Yu, Po-Tswen; Chao, Kun-yu

2011-01-01

The present study evaluated the impact of Taiwan's graphic cigarette warning labels and smoke-free law on awareness of the health hazards of smoking and thoughts of quitting smoking. National representative samples of 1074 and 1094 people, respectively, were conducted successfully by telephone in July 2008 (pre-law) and March 2009 (post-law).…

The development of flood map in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakaria, Siti Fairus; Zin, Rosli Mohamad; Mohamad, Ismail; Balubaid, Saeed; Mydin, Shaik Hussein; MDR, E. M. Roodienyanto

2017-11-01

In Malaysia, flash floods are common occurrences throughout the year in flood prone areas. In terms of flood extent, flash floods affect smaller areas but because of its tendency to occur in densely urbanized areas, the value of damaged property is high and disruption to traffic flow and businesses are substantial. However, in river floods especially the river floods of Kelantan and Pahang, the flood extent is widespread and can extend over 1,000 square kilometers. Although the value of property and density of affected population is lower, the damage inflicted by these floods can also be high because the area affected is large. In order to combat these floods, various flood mitigation measures have been carried out. Structural flood mitigation alone can only provide protection levels from 10 to 100 years Average Recurrence Intervals (ARI). One of the economically effective non-structural approaches in flood mitigation and flood management is using a geospatial technology which involves flood forecasting and warning services to the flood prone areas. This approach which involves the use of Geographical Information Flood Forecasting system also includes the generation of a series of flood maps. There are three types of flood maps namely Flood Hazard Map, Flood Risk Map and Flood Evacuation Map. Flood Hazard Map is used to determine areas susceptible to flooding when discharge from a stream exceeds the bank-full stage. Early warnings of incoming flood events will enable the flood victims to prepare themselves before flooding occurs. Properties and life's can be saved by keeping their movable properties above the flood levels and if necessary, an early evacuation from the area. With respect to flood fighting, an early warning with reference through a series of flood maps including flood hazard map, flood risk map and flood evacuation map of the approaching flood should be able to alert the organization in charge of the flood fighting actions and the authority to undertake the necessary decisions, and the general public to be aware of the impending danger. However this paper will only discuss on the generations of Flood Hazard Maps and the use of Flood Risk Map and Flood Evacuation Map by using geospatial data.

Neural Network Back-Propagation Algorithm for Sensing Hypergols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perotti, Jose; Lewis, Mark; Medelius, Pedro; Bastin, Gary

2013-01-01

Fast, continuous detection of a wide range of hazardous substances simultaneously is needed to achieve improved safety for personnel working with hypergolic fuels and oxidizers, as well as other hazardous substances, with a requirement for such detection systems to warn personnel immediately upon the sudden advent of hazardous conditions, with a high probability of detection and a low false alarm rate. The primary purpose of this software is to read the voltage outputs from voltage dividers containing carbon nano - tube sensors as a variable resistance leg, and to recognize quickly when a leak has occurred through recognizing that a generalized pattern change in resistivity of a carbon nanotube sensor has occurred upon exposure to dangerous substances, and, further, to identify quickly just what substance is present through detailed pattern recognition of the shape of the response provided by the carbon nanotube sensor.

Earth sciences, GIS and geomatics for natural hazards assessment and risks mitigation: a civil protection perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perotti, Luigi; Conte, Riccardo; Lanfranco, Massimo; Perrone, Gianluigi; Giardino, Marco; Ratto, Sara

2010-05-01

Geo-information and remote sensing are proper tools to enhance functional strategies for increasing awareness on natural hazards and risks and for supporting research and operational activities devoted to disaster reduction. An improved Earth Sciences knowledge coupled with Geomatics advanced technologies has been developed by the joint research group and applied by the ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action) centre, within its partnership with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) with the goal of reducing human, social, economic and environmental losses due to natural hazards and related disasters. By cooperating with local and regional authorities (Municipalities, Centro Funzionale of the Aosta Valley, Civil Protection Agency of Regione Piemonte), data on natural hazards and risks have been collected, compared to national and global data, then interpreted for helping communities and civil protection agencies of sensitive mountain regions to make strategic choices and decisions to better mitigation and adaption measures. To enhance the application of GIS and Remote-sensing technologies for geothematic mapping of geological and geomorphological risks of mountain territories of Europe and Developing Countries, research activities led to the collection and evaluation of data from scientific literature and historical technical archives, for the definition of predisposing/triggering factors and evolutionary processes of natural instability phenomena (landslides, floods, storms, …) and for the design and implementation of early-warning and early-impact systems. Geodatabases, Remote Sensing and Mobile-GIS applications were developed to perform analysis of : 1) large climate-related disaster (Hurricane Mitch, Central America), by the application of remote sensing techniques, either for early warning or mitigation measures at the national and international scale; 2) distribution of slope instabilities at the regional scale (Aosta Valley, NW-Italy), for preventing and recovering measures; 3) geological and geomorphological controlling factors of seismicity, to provide microzonation maps and scenarios for co-seismic response of instable zones (Dronero, NW- Italian Alps); 4) earthquake effects on ground and infrastructures, in order to register early assessment for awareness situations and for compile damage inventories (Asti-Alessandria seismic events, 2000, 2001, 2003). The research results has been able to substantiate early warning models by structuring geodatabases on natural disasters, and to support humanitarian relief and disaster management activities by creating and testing SRG2, a mobile-GIS application for field-data collection on natural hazards and risks.

Tsunami Hazards - A National Threat

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2006-01-01

In December 2004, when a tsunami killed more than 200,000 people in 11 countries around the Indian Ocean, the United States was reminded of its own tsunami risks. In fact, devastating tsunamis have struck North America before and are sure to strike again. Especially vulnerable are the five Pacific States--Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California--and the U.S. Caribbean islands. In the wake of the Indian Ocean disaster, the United States is redoubling its efforts to assess the Nation's tsunami hazards, provide tsunami education, and improve its system for tsunami warning. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is helping to meet these needs, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and with coastal States and counties.

Non-cigarette tobacco products: What have we learned and where are we headed?

PubMed Central

O'Connor, Richard J.

2013-01-01

A wide variety of non-cigarette forms of tobacco and nicotine exists and their use varies regionally and globally. Smoked forms of tobacco such as cigars, bidis, kreteks, and waterpipes have high popularity and are often perceived erroneously as less hazardous than cigarettes, when in fact their health burden is similar. Smokeless tobacco products vary widely around the world in both form and health hazards, with some clearly toxic forms (e.g. South Asia), and some forms with far fewer hazards (e.g., Sweden). There are also emerging nicotine delivery systems not directly reliant on tobacco (e.g. electronic nicotine delivery systems [ENDS]). The presence of such products presents both challenges and opportunities for public health. Future regulatory actions such as expansion of smokefree environments, product health warnings, and taxation may serve to increase or decrease the use of non-cigarette forms of tobacco. These regulations may also bring about changes in non-cigarette tobacco products themselves that could impact public health by affecting attractiveness and/or toxicity. PMID:22345243

Non-cigarette tobacco products: what have we learnt and where are we headed?

PubMed

O'Connor, Richard J

2012-03-01

A wide variety of non-cigarette forms of tobacco and nicotine exist, and their use varies regionally and globally. Smoked forms of tobacco such as cigars, bidis, kreteks and waterpipes have high popularity and are often perceived erroneously as less hazardous than cigarettes, when in fact their health burden is similar. Smokeless tobacco products vary widely around the world in form and the health hazards they present, with some clearly toxic forms (eg, in South Asia) and some forms with far fewer hazards (eg, in Sweden). Nicotine delivery systems not directly reliant on tobacco are also emerging (eg, electronic nicotine delivery systems). The presence of such products presents challenges and opportunities for public health. Future regulatory actions such as expansion of smoke-free environments, product health warnings and taxation may serve to increase or decrease the use of non-cigarette forms of tobacco. These regulations may also bring about changes in non-cigarette tobacco products themselves that could impact public health by affecting attractiveness and/or toxicity.

U.S. Tsunami Warning System: Advancements since the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitmore, P.

2009-12-01

The U.S. government embarked on a strengthening program for the U.S. Tsunami Warning System (TWS) in the aftermath of the disastrous 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The program was designed to improve several facets of the U.S. TWS, including: upgrade of the coastal sea level network - 16 new stations plus higher transmission rates; expansion of the deep ocean tsunameter network - 7 sites increased to 39; upgrade of seismic networks - both USGS and Tsunami Warning Center (TWC); increase of TWC staff to allow 24x7 coverage at two centers; development of an improved tsunami forecast system; increased preparedness in coastal communities; expansion of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center facility; and improvement of the tsunami data archive effort at the National Geophysical Data Center. The strengthening program has been completed and has contributed to the many improvements attained in the U.S. TWS since 2004. Some of the more significant enhancements to the program are: the number of sea level and seismic sites worldwide available to the TWCs has more than doubled; the TWC areas-of-responsibility expanded to include the U.S./Canadian Atlantic coasts, Indian Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. Arctic coast; event response time decreased by approximately one-half; product accuracy has improved; a tsunami forecast system developed by NOAA capable of forecasting inundation during an event has been delivered to the TWCs; warning areas are now defined by pre-computed or forecasted threat versus distance or travel time, significantly reducing the amount of coast put in a warning; new warning dissemination techniques have been implemented to reach a broader audience in less time; tsunami product content better reflects the expected impact level; the number of TsunamiReady communities has quadrupled; and the historical data archive has increased in quantity and accuracy. In addition to the strengthening program, the U.S. National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) has expanded its efforts since 2004 and improved tsunami preparedness throughout U.S. coastal communities. The NTHMP is a partnership of federal agencies and state tsunami response agencies whose efforts include: development of inundation and evacuation maps for most highly threatened communities; tsunami evacuation and educational signage for coastal communities; support for tsunami educational, awareness and planning seminars; increased number of local tsunami warning dissemination devices such as sirens; and support for regional tsunami exercises. These activities are major factors that have contributed to the increase of TsunamiReady communities throughout the country.

Database for Safety-Oriented Tracking of Chemicals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stump, Jacob; Carr, Sandra; Plumlee, Debrah; Slater, Andy; Samson, Thomas M.; Holowaty, Toby L.; Skeete, Darren; Haenz, Mary Alice; Hershman, Scot; Raviprakash, Pushpa

2010-01-01

SafetyChem is a computer program that maintains a relational database for tracking chemicals and associated hazards at Johnson Space Center (JSC) by use of a Web-based graphical user interface. The SafetyChem database is accessible to authorized users via a JSC intranet. All new chemicals pass through a safety office, where information on hazards, required personal protective equipment (PPE), fire-protection warnings, and target organ effects (TOEs) is extracted from material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and recorded in the database. The database facilitates real-time management of inventory with attention to such issues as stability, shelf life, reduction of waste through transfer of unused chemicals to laboratories that need them, quantification of chemical wastes, and identification of chemicals for which disposal is required. Upon searching the database for a chemical, the user receives information on physical properties of the chemical, hazard warnings, required PPE, a link to the MSDS, and references to the applicable International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 standard work instructions and the applicable job hazard analysis. Also, to reduce the labor hours needed to comply with reporting requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the data can be directly exported into the JSC hazardous- materials database.

A Real-Time Construction Safety Monitoring System for Hazardous Gas Integrating Wireless Sensor Network and Building Information Modeling Technologies.

PubMed

Cheung, Weng-Fong; Lin, Tzu-Hsuan; Lin, Yu-Cheng

2018-02-02

In recent years, many studies have focused on the application of advanced technology as a way to improve management of construction safety management. A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), one of the key technologies in Internet of Things (IoT) development, enables objects and devices to sense and communicate environmental conditions; Building Information Modeling (BIM), a revolutionary technology in construction, integrates database and geometry into a digital model which provides a visualized way in all construction lifecycle management. This paper integrates BIM and WSN into a unique system which enables the construction site to visually monitor the safety status via a spatial, colored interface and remove any hazardous gas automatically. Many wireless sensor nodes were placed on an underground construction site and to collect hazardous gas level and environmental condition (temperature and humidity) data, and in any region where an abnormal status is detected, the BIM model will alert the region and an alarm and ventilator on site will start automatically for warning and removing the hazard. The proposed system can greatly enhance the efficiency in construction safety management and provide an important reference information in rescue tasks. Finally, a case study demonstrates the applicability of the proposed system and the practical benefits, limitations, conclusions, and suggestions are summarized for further applications.

Experiences from coordinated national-level landslide and flood forecasting in Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krøgli, Ingeborg; Fleig, Anne; Glad, Per; Dahl, Mads-Peter; Devoli, Graziella; Colleuille, Hervé

2015-04-01

While flood forecasting at national level is quite well established and operational in many countries worldwide, landslide forecasting at national level is still seldom. Examples of coordinated flood and landslide forecasting are even rarer. Most of the time flood and landslide forecasters work separately (investigating, defining thresholds, and developing models) and most of the time without communication with each other. One example of coordinated operational early warning systems (EWS) for flooding and shallow landslides is found at the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) in Norway. In this presentation we give an introduction to the two separate but tightly collaborative EWSs and to the coordination of these. The two EWSs are being operated from the same office, every day using similar hydro-meteorological prognosis and hydrological models. Prognosis and model outputs on e.g. discharge, snow melt, soil water content and exceeded landslide thresholds are evaluated in a web based decision-making tool (xgeo.no). The experts performing forecasts are hydrologists, geologists and physical geographers. A similar warning scale, based on colors (green, yellow, orange and red) is used for both EWSs, however thresholds for flood and landslide warning levels are defined differently. Also warning areas may not necessary be the same for both hazards and depending on the specific meteorological event, duration of the warning periods can differ. We present how knowledge, models and tools, but also human and economic resources are being shared between the two EWSs. Moreover, we discuss challenges faced in the communication of warning messages using recent flood and landslide events as examples.

Meteorological operational services for civil protection in Veneto region (North-eastern Italy).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbi, A.; Monai, M.; Zardini, F.

2009-09-01

The Meteorological Centre of Teolo (CMT), part of the Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of the North-eastern Italian region Veneto (ARPAV), is the operational regional meteorological service. Since April 2009 the Centre is linked to and supplies meteorological monitoring and forecasting to the recently constituted Functional Centre of the regional civil protection (CFD Veneto), which operates in the framework of National Civil Protection. The CFD Veneto supplies a multi-disciplinary, technical-scientific support to civil protection activities, to early warnings of natural hazards, in particular related to hydrogeological, hydraulic, and avalanches risks. The north-eastern part of Italy is known to be one of the rainiest regions in Europe. The region Veneto, due to its topographic configuration which includes Alpine reliefs, plans and a coast exposed to the Adriatic Sea, is conducive to heavy and long-lasting precipitation events. Also, strong thunderstorm activity with high precipitation rates, hail, wind gusts, and even tornadoes are relatively frequent occurrences. In this contribution two recent examples of different types of extreme events are briefly analysed by means of the ARPAV multi-sensor observing system which includes weather radar and a dense surface network. We show some of the impacts of such weather events on the territory, the services provided by CFD Veneto, in terms of meteorological forecasting and nowcasting products, and hydrogeologic/hydraulic hazard bullettins. The analysis highlights the difficulty of an efficient wheather forecast for civil defence purposes in a complex situation as ours, where many types of different events are possible. Especially cases of rapid convective events with their intense and very localized phenomena are a significant challenge. It is well-known that such events can bring remarkable material damages and serious danger for the people. For this reason an effective warning system which can handle this type of events is needed, and may feature different procedures and warning methods than for long-lasting precipitation events. The latter are generally more predictable by meteorological models, have slow and more continuous time-spatial evolutions with delayed hydrogeologic and hydraulic impacts (landslides, landslips, floods, etc.). This allows anticipated more efficient warnings, also supported, to some extent, by hydrologic modelling.

A real-time cabled observatory on the Cascadia subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidale, J. E.; Delaney, J. R.; Toomey, D. R.; Bodin, P.; Roland, E. C.; Wilcock, W. S. D.; Houston, H.; Schmidt, D. A.; Allen, R. M.

2015-12-01

Subduction zones are replete with mystery and rife with hazard. Along most of the Pacific Northwest margin, the traditional methods of monitoring offshore geophysical activity use onshore sensors or involve conducting infrequent oceanographic expeditions. This results in a limited capacity for detecting and monitoring subduction processes offshore. We propose that the next step in geophysical observations of Cascadia should include real-time data delivered by a seafloor cable with seismic, geodetic, and pressure-sensing instruments. Along the Cascadia subduction zone, we need to monitor deformation, earthquakes, and fluid fluxes on short time scales. High-quality long-term time series are needed to establish baseline observations and evaluate secular changes in the subduction environment. Currently we lack a basic knowledge of the plate convergence rate, direction and its variations along strike and of how convergence is accommodated across the plate boundary. We also would like to seek cycles of microseismicity, how far locking extends up-dip, and the transient processes (i.e., fluid pulsing, tremor, and slow slip) that occur near the trench. For reducing risk to society, real-time monitoring has great benefit for immediate and accurate assessment through earthquake early warning systems. Specifically, the improvement to early warning would be in assessing the location, geometry, and progression of ongoing faulting and obtaining an accurate tsunami warning, as well as simply speeding up the early warning. It would also be valuable to detect strain transients and map the locked portion of the megathrust, and detect changes in locking over the earthquake cycle. Development of the US portion of a real-time cabled seismic and geodetic observatory should build upon the Ocean Observatories Initiative's cabled array, which was recently completed and is currently delivering continuous seismic and pressure data from the seafloor. Its implementation would require substantial initial and ongoing investments from federal and state governments, private partners and the academic community but would constitute a critical resource in mitigating the hazard both through improved earthquake and tsunami warning and an enhanced scientific understanding of subduction processes in Cascadia.

30 CFR 47.41 - Requirement for container labels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Requirement for container labels. 47.41 Section... TRAINING HAZARD COMMUNICATION (HazCom) Container Labels and Other Forms of Warning § 47.41 Requirement for container labels. (a) The operator must ensure that each container of a hazardous chemical has a label. If a...

Hurricane Warning: the Critical Need for a National Hurricane Research Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Science Foundation, 2007

2007-01-01

The United States possesses the most capable research enterprise, the largest economy, and the most sophisticated societal infrastructure in the world, yet it remains notably vulnerable to catastrophic damage and loss of life from natural hazards. Among weather hazards, hurricanes account for over half of the total damage inflicted. Despite their…

A spatial Bayesian network model to assess the benefits of early warning for urban flood risk to people

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balbi, S.; Villa, F.; Mojtahed, V.; Hegetschweiler, K. T.; Giupponi, C.

2015-10-01

This article presents a novel methodology to assess flood risk to people by integrating people's vulnerability and ability to cushion hazards through coping and adapting. The proposed approach extends traditional risk assessments beyond material damages; complements quantitative and semi-quantitative data with subjective and local knowledge, improving the use of commonly available information; produces estimates of model uncertainty by providing probability distributions for all of its outputs. Flood risk to people is modeled using a spatially explicit Bayesian network model calibrated on expert opinion. Risk is assessed in terms of: (1) likelihood of non-fatal physical injury; (2) likelihood of post-traumatic stress disorder; (3) likelihood of death. The study area covers the lower part of the Sihl valley (Switzerland) including the city of Zurich. The model is used to estimate the benefits of improving an existing Early Warning System, taking into account the reliability, lead-time and scope (i.e. coverage of people reached by the warning). Model results indicate that the potential benefits of an improved early warning in terms of avoided human impacts are particularly relevant in case of a major flood event: about 75 % of fatalities, 25 % of injuries and 18 % of post-traumatic stress disorders could be avoided.

Real-time and rapid GNSS solutions from the M8.2 September 2017 Tehuantepec Earthquake and implications for Earthquake and Tsunami Early Warning Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mencin, D.; Hodgkinson, K. M.; Mattioli, G. S.

2017-12-01

In support of hazard research and Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) Systems UNAVCO operates approximately 800 RT-GNSS stations throughout western North America and Alaska (EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory), Mexico (TLALOCNet), and the pan-Caribbean region (COCONet). Our system produces and distributes raw data (BINEX and RTCM3) and real-time Precise Point Positions via the Trimble PIVOT Platform (RTX). The 2017-09-08 earthquake M8.2 located 98 km SSW of Tres Picos, Mexico is the first great earthquake to occur within the UNAVCO RT-GNSS footprint, which allows for a rigorous analysis of our dynamic and static processing methods. The need for rapid geodetic solutions ranges from seconds (EEW systems) to several minutes (Tsunami Warning and NEIC moment tensor and finite fault models). Here, we compare and quantify the relative processing strategies for producing static offsets, moment tensors and geodetically determined finite fault models using data recorded during this event. We also compare the geodetic solutions with the USGS NEIC seismically derived moment tensors and finite fault models, including displacement waveforms generated from these models. We define kinematic post-processed solutions from GIPSY-OASISII (v6.4) with final orbits and clocks as a "best" case reference to evaluate the performance of our different processing strategies. We find that static displacements of a few centimeters or less are difficult to resolve in the real-time GNSS position estimates. The standard daily 24-hour solutions provide the highest-quality data-set to determine coseismic offsets, but these solutions are delayed by at least 48 hours after the event. Dynamic displacements, estimated in real-time, however, show reasonable agreement with final, post-processed position estimates, and while individual position estimates have large errors, the real-time solutions offer an excellent operational option for EEW systems, including the use of estimated peak-ground displacements or directly inverting for finite-fault solutions. In the near-field, we find that the geodetically-derived moment tensors and finite fault models differ significantly with seismically-derived models, highlighting the utility of using geodetic data in hazard applications.

An operational procedure for rapid flood risk assessment in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dottori, Francesco; Kalas, Milan; Salamon, Peter; Bianchi, Alessandra; Alfieri, Lorenzo; Feyen, Luc

2017-07-01

The development of methods for rapid flood mapping and risk assessment is a key step to increase the usefulness of flood early warning systems and is crucial for effective emergency response and flood impact mitigation. Currently, flood early warning systems rarely include real-time components to assess potential impacts generated by forecasted flood events. To overcome this limitation, this study describes the benchmarking of an operational procedure for rapid flood risk assessment based on predictions issued by the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS). Daily streamflow forecasts produced for major European river networks are translated into event-based flood hazard maps using a large map catalogue derived from high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations. Flood hazard maps are then combined with exposure and vulnerability information, and the impacts of the forecasted flood events are evaluated in terms of flood-prone areas, economic damage and affected population, infrastructures and cities.An extensive testing of the operational procedure has been carried out by analysing the catastrophic floods of May 2014 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. The reliability of the flood mapping methodology is tested against satellite-based and report-based flood extent data, while modelled estimates of economic damage and affected population are compared against ground-based estimations. Finally, we evaluate the skill of risk estimates derived from EFAS flood forecasts with different lead times and combinations of probabilistic forecasts. Results highlight the potential of the real-time operational procedure in helping emergency response and management.

Prioritizing earthquake and tsunami alerting efforts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, R. M.; Allen, S.; Aranha, M. A.; Chung, A. I.; Hellweg, M.; Henson, I. H.; Melgar, D.; Neuhauser, D. S.; Nof, R. N.; Strauss, J. A.

2015-12-01

The timeline of hazards associated with earthquakes ranges from seconds for the strong shaking at the epicenter, to minutes for strong shaking at more distant locations in big quakes, to tens of minutes for a local tsunami. Earthquake and tsunami warning systems must therefore include very fast initial alerts, while also taking advantage of available time in bigger and tsunami-generating quakes. At the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory we are developing a suite of algorithms to provide the fullest possible information about earthquake shaking and tsunami inundation from seconds to minutes after a quake. The E-larmS algorithm uses the P-wave to rapidly detect an earthquake and issue a warning. It is currently issuing alerts to test users in as little as 3 sec after the origin time. Development of a new waveform detector may lead to even faster alerts. G-larmS uses permanent deformation estimates from GNSS stations to estimate the geometry and extent of rupture underway providing more accurate ground shaking estimates in big (M>~7) earthquakes. It performed well in the M6.0 2014 Napa earthquake. T-larmS is a new algorithm designed to extend alert capabilities to tsunami inundation. Rapid estimates of source characteristics for subduction zones event can not only be used to warn of the shaking hazard, but also the local tsunami inundation hazard. These algorithms are being developed, implemented and tested with a focus on the western US, but are also now being tested in other parts of the world including Israel, Turkey, Korea and Chile. Beta users in the Bay Area are receiving the alerts and beginning to implement automated actions. They also provide feedback on users needs, which has led to the development of the MyEEW smartphone app. This app allows beta users to receive the alerts on their cell phones. All these efforts feed into our ongoing assessment of directions and priorities for future development and implementation efforts.

InteractInteraction mechanism of emergency response in geological hazard perception and risk management: a case study in Zhouqu county

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Yuan; Zhao, Hongtao

2017-04-01

China is one of few several natural disaster prone countries, which has complex geological and geographical environment and abnormal climate. On August 8, 2010, a large debris flow disaster happened in Zhouqu Country, Gansu province, resulting in more than 1700 casualties and more than 200 buildings damaged. In order to percept landslide and debris flow, an early warning system was established in the county. Spatial information technologies, such as remote sensing, GIS, and GPS, play core role in the early warning system, due to their functions in observing, analyzing, and locating geological disasters. However, all of these spatial information technologies could play an important role only guided by the emergency response mechanism. This article takes the establishment of Zhouqu Country's Disaster Emergency Response Interaction Mechanism (DERIM) as an example to discuss the risk management of country-level administrative units. The country-level risk management aims to information sharing, resources integration, integrated prevention and unified command. Then, nine subsystems support DERIM, which included disaster prevention and emergency data collection and sharing system, joint duty system, disaster verification and evaluation system, disaster consultation system, emergency warning and information release system, emergency response system, disaster reporting system, plan management system, mass prediction and prevention management system. At last, an emergency command platform in Zhouqu Country built up to realize DERIM. The core mission of the platform consists of daily management of disaster, monitoring and warning, comprehensive analysis, information release, consultation and decision-making, emergency response, etc. Five functional modules, including module of disaster information management, comprehensive monitoring module (geological monitoring, meteorological monitoring, water conservancy and hydrological monitoring), alarm management module, emergency command and disaster dispatching management module are developed on the basis of this platform. Based on the internet technology, an web-based office platform is exploited for the nodes scattered in departments and towns, which includes daily business, monitoring and warning, alarm notification, alarm recording, personnel management and update in disaster region, query and analysis of real-time observation data, etc. The platform experienced 3 years' test of the duty in flood period since 2013, and two typical disaster cases during this period fully illustrates the effectiveness of the DERIM and the emergency command platform.

Tsunami warnings: Understanding in Hawai'i

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gregg, Chris E.; Houghton, Bruce F.; Paton, Douglas; Johnston, David M.; Swanson, D.A.; Yanagi, B.S.

2007-01-01

The devastating southeast Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004 has brought home the destructive consequences of coastal hazards in an absence of effective warning systems. Since the 1946 tsunami that destroyed much of Hilo, Hawai'i, a network of pole mounted sirens has been used to provide an early public alert of future tsunamis. However, studies in the 1960s showed that understanding of the meaning of siren soundings was very low and that ambiguity in understanding had contributed to fatalities in the 1960 tsunami that again destroyed much of Hilo. The Hawaiian public has since been exposed to monthly tests of the sirens for more than 25 years and descriptions of the system have been widely published in telephone books for at least 45 years. However, currently there remains some uncertainty in the level of public understanding of the sirens and their implications for behavioral response. Here, we show from recent surveys of Hawai'i residents that awareness of the siren tests and test frequency is high, but these factors do not equate with increased understanding of the meaning of the siren, which remains disturbingly low (13%). Furthermore, the length of time people have lived in Hawai'i is not correlated systematically with understanding of the meaning of the sirens. An additional issue is that warning times for tsunamis gene rated locally in Hawai'i will be of the order of minutes to tens of minutes and limit the immediate utility of the sirens. Natural warning signs of such tsunamis may provide the earliest warning to residents. Analysis of a survey subgroup from Hilo suggests that awareness of natural signs is only moderate, and a majority may expect notification via alerts provided by official sources. We conclude that a major change is needed in tsunami education, even in Hawai'i, to increase public understanding of, and effective response to, both future official alerts and natural warning signs of future tsunamis. ?? Springer 2006.

MyShake - A smartphone app to detect earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kong, Q.; Allen, R. M.; Schreier, L.; Kwon, Y. W.

2015-12-01

We designed an android app that harnesses the accelerometers in personal smartphones to record earthquake-shaking data for research, hazard information and warnings. The app has the function to distinguish earthquake shakings from daily human activities based on the different patterns behind the movements. It also can be triggered by the traditional earthquake early warning (EEW) system to record for a certain amount of time to collect earthquake data. When the app is triggered by the earthquake-like movements, it sends the trigger information back to our server which contains time and location of the trigger, at the same time, it stores the waveform data on local phone first, and upload to our server later. Trigger information from multiple phones will be processed in real time on the server to find the coherent signal to confirm the earthquakes. Therefore, the app provides the basis to form a smartphone seismic network that can detect earthquake and even provide warnings. A planned public roll-out of MyShake could collect millions of seismic recordings for large earthquakes in many regions around the world.

Online-data Bases On Natural-hazard Research, Early-warning Systems and Operative Disaster Prevention Programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hermanns, R. L.; Zentel, K.-O.; Wenzel, F.; Hövel, M.; Hesse, A.

In order to benefit from synergies and to avoid replication in the field of disaster re- duction programs and related scientific projects it is important to create an overview on the state of art, the fields of activity and their key aspects. Therefore, the German Committee for Disaster Reduction intends to document projects and institution related to natural disaster prevention in three databases. One database is designed to docu- ment scientific programs and projects related to natural hazards. In a first step data acquisition concentrated on projects carried out by German institutions. In a second step projects from all other European countries will be archived. The second database focuses on projects on early-warning systems and has no regional limit. Data mining started in November 2001 and will be finished soon. The third database documents op- erational projects dealing with disaster prevention and concentrates on international projects or internationally funded projects. These databases will be available on the internet end of spring 2002 (http://www.dkkv.org) and will be updated continuously. They will allow rapid and concise information on various international projects, pro- vide up-to-date descriptions, and facilitate exchange as all relevant information in- cluding contact addresses are available to the public. The aim of this contribution is to present concepts and the work done so far, to invite participation, and to contact other organizations with similar objectives.

Russian eruption warning systems for aviation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Neal, C.; Girina, O.; Senyukov, S.; Rybin, A.; Osiensky, J.; Izbekov, P.; Ferguson, G.

2009-01-01

More than 65 potentially active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kurile Islands pose a substantial threat to aircraft on the Northern Pacific (NOPAC), Russian Trans-East (RTE), and Pacific Organized Track System (PACOTS) air routes. The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) monitors and reports on volcanic hazards to aviation for Kamchatka and the north Kuriles. KVERT scientists utilize real-time seismic data, daily satellite views of the region, real-time video, and pilot and field reports of activity to track and alert the aviation industry of hazardous activity. Most Kurile Island volcanoes are monitored by the Sakhalin Volcanic Eruption Response Team (SVERT) based in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. SVERT uses daily moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite images to look for volcanic activity along this 1,250-km chain of islands. Neither operation is staffed 24 h per day. In addition, the vast majority of Russian volcanoes are not monitored seismically in real-time. Other challenges include multiple time-zones and language differences that hamper communication among volcanologists and meteorologists in the US, Japan, and Russia who share the responsibility to issue official warnings. Rapid, consistent verification of explosive eruptions and determination of cloud heights remain significant technical challenges. Despite these difficulties, in more than a decade of frequent eruptive activity in Kamchatka and the northern Kuriles, no damaging encounters with volcanic ash from Russian eruptions have been recorded. ?? Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.

Applications of a Forward-Looking Interferometer for the On-board Detection of Aviation Weather Hazards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

West, Leanne; Gimmestad, Gary; Smith, William; Kireev, Stanislav; Cornman, Larry B.; Schaffner, Philip R.; Tsoucalas, George

2008-01-01

The Forward-Looking Interferometer (FLI) is a new instrument concept for obtaining measurements of potential weather hazards to alert flight crews. The FLI concept is based on high-resolution Infrared (IR) Fourier Transform Spectrometry (FTS) technologies that have been developed for satellite remote sensing, and which have also been applied to the detection of aerosols and gases for other purposes. It is being evaluated for multiple hazards including clear air turbulence (CAT), volcanic ash, wake vortices, low slant range visibility, dry wind shear, and icing, during all phases of flight. Previous sensitivity and characterization studies addressed the phenomenology that supports detection and mitigation by the FLI. Techniques for determining the range, and hence warning time, were demonstrated for several of the hazards, and a table of research instrument parameters was developed for investigating all of the hazards discussed above. This work supports the feasibility of detecting multiple hazards with an FLI multi-hazard airborne sensor, and for producing enhanced IR images in reduced visibility conditions; however, further research must be performed to develop a means to estimate the intensities of the hazards posed to an aircraft and to develop robust algorithms to relate sensor measurables to hazard levels. In addition, validation tests need to be performed with a prototype system.

Windshear detection and avoidance - Airborne systems perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowles, Roland L.; Targ, Russell

1988-01-01

The generalized windshear hazard index presently defined is derived from aircraft-position wind data and remotely sensed data obtained along the extended flight path by such candidate sensor technologies as microwave Doppler radar, Doppler lidar, and IR radiometry. Attention is given here to the results of a comparative evaluation of CO2 and Ho:YAG lidar sensor-employing windshear-detection systems, over a range 1-3 km ahead of the aircraft (corresponding to 15-45 sec of warning time). While the technology for a 10.6-micron CO2 lidar system is available, an optimum 2-micron REE laser crystal-based system remains to be developed.

Development of Algorithms and Error Analyses for the Short Baseline Lightning Detection and Ranging System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starr, Stanley O.

1998-01-01

NASA, at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), developed and operates a unique high-precision lightning location system to provide lightning-related weather warnings. These warnings are used to stop lightning- sensitive operations such as space vehicle launches and ground operations where equipment and personnel are at risk. The data is provided to the Range Weather Operations (45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Air Force) where it is used with other meteorological data to issue weather advisories and warnings for Cape Canaveral Air Station and KSC operations. This system, called Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR), provides users with a graphical display in three dimensions of 66 megahertz radio frequency events generated by lightning processes. The locations of these events provide a sound basis for the prediction of lightning hazards. This document provides the basis for the design approach and data analysis for a system of radio frequency receivers to provide azimuth and elevation data for lightning pulses detected simultaneously by the LDAR system. The intent is for this direction-finding system to correct and augment the data provided by LDAR and, thereby, increase the rate of valid data and to correct or discard any invalid data. This document develops the necessary equations and algorithms, identifies sources of systematic errors and means to correct them, and analyzes the algorithms for random error. This data analysis approach is not found in the existing literature and was developed to facilitate the operation of this Short Baseline LDAR (SBLDAR). These algorithms may also be useful for other direction-finding systems using radio pulses or ultrasonic pulse data.

Drought monitoring and assessment: Remote sensing and modeling approaches for the Famine Early Warning Systems Network

USGS Publications Warehouse

Senay, Gabriel; Velpuri, Naga Manohar; Bohms, Stefanie; Budde, Michael; Young, Claudia; Rowland, James; Verdin, James

2015-01-01

Drought monitoring is an essential component of drought risk management. It is usually carried out using drought indices/indicators that are continuous functions of rainfall and other hydrometeorological variables. This chapter presents a few examples of how remote sensing and hydrologic modeling techniques are being used to generate a suite of drought monitoring indicators at dekadal (10-day), monthly, seasonal, and annual time scales for several selected regions around the world. Satellite-based rainfall estimates are being used to produce drought indicators such as standardized precipitation index, dryness indicators, and start of season analysis. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index is being used to monitor vegetation condition. Several satellite data products are combined using agrohydrologic models to produce multiple short- and long-term indicators of droughts. All the data sets are being produced and updated in near-real time to provide information about the onset, progression, extent, and intensity of drought conditions. The data and products produced are available for download from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) data portal at http://earlywarning.usgs.gov. The availability of timely information and products support the decision-making processes in drought-related hazard assessment, monitoring, and management with the FEWS NET. The drought-hazard monitoring approach perfected by the U.S. Geological Survey for FEWS NET through the integration of satellite data and hydrologic modeling can form the basis for similar decision support systems. Such systems can operationally produce reliable and useful regional information that is relevant for local, district-level decision making.

PRESSCA: A regional operative Early Warning System for landslides risk scenario assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponziani, Francesco; Stelluti, Marco; Berni, Nicola; Brocca, Luca; Moramarco, Tommaso

2013-04-01

The Italian national alert system for the hydraulic and hydrogeological risk is ensured by the National Civil Protection Department, through the "Functional Centres" Network, together with scientific/technical Support Centres, named "Competence Centres". The role of the Functional Centres is to alert regional/national civil protection network, to manage the prediction and the monitoring phases, thus ensuring the flow of data for the management of the emergency. The Umbria regional alerting procedure is based on three increasing warning levels of criticality for 6 sub-areas (~1200 km²). Specifically, for each duration (from 1 to 48 hours), three criticality levels are assigned to the rainfall values corresponding to a recurrence interval of 2, 5, and 10 years. In order to improve confidence on the daily work for hydrogeological risk assessment and management, a simple and operational early warning system for the prediction of shallow landslide triggering on regional scale was implemented. The system is primarily based on rainfall thresholds, which represent the main element of evaluation for the early-warning procedures of the Italian Civil Protection system. Following previous studies highlighting that soil moisture conditions play a key role on landslide triggering, a continuous physically-based soil water balance model was implemented for the estimation of soil moisture conditions over the whole regional territory. In fact, a decreasing trend between the cumulated rainfall values over 24, 36 and 48 hours and the soil moisture conditions prior to past landslide events was observed. This trend provides an easy-to-use tool to dynamically adjust the operational rainfall thresholds with the soil moisture conditions simulated by the soil water balance model prior to rainfall events. The application of this procedure allowed decreasing the uncertainties tied to the application of the rainfall thresholds only. The system is actually operational in real-time and it was recently coupled with quantitative rainfall and temperature forecasts (given by the COSMO ME local scale models for Umbria) to extend the prediction up to 72 hours forecast. The main output is constituted by four spatially distributed early warning indicators (normal, caution, warning, alarm), in compliance with national and regional law, based on the comparison between the observed (forecasted) rainfall and the dynamic thresholds. The early warning indicators, calculated over the whole regional territory, are combined with susceptibility and vulnerability layers using a WEB-GIS platform, in order to build a near real time risk scenario. The main outcome of the system is a spatially distributed landslide hazard map with the highlight of areas where local risk situations may arise due to landslides induced by the interaction between meteorological forcing and the presence of vulnerability elements. The System is inclusive of specific sections dedicated to areas with specific risks (as debris flows prone areas), with specific thresholds. The main purpose of this study is firstly to describe the operational early warning system. Then, the integration of near real-time soil moisture data obtained through the satellite sensor ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) within the system is shown. This could allow enhancing the reliability of the modelled soil moisture data over the regional territory. The recent rainfall event of 11-14 November 2012 is used as case study. Reported triggered landslides are studied and used in order to check/refine the early warning system.

Tsunami Warning Services for the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic Coasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitmore, P. M.; Knight, W.

2008-12-01

In January 2005, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed a tsunami warning program for the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Within a year, this program extended further to the Atlantic coast of Canada and the Caribbean Sea. Warning services are provided to U.S. and Canadian coasts (including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands) by the NOAA/West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC) while the NOAA/Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) provides services for non-U.S. entities in the Caribbean Basin. The Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) is also an active partner in the Caribbean Basin warning system. While the nature of the tsunami threat in the Atlantic Basin is different than in the Pacific, the warning system philosophy is similar. That is, initial messages are based strictly on seismic data so that information is provided to those at greatest risk as fast as possible while supplementary messages are refined with sea level observations and forecasts when possible. The Tsunami Warning Centers (TWCs) acquire regional seismic data through many agencies, such as the United States Geological Survey, Earthquakes Canada, regional seismic networks, and the PRSN. Seismic data quantity and quality are generally sufficient throughout most of the Atlantic area-of-responsibility to issue initial information within five minutes of origin time. Sea level data are mainly provided by the NOAA/National Ocean Service. Coastal tide gage coverage is generally denser along the Atlantic coast than in the Pacific. Seven deep ocean pressure sensors (DARTs), operated by the National Weather Service (NWS) National Data Buoy Center, are located in the Atlantic Basin (5 in the Atlantic Ocean, 1 in the Caribbean, and 1 in the Gulf of Mexico). The DARTs provide TWCs with the means to verify tsunami generation in the Atlantic and provide critical data with which to calibrate forecast models. Tsunami warning response criteria in the Atlantic Basin poses a challenge due to the lack of historic events. The probability and nature of potential sources along the offshore U.S./Canada region are not well understood. Warning/watch/advisory criteria are under review to improve TWC response. Primary tsunami warning contact points consist of NWS Weather Forecast Offices, state warning points, U.S. Coast Guard, and the military. These entities each have responsibility to propagate the message through specific channels. To help communities prepare for a tsunami warning, the NWS established the TsunamiReady program. TsunamiReady sets criteria for communities which include: reliable methods to receive TWC warnings, reliable methods to disseminate messages locally, pre-event planning, hazard/safe zones defined and public education. Once the criteria are met, the community can be recognized as TsunamiReady. A hypothetical event off the east coast is examined and a timeline given for TWC analysis and product issuance.

Predictability and extended-range prognosis in natural hazard risk mitigation process: A case study over west Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsangouras, Ioannis T.; Nastos, Panagiotis T.

2014-05-01

Natural hazards pose an increasing threat to society and new innovative techniques or methodologies are necessary to be developed, in order to enhance the risk mitigation process in nowadays. It is commonly accepted that disaster risk reduction is a vital key for future successful economic and social development. The systematic improvement accuracy of extended-range prognosis products, relating with monthly and seasonal predictability, introduced them as a new essential link in risk mitigation procedure. Aiming at decreasing the risk, this paper presents the use of seasonal and monthly forecasting process that was tested over west Greece from September to December, 2013. During that season significant severe weather events occurred, causing significant impact to the local society (severe storms/rainfalls, hail, flash floods, etc). Seasonal and monthly forecasting products from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) depicted, with probabilities stratified by terciles, areas of Greece where significant weather may occur. As atmospheric natural hazard early warning systems are able to deliver warnings up to 72 hours in advance, this study illustrates that extended-range prognosis could be introduced as a new technique in risk mitigation. Seasonal and monthly forecast products could highlight extended areas where severe weather events may occur in one month lead time. In addition, a risk mitigation procedure, that extended prognosis products are adopted, is also presented providing useful time to preparedness process at regional administration level.

NOAA Weather Radio - Alarms

Science.gov Websites

affected (usually by county), and the expiration time of the message. The Maximum message expiration time county), and the valid time period of the hazard. Other details, such as storm movement, storm spotter time in SAME vs. valid time period in voice message: For short-fuse hazards, such as a tornado warning

Gis-based assessment of marine oil spill hazard and environmental vulnerability for the coasts of Crete in South Aegean Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spanoudaki, Katerina; Nikiforakis, Ioannis K.; Kampanis, Nikolaos A.

2017-04-01

Developing effective early warning and coordination systems can save thousands of lives and protect people, property and the environment in the event of natural and man-made disasters. In its document "Towards Better Protection of Citizens against Disaster Risks: Strengthening Early Warning Systems in Europe", the Commission points out that it seeks to follow a multi-hazard approach, to develop near real time alert systems, to ensure a near real time dissemination of alerts to Participating States, and to improve its rapid analytical capacity. In this context, the EU project DECATASTROPHIZE (http://decatastrophize.eu/project/) co-financed by the EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection aims to develop a Geospatial Early warning Decision Support System (GE-DSS) to assess, prepare for and respond to multiple and/or simultaneous natural and man-made hazards, disasters, and environmental incidents by using existing models/systems in each partner country (Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy and Spain) in a synergistic way on ONE multi-platform, called DECAT. Specifically, project partners will establish appropriate geo-databases for test areas and use existing hazard models to produce hazard and vulnerability geo-spatial information for earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, floods, forest fires and marine oil spills. The GE-DSS in will consist of one source code with six geodatabases, i.e., one for each partner and risk data in the respective test area. Each partner organization will be able to manage and monitor its own data/database and their results using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). The GE-DSS will be demonstrated at the local, regional and national levels through a set of Command Post and Table Top Disaster Exercises. As part of the DECAT GE-DSS, the gis-based geo-database and assessment of marine oil spill hazard and environmental vulnerability for the coasts of Crete in South Aegean Sea are presented here. Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are produced comprising shoreline classification - ranked according to a scale relating to sensitivity, natural persistence of oil, and ease of cleanup (Adler and Inbar, 2007; Alves et al., 2014) - biological resources and human-use resources, i.e. specific areas that have added sensitivity and value because of their use, such as beaches, water intakes, and archaeological sites (NOAA, 2002). Seasonal hazard maps (surface oil slick, beached oil) are produced employing a modified version of the open source Lagrangian oil spill fate and transport model MEDSLIK-II (http://medslikii.bo.ingv.it/) coupled with a high-resolution 3D hydrodynamic model. The model predicts the transport and weathering of oil spills following a Lagrangian approach for the solution of the advection-diffusion equation. Transport is governed by the 3D sea currents and wave field. In addition to advective and diffusive displacements, the model simulates several physical and chemical processes that transform the oil (evaporation, emulsification, dispersion in the water column, biodegradation, adhesion to coast). The analysis is carried out under multiple oil spill scenarios accounting for the busiest ship lanes and meteorological conditions using multiple year hydrodynamics. The results highlight the hazard faced by coastal areas of Crete with high ESI. Acknowledgement This work has been co-financed by the EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection under Grant Agreement No. ECHO/SUB/2015/713788/PREP - Project ''DECATASTROPHIZE : UsE of SDSS and MCDA To prepAre for diSasTeRs Or Plan for multIplE HaZards''. References Adler, E. & Inbar, M. (2007). Shoreline sensitivity to oil spills, the Mediterranean coast of Israel: Assessment and analysis. Ocean Coast. Manage., 50 (1-2), 24-34. Alves, T. M., Kokinou, E. & Zodiatis, G. A (2014). A three-step model to assess shoreline and offshore susceptibility to oil spills: The South Aegean (Crete) as an analogue for confined marine basins. Mar. Poll. Bull., 86, 443-457. NOAA (2002). Environmental Sensitivity Index Guidelines, version 3.0. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS OR&R 11. Seattle: Hazardous Response and Assessment Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 129p.

Tsunami Early Warning in Europe: NEAMWave Exercise 2012 - the Portuguese Scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lendholt, Matthias; Hammmitzsch, Martin; Schulz, Jana; Reißland, Sven

2013-04-01

On 27th and 28th November 2012 the first European-wide tsunami exercise took place under the auspices of UNESCO Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas (ICG/NEAMTWS). Four international scenarios were performed - one for each candidate tsunami watch provider France, Greece, Portugal and Turkey. Their task was to generate and disseminate tsunami warning bulletins in-time and in compliance with the official NEAMTWS specifications. The Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA, [1]) in Lissabon and the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI [2]) in Istanbul are the national agencies of Portugal and Turkey responsible for tsunami early warning. Both institutes are partners in the TRIDEC [3] project and were using the TRIDEC Natural Crisis Management (NCM) system during NEAMWave exercise. The software demonstrated the seamless integration of diverse components including sensor systems, simulation data, and dissemination hardware. The functionalities that were showcased significantly exceeded the internationally agreed range of capabilities. Special attention was given to the Command and Control User Interface (CCUI) serving as central application for the operator. Its origins lie in the DEWS project [4] but numerous new functionalities were added to master all requirements defined by the complex NEAMTWS workflows. It was of utmost importance to develop an application handling the complexity of tsunami science but providing a clearly arranged and comprehensible interface that disburdens the operator during time-critical hazard situations. [1] IPMA: www.ipma.pt/ [2] KOERI: www.koeri.boun.edu.tr/ [3] TRIDEC: www.tridec-online.eu [4] DEWS: www.dews-online.org

Should We Enhance the Observing Systems or Improve Coordination Among the Operating Agencies: What is Needed the Most for Security--A Philosophical Discussion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habib, Shahid

2006-01-01

As an integrated observing strategy, the concept of sensorweb for Earth observations is appealing in many aspects. For instance, by increasing the spatial and temporal coverage of observations from space and other vantage points, one can eventually aid in increasing the accuracy of the atmospheric models which are precursor to hurricane track prediction, volcanic eruption forecast, and trajectory path of transcontinental transport of dust, harmful nuclear and chemical plumes. In reality, there is little analysis available in terms of benefits, costs and optimized set of sensors needed to make these necessary observations. This is a complex problem that must be carefully studied and balanced over many boundaries such as science, defense, early warning, security, and surveillance. Simplistically, the sensorweb concept from the technological point of view alone has a great appeal in the defense, early warning and security applications. In fact, it can be relatively less expensive in per unit cost as opposed to building and deploying it for the scientific use. However, overall observing approach should not be singled out and aligned somewhat orthogonally to serve a particular need. On the other hand, the sensorweb should be designed and deployed to serve multiple subject areas and customers simultaneously; and can behave as directed measuring systems for both science and operational entities. Sensorweb can be designed to act as expert systems, and/or also provide a dedicated integrated surveillance network. Today, there is no system in the world that is fully integrated in terms of reporting timely multiple hazards warnings, computing the loss of life and property damage estimates, and is also designed to cater to everyone's needs. It is not an easier problem to undertake and more so is not practically solvable. At this time due to some recent events in the world, the scientific community, social scientists, and operational agencies are more cognizant and getting together to address such colossal problems. Increasing our knowledge of the home planet, via amplified set of observations, is certainly a right step in a right direction. Furthermore, this is a pre-requisite in understanding multiple hazard phenomenas. This paper examines various sensorweb options and observing architectures that can be useful specifically in addressing some of these complex issues. The ultimate goal is to serve the society by providing potential natural hazards information to the decision makers in the most expeditious manner so they can prepare themselves to mitigate potential risks to human life, livestock and property.

Vulnerability Assessment Using LIDAR Data in Silang-Sta Rosa Subwatershed, Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bragais, M. A.; Magcale-Macandog, D. B.; Arizapa, J. L.; Manalo, K. M.

2016-10-01

Silang-Sta. Rosa Subwatershed is experiencing rapid urbanization. Its downstream area is already urbanized and the development is moving fast upstream. With the rapid land conversion of pervious to impervious areas and increase frequency of intense rainfall events, the downstream of the watershed is at risk of flood hazard. The widely used freeware HEC-RAS (Hydrologic Engineering Center- River Analysis System) model was used to implement the 2D unsteady flow analysis to develop a flood hazard map. The LiDAR derived digital elevation model (DEM) with 1m resolution provided detailed terrain that is vital for producing reliable flood extent map that can be used for early warning system. With the detailed information from the simulation like areas to be flooded, the predicted depth and duration, we can now provide specific flood forecasting and mitigation plan even at community level. The methodology of using 2D unsteady flow modelling and high resolution DEM in a watershed can be replicated to other neighbouring watersheds specially those areas that are not yet urbanized so that their development will be guided to be flood hazard resilient. LGUs all over the country will benefit from having a high resolution flood hazard map.

On the watch for geomagnetic storms

USGS Publications Warehouse

Green, Arthur W.; Brown, William M.

1997-01-01

Geomagnetic storms, induced by solar activity, pose significant hazards to satellites, electrical power distribution systems, radio communications, navigation, and geophysical surveys. Strong storms can expose astronauts and crews of high-flying aircraft to dangerous levels of radiation. Economic losses from recent geomagnetic storms have run into hundreds of millions of dollars. With the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the lead agency, an international network of geomagnetic observatories monitors the onset of solar-induced storms and gives warnings that help diminish losses to military and commercial operations and facilities.

Socio-economic differences in fertility control. Is there an early warning system at the village level?

PubMed

Gutmann, M P; Watkins, S C

1990-05-01

"This article is about identifying the origins of fertility limitation in a way designed to overcome the constraints which require that fertility control be discovered only after it is undeniable. The analysis is based on data from the Belgian commune of La Hulpe, covering the period from 1846-1880. It shows (using hazard models) that the clearest signs of fertility control were visible among literate women and the bourgeoisie." (SUMMARY IN FRE) excerpt

Evacuation Behavior and Problems: Findings and Implications from the Research Literature.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-07-01

1955; Yutzy, 1964b; Fitz - patrick and Waxman, 1972). In still other disasters, the local civil defense dir- ector was not present (Bates, et al., 1963...Cherlin and Leo G. Reeder 1976 "Agencies and the Los Angeles earthquake." Mass Emergencies 1:217-228. Brouillette, John R. 1966 "A tornado warning system...occupancy and human adjustment to flood hazard." Climatology 18:3-17. 168 I’ I Carroll, John J. and Salvador Parco 1966 Social Organization in a Crisis

The Puerto Rico Component of the National Tsunami Hazard and Mitigation Program Pr-Nthmp

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huerfano Moreno, V. A.; Hincapie-Cardenas, C. M.

2014-12-01

Tsunami hazard assessment, detection, warning, education and outreach efforts are intended to reduce losses to life and property. The Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) is participating in an effort with local and federal agencies, to developing tsunami hazard risk reduction strategies under the National Tsunami Hazards and Mitigation Program (NTHMP). This grant supports the TsunamiReady program which is the base of the tsunami preparedness and mitigation in PR. The Caribbean region has a documented history of damaging tsunamis that have affected coastal areas. The seismic water waves originating in the prominent fault systems around PR are considered to be a near-field hazard for Puerto Rico and the Virgin islands (PR/VI) because they can reach coastal areas within a few minutes after the earthquake. Sources for local, regional and tele tsunamis have been identified and modeled and tsunami evacuation maps were prepared for PR. These maps were generated in three phases: First, hypothetical tsunami scenarios on the basis of the parameters of potential underwater earthquakes were developed. Secondly, each of these scenarios was simulated. The third step was to determine the worst case scenario (MOM). The run-ups were drawn on GIS referenced maps and aerial photographs. These products are being used by emergency managers to educate the public and develop mitigation strategies. Online maps and related evacuation products are available to the public via the PR-TDST (PR Tsunami Decision Support Tool). Currently all the 44 coastal municipalities were recognized as TsunamiReady by the US NWS. The main goal of the program is to declare Puerto Rico as TsunamiReady, including two cities that are not coastal but could be affected by tsunamis. Based on these evacuation maps, tsunami signs were installed, vulnerability profiles were created, communication systems to receive and disseminate tsunami messages were installed in each TWFP, and tsunami response plans were approved. Also, the existing tsunami protocol and criteria in the PR/VI was updated. This paper describes the PR-NTHMP project, including the real time earthquake and tsunami monitoring as well as the specific protocols used to broadcast tsunami messages. The paper highlights tsunami hazards assessment, detection, warning, education and outreach in Puerto Rico.

Graphic gambling warnings: how they affect emotions, cognitive responses and attitude change.

PubMed

Muñoz, Yaromir; Chebat, Jean-Charles; Borges, Adilson

2013-09-01

The present study focuses on the effects of graphic warnings related to excessive gambling. It is based upon a theoretical model derived from both the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). We focus on video lottery terminal (VLT), one of the most hazardous format in the gaming industry. Our cohort consisted of 103 actual gamblers who reported previous gambling activity on VLT's on a regular basis. We assess the effectiveness of graphic warnings vs. text-only warnings and the effectiveness of two major arguments (i.e., family vs. financial disruption). A 2 × 2 factorial design was used to test the direct and combined effects of two variables (i.e., warning content and presence vs. absence of a graphic). It was found that the presence of a graphic enhances both cognitive appraisal and fear, and has positive effects on the Depth of Information Processing. In addition, graphic content combined with family disruptions is more effective for changing attitudes and complying with the warning than other combinations of the manipulated variables. It is proposed that ELM and PMT complement each other to explain the effects of warnings. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

COMMUNICATING RISK IN THE CONTEXT OF METHADONE FORMULATION CHANGES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF OVERDOSE WARNING POSTERS IN VANCOUVER, CANADA

PubMed Central

Markwick, Nicole; McNeil, Ryan; Anderson, Solanna; Small, Will; Kerr, Thomas

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND British Columbia, Canada’s provincial methadone program recently replaced their existing methadone formulation with a formulation ten times more concentrated. The transition raised concerns about heightened risk of accidental overdose, leading two organizations to disseminate methadone overdose warning posters during the transitional period. This study explores people who use drugs’ (PWUD) perceptions of these warning posters. METHODS Qualitative interviews were conducted with thirty-four PWUD enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment in Vancouver. Participants were recruited from ongoing cohort studies of drug-using individuals. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically, focusing on participants’ perceptions of the warning posters and potential impacts on drug-related risks. RESULTS Overdose warning posters constituted a key source of information about the methadone formulation change, but did not provide adequate information for all participants. Participants articulated a preference for descriptive language, focusing on changes in concentration rather than “strength”, and universal hazard symbols to effectively communicate overdose risks. CONCLUSION Participants indicated that warnings employing descriptive language more effectively communicated risk of methadone overdose. Future overdose warnings for drug-using populations must provide adequate information for the intended audience, and be communicated to PWUD through multiple channels. PMID:26644025

Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD): the future of chemical agent detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laljer, Charles E.; Owen, Jeffery L.

2002-06-01

The Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) will provide state of the art chemical warfare agent detection capability to ground vehicle operators. Intelligence sources estimate that over twenty counties have active chemical weapons programs. The spread of chemical weapons to third world nations, coupled with the potential for US involvement in these areas in an operational or support capacity, increases the probability that the Joint Services may encounter chemical agents and toxic industrial materials anywhere in the world. Currently, fielded chemical agent detectors are bulky, labor intensive, and subject to false readings. No legacy detector is sensitive enough to provide detection and warning of the low dose hazards associated with miosis contamination. The JCAD will provide a small, lightweight chemical agent detector for vehicle interiors, aircraft, individual personnel, shipboard, and fixed site locations. The system provides a common detection components across multi-service platforms. This common detector system will allow the Joint Services to use the same operational and support concept for more efficient utilization of resources. The JCAD will detect, identify, quantify, and warn of the presence of chemical agents prior to onset of miosis. Upon detection of chemical agents, the detector will provide local and remote audible and visual alarms to the operators. Advance warning will provide the vehicle crew with the time necessary to protect themselves from the lethal effects of chemical agents. The JCAD will also be capable of being upgraded to protect against future chemical agent threats. The JCAD will provide the vehicle operators with the warning necessary to survive and fight in a chemical warfare agent threat environment.

Slope Failure Prediction and Early Warning Awareness Education for Reducing Landslides Casualty in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koay, S. P.; Tay, L. T.; Fukuoka, H.; Koyama, T.; Sakai, N.; Jamaludin, S. B.; Lateh, H.

2015-12-01

Northeast monsoon causes heavy rain in east coast of Peninsular Malaysia from November to March, every year. During this monsoon period, besides the happening of flood along east coast, landslides also causes millions of Malaysian Ringgit economical losses. Hence, it is essential to study the prediction of slope failure to prevent the casualty of landslides happening. In our study, we introduce prediction method of the accumulated rainfall affecting the stability of the slope. If the curve, in the graph, which is presented by rainfall intensity versus accumulated rainfall, crosses over the critical line, the condition of the slope is considered in high risk where the data are calculated and sent from rain gauge in the site via internet. If the possibility of slope failure is going high, the alert message will be sent out to the authorities for decision making on road block or setting the warning light at the road side. Besides road block and warning light, we propose to disseminate short message, to pre-registered mobile phone user, to notify the public for easing the traffic jam and avoiding unnecessary public panic. Prediction is not enough to prevent the casualty. Early warning awareness of the public is very important to reduce the casualty of landslides happening. IT technology does not only play a main role in disseminating information, early warning awareness education, by using IT technology, should be conducted, in schools, to give early warning awareness on natural hazard since childhood. Knowing the pass history on landslides occurrence will gain experience on the landslides happening. Landslides historical events with coordinate information are stored in database. The public can browse these historical events via internet. By referring to such historical landslides events, the public may know where did landslides happen before and the possibility of slope failure occurrence again is considered high. Simulation of rainfall induced slope failure mechanism and educational video on symptom before the occurrence of landslide may alert the public awareness, especially in the hilly area. The hazard map for the public provides information on where to take shelter, before, when and after natural disaster happened. A simple hazard map is recommended for the community in the aborigines villages in Malaysia.

Tsunami.gov: NOAA's Tsunami Information Portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiro, B.; Carrick, J.; Hellman, S. B.; Bernard, M.; Dildine, W. P.

2014-12-01

We present the new Tsunami.gov website, which delivers a single authoritative source of tsunami information for the public and emergency management communities. The site efficiently merges information from NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers (TWC's) by way of a comprehensive XML feed called Tsunami Event XML (TEX). The resulting unified view allows users to quickly see the latest tsunami alert status in geographic context without having to understand complex TWC areas of responsibility. The new site provides for the creation of a wide range of products beyond the traditional ASCII-based tsunami messages. The publication of modern formats such as Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) can drive geographically aware emergency alert systems like FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). Supported are other popular information delivery systems, including email, text messaging, and social media updates. The Tsunami.gov portal allows NOAA staff to easily edit content and provides the facility for users to customize their viewing experience. In addition to access by the public, emergency managers and government officials may be offered the capability to log into the portal for special access rights to decision-making and administrative resources relevant to their respective tsunami warning systems. The site follows modern HTML5 responsive design practices for optimized use on mobile as well as non-mobile platforms. It meets all federal security and accessibility standards. Moving forward, we hope to expand Tsunami.gov to encompass tsunami-related content currently offered on separate websites, including the NOAA Tsunami Website, National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, NOAA Center for Tsunami Research, National Geophysical Data Center's Tsunami Database, and National Data Buoy Center's DART Program. This project is part of the larger Tsunami Information Technology Modernization Project, which is consolidating the software architectures of NOAA's existing TWC's into a single system. We welcome your feedback to help Tsunami.gov become an effective public resource for tsunami information and a medium to enable better global tsunami warning coordination.

A Real-Time Construction Safety Monitoring System for Hazardous Gas Integrating Wireless Sensor Network and Building Information Modeling Technologies

PubMed Central

Cheung, Weng-Fong; Lin, Tzu-Hsuan; Lin, Yu-Cheng

2018-01-01

In recent years, many studies have focused on the application of advanced technology as a way to improve management of construction safety management. A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), one of the key technologies in Internet of Things (IoT) development, enables objects and devices to sense and communicate environmental conditions; Building Information Modeling (BIM), a revolutionary technology in construction, integrates database and geometry into a digital model which provides a visualized way in all construction lifecycle management. This paper integrates BIM and WSN into a unique system which enables the construction site to visually monitor the safety status via a spatial, colored interface and remove any hazardous gas automatically. Many wireless sensor nodes were placed on an underground construction site and to collect hazardous gas level and environmental condition (temperature and humidity) data, and in any region where an abnormal status is detected, the BIM model will alert the region and an alarm and ventilator on site will start automatically for warning and removing the hazard. The proposed system can greatly enhance the efficiency in construction safety management and provide an important reference information in rescue tasks. Finally, a case study demonstrates the applicability of the proposed system and the practical benefits, limitations, conclusions, and suggestions are summarized for further applications. PMID:29393887

What caused a large number of fatalities in the Tohoku earthquake?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ando, M.; Ishida, M.; Nishikawa, Y.; Mizuki, C.; Hayashi, Y.

2012-04-01

The Mw9.0 earthquake caused 20,000 deaths and missing persons in northeastern Japan. 115 years prior to this event, there were three historical tsunamis that struck the region, one of which is a "tsunami earthquake" resulted with a death toll of 22,000. Since then, numerous breakwaters were constructed along the entire northeastern coasts and tsunami evacuation drills were carried out and hazard maps were distributed to local residents on numerous communities. However, despite the constructions and preparedness efforts, the March 11 Tohoku earthquake caused numerous fatalities. The strong shaking lasted three minutes or longer, thus all residents recognized that this is the strongest and longest earthquake that they had been ever experienced in their lives. The tsunami inundated an enormous area at about 560km2 over 35 cities along the coast of northeast Japan. To find out the reasons behind the high number of fatalities due to the March 11 tsunami, we interviewed 150 tsunami survivors at public evacuation shelters in 7 cities mainly in Iwate prefecture in mid-April and early June 2011. Interviews were done for about 30min or longer focused on their evacuation behaviors and those that they had observed. On the basis of the interviews, we found that residents' decisions not to evacuate immediately were partly due to or influenced by earthquake science results. Below are some of the factors that affected residents' decisions. 1. Earthquake hazard assessments turned out to be incorrect. Expected earthquake magnitudes and resultant hazards in northeastern Japan assessed and publicized by the government were significantly smaller than the actual Tohoku earthquake. 2. Many residents did not receive accurate tsunami warnings. The first tsunami warning were too small compared with the actual tsunami heights. 3. The previous frequent warnings with overestimated tsunami height influenced the behavior of the residents. 4. Many local residents above 55 years old experienced the 1960 Chile tsunami, which was significantly smaller than that of the 11 March tsunami. This sense of "knowing" put their lives at high risk. 5. Some local residents believed that with the presence of a breakwater, only slight flooding would occur. 6. Many people did not understand why tsunami is created under the sea. Therefore, relation of earthquake and tsunami is not quite linked to many people. These interviews made it clear that many deaths resulted because current technology and earthquake science underestimated tsunami heights, warning systems failed, and breakwaters were not strong or high enough. However, even if these problems occur in future earthquakes, better knowledge regarding earthquakes and tsunami hazards could save more lives. In an elementary school when children have fresh brain, it is necessary for them to learn the basic mechanism of tsunami generation.

An operational integrated short-term warning solution for solar radiation storms: introducing the Forecasting Solar Particle Events and Flares (FORSPEF) system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anastasiadis, Anastasios; Sandberg, Ingmar; Papaioannou, Athanasios; Georgoulis, Manolis; Tziotziou, Kostas; Jiggens, Piers; Hilgers, Alain

2015-04-01

We present a novel integrated prediction system, of both solar flares and solar energetic particle (SEP) events, which is in place to provide short-term warnings for hazardous solar radiation storms. FORSPEF system provides forecasting of solar eruptive events, such as solar flares with a projection to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) (occurrence and velocity) and the likelihood of occurrence of a SEP event. It also provides nowcasting of SEP events based on actual solar flare and CME near real-time alerts, as well as SEP characteristics (peak flux, fluence, rise time, duration) per parent solar event. The prediction of solar flares relies on a morphological method which is based on the sophisticated derivation of the effective connected magnetic field strength (Beff) of potentially flaring active-region (AR) magnetic configurations and it utilizes analysis of a large number of AR magnetograms. For the prediction of SEP events a new reductive statistical method has been implemented based on a newly constructed database of solar flares, CMEs and SEP events that covers a large time span from 1984-2013. The method is based on flare location (longitude), flare size (maximum soft X-ray intensity), and the occurrence (or not) of a CME. Warnings are issued for all > C1.0 soft X-ray flares. The warning time in the forecasting scheme extends to 24 hours with a refresh rate of 3 hours while the respective warning time for the nowcasting scheme depends on the availability of the near real-time data and falls between 15-20 minutes. We discuss the modules of the FORSPEF system, their interconnection and the operational set up. The dual approach in the development of FORPSEF (i.e. forecasting and nowcasting scheme) permits the refinement of predictions upon the availability of new data that characterize changes on the Sun and the interplanetary space, while the combined usage of solar flare and SEP forecasting methods upgrades FORSPEF to an integrated forecasting solution. This work has been funded through the "FORSPEF: FORecasting Solar Particle Events and Flares", ESA Contract No. 4000109641/13/NL/AK

An Offshore Geophysical Network in the Pacific Northwest for Earthquake and Tsunami Early Warning and Hazard Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilcock, W. S. D.; Schmidt, D. A.; Vidale, J. E.; Harrington, M.; Bodin, P.; Cram, G.; Delaney, J. R.; Gonzalez, F. I.; Kelley, D. S.; LeVeque, R. J.; Manalang, D.; McGuire, C.; Roland, E. C.; Tilley, J.; Vogl, C. J.; Stoermer, M.

2016-12-01

The Cascadia subduction zone hosts catastrophic earthquakes every few hundred years. On land, there are extensive geophysical networks available to monitor the subduction zone, but since the locked portion of the plate boundary lies mostly offshore, these networks are ideally complemented by seafloor observations. Such considerations helped motivate the development of scientific cabled observatories that cross the subduction zone at two sites off Vancouver Island and one off central Oregon, but these have a limited spatial footprint along the strike of the subduction zone. The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network is leading a collaborative effort to implement an earthquake early warning system in the Washington and Oregon using data streams from land networks as well as the few existing offshore instruments. For subduction zone earthquakes that initiate offshore, this system will provide a warning. However, the availability of real time offshore instrumentation along the entire subduction zone would improve its reliability and accuracy, add up to 15 s to the warning time, and ensure an early warning for coastal communities near the epicenter. Furthermore, real-time networks of seafloor pressure sensors above the subduction zone would enable monitoring and contribute to accurate predictions of the incoming tsunami. There is also strong scientific motivation for offshore monitoring. We lack a complete knowledge of the plate convergence rate and direction. Measurements of steady deformation and observations of transient processes such as fluid pulsing, microseismic cycles, tremor and slow-slip are necessary for assessing the dimensions of the locked zone and its along-strike segmentation. Long-term monitoring will also provide baseline observations that can be used to detect and evaluate changes in the subduction environment. There are significant engineering challenges to be solved to ensure the system is sufficiently reliable and maintainable. It must provide continuous monitoring over its operational life in the harsh ocean environment and at least parts of the system must continue to operate following a megathrust event. These requirements for robustness must be balanced with the desire for a flexible design that can accommodate new scientific instrumentation over the life of the project.

National Weather Service

MedlinePlus

... Data SAFETY Floods Tsunami Beach Hazards Wildfire Cold Tornadoes Fog Air Quality Heat Hurricanes Lightning Safe Boating ... Winter Weather Forecasts River Flooding Latest Warnings Thunderstorm/Tornado Outlook Hurricanes Fire Weather Outlooks UV Alerts Drought ...

The NCEP Mission

Science.gov Websites

code. Press enter or select the go button to submit request Local forecast by "City, St" City , St Go Search NCEP Go Current Hazards Watches/Warnings Outlooks National Current Conditions

Research and technology at the Kennedy Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

Cryogenic engineering, hypergolic engineering, hazardous warning, structures and mechanics, computer sciences, communications, meteorology, technology applications, safety engineering, materials analysis, biomedicine, and engineering management and training aids research are reviewed.

Intra-seasonal NDVI change projections in semi-arid Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Funk, Christopher C.; Brown, Molly E.

2006-01-01

Early warning systems (EWS) tend to focus on the identification of slow onset disasters such famine and epidemic disease. Since hazardous environmental conditions often precede disastrous outcomes by many months, effective monitoring via satellite and in situ observations can successfully guide mitigation activities. Accurate short term forecasts of NDVI could increase lead times, making early warning earlier. This paper presents a simple empirical model for making 1 to 4 month NDVI projections. These statistical projections are based on parameterized satellite rainfall estimates (RFE) and relative humidity demand (RHD). A quasi-global, 1 month ahead, 1° study demonstrates reasonable accuracies in many semi-arid regions. In Africa, a 0.1° cross-validated skill assessment quantifies the technique's applicability at 1 to 4 month forecast intervals. These results suggest that useful projections can be made over many semi-arid, food insecure regions of Africa, with plausible extensions to drought prone areas of Asia, Australia and South America.

Using fear appeals in warning labels to promote responsible gambling among VLT players: the key role of depth of information processing.

PubMed

Munoz, Yaromir; Chebat, Jean-Charles; Suissa, Jacob Amnon

2010-12-01

Video lottery terminals (VLT) are a highly lucrative gambling format, but at the same time they are among the most hazardous. Previous research has shown that threatening warnings may be an appropriate approach for promoting protective behavior. The present study explores the potential benefits of threatening warnings in the fight against compulsive gambling. A 4 × 2 factorial design experiment was used to test our model based on both Elaboration Likelihood Model and Protection Motivation Theory. 258 VLT adult players (58% males, 42% females) with various degrees of problem gambling were exposed to three threat levels (plus a control condition) from two different sources (i.e., either a medical source or a source related to the provider of VLT's). Our results show that both higher threat warnings and the medical source of warnings enhance Depth of Information Processing. It was also found that Depth of Information Processing affects positively attitude change and compliance intentions. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Living on Active Volcanoes - The Island of Hawai'i

USGS Publications Warehouse

Heliker, Christina; Stauffer, Peter H.; Hendley, James W.

1997-01-01

People on the Island of Hawai'i face many hazards that come with living on or near active volcanoes. These include lava flows, explosive eruptions, volcanic smog, damaging earthquakes, and tsunamis (giant seawaves). As the population of the island grows, the task of reducing the risk from volcano hazards becomes increasingly difficult. To help protect lives and property, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory closely monitor and study Hawai'i's volcanoes and issue timely warnings of hazardous activity.

Water level ingest, archive and processing system - an integral part of NOAA's tsunami database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLean, S. J.; Mungov, G.; Dunbar, P. K.; Price, D. J.; Mccullough, H.

2013-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) and collocated World Data Service for Geophysics (WDS) provides long-term archive, data management, and access to national and global tsunami data. Archive responsibilities include the NOAA Global Historical Tsunami event and runup database, damage photos, as well as other related hazards data. Beginning in 2008, NGDC was given the responsibility of archiving, processing and distributing all tsunami and hazards-related water level data collected from NOAA observational networks in a coordinated and consistent manner. These data include the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) data provided by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), coastal-tide-gauge data from the National Ocean Service (NOS) network and tide-gauge data from the two National Weather Service (NWS) Tsunami Warning Centers (TWCs) regional networks. Taken together, this integrated archive supports tsunami forecast, warning, research, mitigation and education efforts of NOAA and the Nation. Due to the variety of the water level data, the automatic ingest system was redesigned, along with upgrading the inventory, archive and delivery capabilities based on modern digital data archiving practices. The data processing system was also upgraded and redesigned focusing on data quality assessment in an operational manner. This poster focuses on data availability highlighting the automation of all steps of data ingest, archive, processing and distribution. Examples are given from recent events such as the October 2012 hurricane Sandy, the Feb 06, 2013 Solomon Islands tsunami, and the June 13, 2013 meteotsunami along the U.S. East Coast.

Civil Protection Practitioners' Response to Introducing Nowcasting in Weather Warnings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulbrich, Thorsten

2014-05-01

The HErZ project WEXICOM (Improving the process of weather warnings and extreme weather information in the chain from the meteorological forecasts to their communication for the Berlin conurbation) assesses the communication and use of weather warnings. In cooperation with DWD we conducted two online surveys with German relief forces before and after a nowcasting application was introduced into the weather warning platform FEWIS. The aim is to investigate how relief workers make use of the additional information. DWD supports German civil protection by providing the warning platform FeWIS (Fire brigade Weather Information System) for registered relief workers. The platform provides information on meteorological hazards needed to take precautions and to support rescue actions. In June 2013 DWD added nowcasted estimates of storm attributes including warning cones based on a 1x1 km grid. The tool named "GewitterMonitor" is based on NowcastMIX and uses short-term weather models and observations to derive warnings with high precision on intensity, location and timing of thunder storm cells for the following two hours. A first survey provided prior to the addition of nowcasted information investigates how users benefit from FeWIS and how they perceive its functionality and reliability. Following the introduction users gain experience applying the nowcasting tool in the thunderstorm season 2013. In Winter 2013/2014 we conducted another online survey. The post-survey comprises questions on the use of the GewitterMonitor and on how the tool supports relief forces in responding to meteorological risks. The post survey also repeats questions on the perception of functionality and function of FeWIS and poses questions derived from the previous survey. This second survey collects practitioners feedback on GewitterMonitor and allows to detect changes in how users perceive the performance of FeWIS after the addition by relating responses to the prior survey.

Tsunamis: bridging science, engineering and society.

PubMed

Kânoğlu, U; Titov, V; Bernard, E; Synolakis, C

2015-10-28

Tsunamis are high-impact, long-duration disasters that in most cases allow for only minutes of warning before impact. Since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, there have been significant advancements in warning methodology, pre-disaster preparedness and basic understanding of related phenomena. Yet, the trail of destruction of the 2011 Japan tsunami, broadcast live to a stunned world audience, underscored the difficulties of implementing advances in applied hazard mitigation. We describe state of the art methodologies, standards for warnings and summarize recent advances in basic understanding, and identify cross-disciplinary challenges. The stage is set to bridge science, engineering and society to help build up coastal resilience and reduce losses. © 2015 The Author(s).

Probabilistic storm surge inundation maps for Metro Manila based on Philippine public storm warning signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tablazon, J.; Caro, C. V.; Lagmay, A. M. F.; Briones, J. B. L.; Dasallas, L.; Lapidez, J. P.; Santiago, J.; Suarez, J. K.; Ladiero, C.; Gonzalo, L. A.; Mungcal, M. T. F.; Malano, V.

2015-03-01

A storm surge is the sudden rise of sea water over the astronomical tides, generated by an approaching storm. This event poses a major threat to the Philippine coastal areas, as manifested by Typhoon Haiyan on 8 November 2013. This hydro-meteorological hazard is one of the main reasons for the high number of casualties due to the typhoon, with 6300 deaths. It became evident that the need to develop a storm surge inundation map is of utmost importance. To develop these maps, the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Project NOAH) simulated historical tropical cyclones that entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility. The Japan Meteorological Agency storm surge model was used to simulate storm surge heights. The frequency distribution of the maximum storm surge heights was calculated using simulation results of tropical cyclones under a specific public storm warning signal (PSWS) that passed through a particular coastal area. This determines the storm surge height corresponding to a given probability of occurrence. The storm surge heights from the model were added to the maximum astronomical tide data from WXTide software. The team then created maps of inundation for a specific PSWS using the probability of exceedance derived from the frequency distribution. Buildings and other structures were assigned a probability of exceedance depending on their occupancy category, i.e., 1% probability of exceedance for critical facilities, 10% probability of exceedance for special occupancy structures, and 25% for standard occupancy and miscellaneous structures. The maps produced show the storm-surge-vulnerable areas in Metro Manila, illustrated by the flood depth of up to 4 m and extent of up to 6.5 km from the coastline. This information can help local government units in developing early warning systems, disaster preparedness and mitigation plans, vulnerability assessments, risk-sensitive land use plans, shoreline defense efforts, and coastal protection measures. These maps can also determine the best areas to build critical structures, or at least determine the level of protection of these structures should they be built in hazard areas. Moreover, these will support the local government units' mandate to raise public awareness, disseminate information about storm surge hazards, and implement appropriate countermeasures for a given PSWS.

Toward an integrated storm surge application: ESA Storm Surge project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Boram; Donlon, Craig; Arino, Olivier

2010-05-01

Storm surges and their associated coastal inundation are major coastal marine hazards, both in tropical and extra-tropical areas. As sea level rises due to climate change, the impact of storm surges and associated extreme flooding may increase in low-lying countries and harbour cities. Of the 33 world cities predicted to have at least 8 million people by 2015, at least 21 of them are coastal including 8 of the 10 largest. They are highly vulnerable to coastal hazards including storm surges. Coastal inundation forecasting and warning systems depend on the crosscutting cooperation of different scientific disciplines and user communities. An integrated approach to storm surge, wave, sea-level and flood forecasting offers an optimal strategy for building improved operational forecasts and warnings capability for coastal inundation. The Earth Observation (EO) information from satellites has demonstrated high potential to enhanced coastal hazard monitoring, analysis, and forecasting; the GOCE geoid data can help calculating accurate positions of tide gauge stations within the GLOSS network. ASAR images has demonstrated usefulness in analysing hydrological situation in coastal zones with timely manner, when hazardous events occur. Wind speed and direction, which is the key parameters for storm surge forecasting and hindcasting, can be derived by using scatterometer data. The current issue is, although great deal of useful EO information and application tools exist, that sufficient user information on EO data availability is missing and that easy access supported by user applications and documentation is highly required. Clear documentation on the user requirements in support of improved storm surge forecasting and risk assessment is also needed at the present. The paper primarily addresses the requirements for data, models/technologies, and operational skills, based on the results from the recent Scientific and Technical Symposium on Storm Surges (www.surgesymposium.org, organized by the WMO-IOC Joint technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology, JCOMM) and following activities, that have been supported by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO through JCOMM. The paper also reviews the capabilities of storm surge models, and current status in using Earth Observation (EO) information for advancing storm surge application tools, and further, for improving operational forecasts and warning capability for coastal inundation. In this context, the plans and expected results of the ESA Storm Surge Project (2010-2011) will be introduced.

Mediterranean Storms: An Integrated Approach of Risk Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karageorgou, H.; Riza, E.; Linos, A.; Papanikolaou, D.

2010-09-01

Disaster by UN definition is "a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society, involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using only its own resources". Mediterranean storms induce flash floods caused by excessive amounts of rainfall within a short lasting period of time. The intensity and duration of precipitation, region geomorphology, urbanization and different governmental emergency management structures trigger different consequences between Mediterranean countries. The integrated approach in management of storm risk represents a holistic perspective including interactions between government, science and technology institutions, developing agencies, private sector, NGOs and public. Local authorities and national government are responsible for the design, preparation and decision on storm risk management policies and strategies considering scientific risk identifying, assessing and understanding. Efficient governance management requires satisfied response to early warning systems, functionality of the affected systems upon which society depends and appropriate focus on variable interest, beliefs, values and ideologies between social groups. Also an appropriate balancing of benefits and costs in an efficient and equitable manner is important for the governance risk management. Natural sciences in corporation with the engineering science have developed effective early prediction, warning and monitoring systems on storm and flood risk. The health sciences use prediction systems for health related hazards and consequences and the social sciences research estimates the human resilience during disasters and the factors which affect and determine the human behavior. Also social sciences survey the response of public to early warning messages, the appropriate communicative methods to distributing messages and mechanisms to improve public response. The available and applied science and technology in prediction and early warning systems rely on the close collaboration between scientists and policy makers to achieve effective disaster prevention of human life and mitigation of damages. Developing agencies approach risk management as an integral part of development and encourage activities and measures to reduce the exposure and vulnerability to natural hazards through early warning systems, building codes, land use plans and disaster sensitive development plans. The human settlement and investment in high risk floodplains place greater numbers of people and economic assets in danger of being affected by storms and floods. Disasters and development are highly inter-related. Recurrent disasters and frequent localized disasters erode development and conversely the development processes can reduce disaster risk, or create new risks. The private sector participation in risk reduction efforts can help local communities mitigate disasters and increases the benefits of the businesses. The private insurance sector is highly involved in the prevention of disaster caused by natural hazards especially storms and floods. The collaboration between academic community and the insurance sector indicates the linkages between the mutual insurance actions and risk culture. Also tourism industry and private critical infrastructure sector get involved in prevention measures and activities against storm and flood risks to build sustainable functionality and keep public trust. NGOs focus on social, cultural, environmental, educational, or health issues in disaster management and their members are educated and experienced on their area of operations. The staff of local and national NGOs is familiar with culture, languages, governance structures, social networks, climate and geography of the affected area and holds a unique understanding of the specific problems of the affected population. Additionally, NGO’s operations do not suffer from bureaucracy and therefore are able to deploy on very short notice. The public awareness, behavior and response to disasters depend on the knowledge about the risk, the understanding of the information and the translation of what it means in their own particular circumstances. The majority of people judges the information to be credible and discusses the meaning of information with trusted family members, friends and colleagues to decide the next action. Well educated people, efficient management of previous experiences, successful communication methods and trust on government and authorities contribute towards efficient public response on disasters.

National Centers for Environmental Prediction

Science.gov Websites

code. Press enter or select the go button to submit request Local forecast by "City, St" City , St Go Search NCEP Go Current Hazards Watches/Warnings Outlooks National Current Conditions

Applying Advanced and Existing Sensors in Dealing with Potential Natural Disasters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habib, Shahid

2006-01-01

As an integrated observing strategy, the concept of sensorweb for Earth observations is appealing in many aspects. For instance, by increasing the spatial and temporal coverage of observations from space and other vantage points, one can eventually aid in increasing the accuracy of the atmospheric models which are precursor to hurricane track prediction, volcanic eruption forecast, and trajectory path of transcontinental transport of dust, harmful nuclear and chemical plumes. In reality, there is little analysis available in terms of benefits, costs and optimized set of sensors needed to make these necessary observations. This is a complex problem that must be carefully studied and balanced over many boundaries such as science, defense, early warning, security, and surveillance. Simplistically, the sensorweb concept from the technological point of view alone has a great appeal in the defense, early warning and security applications. In fact, it can be relatively less expensive in per unit cost as opposed to building and deploying it for the scientific use. However, overall observing approach should not be singled out and aligned somewhat orthogonally to serve a particular need. On the other hand, the sensorweb should be designed and deployed to serve multiple subject areas and customers simultaneously; and can behave as directed measuring systems for both science and operational entities. Sensorweb can be designed to act as expert systems, and/or also provide a dedicated integrated surveillance network. Today, there is no system in the world that is fully integrated in terms of reporting timely multiple hazards warnings, computing the loss of life and property damage estimates, and is also designed to cater to everyone s needs. It is not an easier problem to undertake and more so is not practically solvable. At this time due to some recent events in the world, the scientific community, social scientists, and operational agencies are more cognizant and getting together to address such colossal problems. Increasing our knowledge of the home planet, via amplified set of observations, is certainly a right step in a right direction. Furthermore, this is a prerequisite in understanding multiple hazard phenomena's. This paper examines various sensorweb options and observing architectures that can be useful specifically in addressing some of these complex issues. The ultimate goal is to serve the society by providing potential natural hazards information to the decision makers in the most expeditious manner so they can prepare themselves to mitigate potential risks to human life, livestock and property.

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234....225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the warning system, but in no event shall it provide less than 20...

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234....225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the warning system, but in no event shall it provide less than 20...

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234....225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the warning system, but in no event shall it provide less than 20...

The First Real-Time Tsunami Animation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, N. C.; Wang, D.; McCreery, C.; Weinstein, S.; Ward, B.

2014-12-01

For the first time a U.S. tsunami warning center created and issued a tsunami forecast model animation while the tsunami was still crossing an ocean. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) scientists had predicted they would have this ability (Becker et al., 2012) with their RIFT forecast model (Wang et al., 2009) by using rapidly-determined W-phase centroid-moment tensor earthquake focal mechanisms as tsunami sources in the RIFT model (Wang et al., 2012). PTWC then acquired its own YouTube channel in 2013 for its outreach efforts that showed animations of historic tsunamis (Becker et al., 2013), but could also be a platform for sharing future tsunami animations. The 8.2 Mw earthquake of 1 April 2014 prompted PTWC to issue official warnings for a dangerous tsunami in Chile, Peru and Ecuador. PTWC ended these warnings five hours later, then issued its new tsunami marine hazard product (i.e., no coastal evacuations) for the State of Hawaii. With the international warning canceled but with a domestic hazard still present PTWC generated a forecast model animation and uploaded it to its YouTube channel six hours before the arrival of the first waves in Hawaii. PTWC also gave copies of this animation to television reporters who in turn passed it on to their national broadcast networks. PTWC then created a version for NOAA's Science on a Sphere system so it could be shown on these exhibits as the tsunami was still crossing the Pacific Ocean. While it is difficult to determine how many people saw this animation since local, national, and international news networks showed it in their broadcasts, PTWC's YouTube channel provides some statistics. As of 1 August 2014 this animation has garnered more than 650,000 views. Previous animations, typically released during significant anniversaries, rarely get more than 10,000 views, and even then only when external websites share them. Clearly there is a high demand for a tsunami graphic that shows both the speed and the severity of a tsunami before it reaches impacted coastlines, similar to how radar and satellite images show the advancement of storms. Though this animation showed that most of the tsunami waves would not be dangerous, future publication of these animations will require additional outreach and education to avoid any unnecessary alarm. https://www.youtube.com/user/PacificTWC

Disseminating near-real-time hazards information and flood maps in the Philippines through Web-GIS.

PubMed

A Lagmay, Alfredo Mahar Francisco; Racoma, Bernard Alan; Aracan, Ken Adrian; Alconis-Ayco, Jenalyn; Saddi, Ivan Lester

2017-09-01

The Philippines being a locus of tropical cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, is a hotbed of disasters. These natural hazards inflict loss of lives and costly damage to property. Situated in a region where climate and geophysical tempest is common, the Philippines will inevitably suffer from calamities similar to those experienced recently. With continued development and population growth in hazard prone areas, it is expected that damage to infrastructure and human losses would persist and even rise unless appropriate measures are immediately implemented by government. In 2012, the Philippines launched a responsive program for disaster prevention and mitigation called the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (Project NOAH), specifically for government warning agencies to be able to provide a 6hr lead-time warning to vulnerable communities against impending floods and to use advanced technology to enhance current geo-hazard vulnerability maps. To disseminate such critical information to as wide an audience as possible, a Web-GIS using mashups of freely available source codes and application program interface (APIs) was developed and can be found in the URLs http://noah.dost.gov.ph and http://noah.up.edu.ph/. This Web-GIS tool is now heavily used by local government units in the Philippines in their disaster prevention and mitigation efforts and can be replicated in countries that have a proactive approach to address the impacts of natural hazards but lack sufficient funds. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Vehicle Clearance: Literature Review

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-10-05

This project will investigate and test truck-mounted LIDAR and optical sensors to determine their feasibility for detecting hazardous bridge/tunnel heights for warning the driver of an overheight truck. This document, which describes the problem and ...

Vehicle clearance : literature review.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-10-05

This project will investigate and test truck-mounted LIDAR and optical sensors to determine their feasibility for detecting hazardous bridge/tunnel heights for warning the driver of an overheight truck. This document, which describes the problem and ...

Comparing national infectious disease surveillance systems: China and the Netherlands.

PubMed

Vlieg, Willemijn L; Fanoy, Ewout B; van Asten, Liselotte; Liu, Xiaobo; Yang, Jun; Pilot, Eva; Bijkerk, Paul; van der Hoek, Wim; Krafft, Thomas; van der Sande, Marianne A; Liu, Qi-Yong

2017-05-08

Risk assessment and early warning (RAEW) are essential components of any infectious disease surveillance system. In light of the International Health Regulations (IHR)(2005), this study compares the organisation of RAEW in China and the Netherlands. The respective approaches towards surveillance of arboviral disease and unexplained pneumonia were analysed to gain a better understanding of the RAEW mode of operation. This study may be used to explore options for further strengthening of global collaboration and timely detection and surveillance of infectious disease outbreaks. A qualitative study design was used, combining data retrieved from the literature and from semi-structured interviews with Chinese (5 national-level and 6 provincial-level) and Dutch (5 national-level) experts. The results show that some differences exist such as in the use of automated electronic components of the early warning system in China ('CIDARS'), compared to a more limited automated component in the Netherlands ('barometer'). Moreover, RAEW units in the Netherlands focus exclusively on infectious diseases, while China has a broader 'all hazard' approach (including for example chemical incidents). In the Netherlands, veterinary specialists take part at the RAEW meetings, to enable a structured exchange/assessment of zoonotic signals. Despite these differences, the main conclusion is that for the two infections studied, the early warning system in China and the Netherlands are remarkably similar considering their large differences in infectious disease history, population size and geographical setting. Our main recommendations are continued emphasis on international corporation that requires insight into national infectious disease surveillance systems, the usage of a One Health approach in infectious disease surveillance, and further exploration/strengthening of a combined syndromic and laboratory surveillance system.

Evaluation of subsidence hazard in mantled karst setting: a case study from Val d'Orléans (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perrin, Jérôme; Cartannaz, Charles; Noury, Gildas; Vanoudheusden, Emilie

2015-04-01

Soil subsidence/collapse is a major geohazard occurring in karst region. It occurs as suffosion or dropout sinkholes developing in the soft cover. Less frequently it corresponds to a breakdown of karst void ceiling (i.e., collapse sinkhole). This hazard can cause significant engineering challenges. Therefore decision-makers require the elaboration of methodologies for reliable predictions of such hazards (e.g., karst subsidence susceptibility and hazards maps, early-warning monitoring systems). A methodological framework was developed to evaluate relevant conditioning factors favouring subsidence (Perrin et al. submitted) and then to combine these factors to produce karst subsidence susceptibility maps. This approach was applied to a mantled karst area south of Paris (Val d'Orléans). Results show the significant roles of the overburden lithology (presence/absence of low-permeability layer) and of the karst aquifer piezometric surface position within the overburden. In parallel, an experimental site has been setup to improve the understanding of key processes leading to subsidence/collapse and includes piezometers for measurements of water levels and physico-chemical parameters in both the alluvial and karst aquifers as well as surface deformation monitoring. Results should help in designing monitoring systems to anticipate occurrence of subsidence/collapse. Perrin J., Cartannaz C., Noury G., Vanoudheusden E. 2015. A multicriteria approach to karst subsidence hazard mapping supported by Weights-of-Evidence analysis. Submitted to Engineering Geology.

Rainfall threshold calculation for debris flow early warning in areas with scarcity of data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Hua-Li; Jiang, Yuan-Jun; Wang, Jun; Ou, Guo-Qiang

2018-05-01

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.

From Forecasters to the General Public: A Communication Tool to Understand Decision-making Challenges in Weather-related Early Warning Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terti, G.; Ruin, I.; Kalas, M.; Lorini, V.; Sabbatini, T.; i Alonso, A. C.

2017-12-01

New technologies are currently adopted worldwide to improve weather forecasts and communication of the corresponding warnings to the end-users. "EnhANcing emergency management and response to extreme WeatHER and climate Events" (ANYWHERE) project is an innovating action that aims at developing and implementing a European decision-support platform for weather-related risks integrating cutting-edge forecasting technology. The initiative is built in a collaborative manner where researchers, developers, potential users and other stakeholders meet frequently to define needs, capabilities and challenges. In this study, we propose a role-playing game to test the added value of the ANYWHERE platform on i) the decision-making process and the choice of warning levels under uncertainty, ii) the management of the official emergency response and iii) the crisis communication and triggering of protective actions at different levels of the warning system (from hazard detection to citizen response). The designed game serves as an interactive communication tool. Here, flood and flash flood focused simulations seek to enhance participant's understanding of the complexities and challenges embedded in various levels of the decision-making process under the threat of weather disasters (e.g., forecasting/warnings, official emergency actions, self-protection). Also, we facilitate collaboration and coordination between the participants who belong to different national or local agencies/authorities across Europe. The game is first applied and tested in ANYWHERE's workshop in Helsinki (September, 2017) where about 30-50 people, including researchers, forecasters, civil protection and representatives of related companies, are anticipated to play the simulation. The main idea is to provide to the players a virtual case study that well represents realistic uncertainties and dilemmas embedded in the real-time forecasting-warning processes. At the final debriefing step the participants are encouraged to exchange knowledge, thoughts and insights on their capability or difficulty to decide and communicate their action based on the available information and given constrains. Such feedback will be analyzed and presented and future potentialities for the application of the game will be discussed.

Bodrum-Kos (Turkey-Greece) Mw 6.6 earthquake and tsunami of 20 July 2017: a test for the Mediterranean tsunami warning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heidarzadeh, Mohammad; Necmioglu, Ocal; Ishibe, Takeo; Yalciner, Ahmet C.

2017-12-01

Various Tsunami Service Providers (TSPs) within the Mediterranean Basin supply tsunami warnings including CAT-INGV (Italy), KOERI-RETMC (Turkey), and NOA/HL-NTWC (Greece). The 20 July 2017 Bodrum-Kos (Turkey-Greece) earthquake (Mw 6.6) and tsunami provided an opportunity to assess the response from these TSPs. Although the Bodrum-Kos tsunami was moderate (e.g., runup of 1.9 m) with little damage to properties, it was the first noticeable tsunami in the Mediterranean Basin since the 21 May 2003 western Mediterranean tsunami. Tsunami waveform analysis revealed that the trough-to-crest height was 34.1 cm at the near-field tide gauge station of Bodrum (Turkey). Tsunami period band was 2-30 min with peak periods at 7-13 min. We proposed a source fault model for this tsunami with the length and width of 25 and 15 km and uniform slip of 0.4 m. Tsunami simulations using both nodal planes produced almost same results in terms of agreement between tsunami observations and simulations. Different TSPs provided tsunami warnings at 10 min (CAT-INGV), 19 min (KOERI-RETMC), and 18 min (NOA/HL-NTWC) after the earthquake origin time. Apart from CAT-INGV, whose initial Mw estimation differed 0.2 units with respect to the final value, the response from the other two TSPs came relatively late compared to the desired warning time of 10 min, given the difficulties for timely and accurate calculation of earthquake magnitude and tsunami impact assessment. It is argued that even if a warning time of 10 min was achieved, it might not have been sufficient for addressing near-field tsunami hazards. Despite considerable progress and achievements made within the upstream components of NEAMTWS (North East Atlantic, Mediterranean and Connected seas Tsunami Warning System), the experience from this moderate tsunami may highlight the need for improving operational capabilities of TSPs, but more importantly for effectively integrating civil protection authorities into NEAMTWS and strengthening tsunami education programs.

Using Multi-Scenario Tsunami Modelling Results combined with Probabilistic Analyses to provide Hazard Information for the South-WestCoast of Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zosseder, K.; Post, J.; Steinmetz, T.; Wegscheider, S.; Strunz, G.

2009-04-01

Indonesia is located at one of the most active geological subduction zones in the world. Following the most recent seaquakes and their subsequent tsunamis in December 2004 and July 2006 it is expected that also in the near future tsunamis are likely to occur due to increased tectonic tensions leading to abrupt vertical seafloor alterations after a century of relative tectonic silence. To face this devastating threat tsunami hazard maps are very important as base for evacuation planning and mitigation strategies. In terms of a tsunami impact the hazard assessment is mostly covered by numerical modelling because the model results normally offer the most precise database for a hazard analysis as they include spatially distributed data and their influence to the hydraulic dynamics. Generally a model result gives a probability for the intensity distribution of a tsunami at the coast (or run up) and the spatial distribution of the maximum inundation area depending on the location and magnitude of the tsunami source used. The boundary condition of the source used for the model is mostly chosen by a worst case approach. Hence the location and magnitude which are likely to occur and which are assumed to generate the worst impact are used to predict the impact at a specific area. But for a tsunami hazard assessment covering a large coastal area, as it is demanded in the GITEWS (German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System) project in which the present work is embedded, this approach is not practicable because a lot of tsunami sources can cause an impact at the coast and must be considered. Thus a multi-scenario tsunami model approach is developed to provide a reliable hazard assessment covering large areas. For the Indonesian Early Warning System many tsunami scenarios were modelled by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) at different probable tsunami sources and with different magnitudes along the Sunda Trench. Every modelled scenario delivers the spatial distribution of the inundation for a specific area, the wave height at coast at this area and the estimated times of arrival (ETAs) of the waves, caused by one tsunamigenic source with a specific magnitude. These parameters from the several scenarios can overlap each other along the coast and must be combined to get one comprehensive hazard assessment for all possible future tsunamis at the region under observation. The simplest way to derive the inundation probability along the coast using the multiscenario approach is to overlay all scenario inundation results and to determine how often a point on land will be significantly inundated from the various scenarios. But this does not take into account that the used tsunamigenic sources for the modeled scenarios have different likelihoods of causing a tsunami. Hence a statistical analysis of historical data and geophysical investigation results based on numerical modelling results is added to the hazard assessment, which clearly improves the significance of the hazard assessment. For this purpose the present method is developed and contains a complex logical combination of the diverse probabilities assessed like probability of occurrence for different earthquake magnitudes at different localities, probability of occurrence for a specific wave height at the coast and the probability for every point on land likely to get hit by a tsunami. The values are combined by a logical tree technique and quantified by statistical analysis of historical data and of the tsunami modelling results as mentioned before. This results in a tsunami inundation probability map covering the South West Coast of Indonesia which nevertheless shows a significant spatial diversity offering a good base for evacuation planning and mitigation strategies. Keywords: tsunami hazard assessment, tsunami modelling, probabilistic analysis, early warning

Rossitsa River Basin: Flood Hazard and Risk Identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mavrova-Guirguinova, Maria; Pencheva, Denislava

2017-04-01

The process of Flood Risk Management Planning and adaptation of measures for flood risk reduction as the Early Warning provoke the necessity of surveys involving Identification aspects. This project presents risk identification combining two lines of analysis: (1) Creation a mathematical model of rainfall-runoff processes in a watershed based on limited number of observed input and output variables; (2) Procedures for determination of critical thresholds - discharges/water levels corresponding to certain consequences. The pilot region is Rossitsa river basin, Sevlievo, Bulgaria. The first line of analysis follows next steps: (a) Creation and calibration of Unit Hydrograph Models based on limited number of observed data for discharge and precipitation; The survey at the selected region has 22 observations for excess rainfall and discharge. (b) The relations of UHM coefficients from the input parameters have been determined statistically, excluding the ANN model of the run-off coefficient as a function of 3 parameters (amount of precipitation two days before, soil condition, intensity of the rainfall) where a feedforward neural network is used. (c) Additional simulations with UHM aiming at generation of synthetic data for rainfall-runoff events, which extend the range of observed data; (d) Training, validation and testing a generalized regional ANN Model for discharge forecasting with 4 input parameters, where the training data set consists of synthetic data, validation and testing data sets consists of observations. A function between consequences and discharges has been reached in the second line of analysis concerning critical hazard levels determination. Unsteady simulations with the hydraulic model using three typical hydrographs for determination of the existing time for reaction from one to upper critical threshold are made. Correction of the critical thresholds aiming at providing necessary time for reaction between the thresholds and probability analysis of the finally determined critical thresholds are made. The result of the described method is a Catalogue for off-line flood hazard and risk identification. It can be used as interactive computer system, based on simulations of the ANN "Catalogue". Flood risk identification of the future rainfall event is made in a multi-dimensional space for each kind of soil conditions (dry, average wet and wet condition) and observed amount of precipitation two days before. Rainfall-runoff scenarios in case of intensive rainfall or sustained rainfall (more than 6 hours) are taken into account. Critical thresholds and hazard zones needed of specific operative activities (rescue and recovery) corresponded to each of the regulated flood protection levels (unite, municipality, regional or national) are presented. The Catalogue gives the opportunity for flood hazard scenarios extraction. Regarding that, the Catalogue is useful on the prevention stage of flood protection planning (emergency operations, measures and resources for their implementation planning) and creation of scenarios for training the Emergency Plans. Concerning application for Early Warning, it gives approximate forecast for flood hazard. The Catalogue supplies the necessary time for reaction of about 24 hours. Thus, Early Warning is possible to the responsible authorities, all parts if the Unified Rescue System, members of suitable Headquarters for disaster protection (on municipality, region or national level).

Severe rainfall prediction systems for civil protection purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comellas, A.; Llasat, M. C.; Molini, L.; Parodi, A.; Siccardi, F.

2010-09-01

One of the most common natural hazards impending on Mediterranean regions is the occurrence of severe weather structures able to produce heavy rainfall. Floods have killed about 1000 people across all Europe in last 10 years. With the aim of mitigating this kind of risk, quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) and rain probability forecasts are two tools nowadays available for national meteorological services and institutions responsible for weather forecasting in order to and predict rainfall, by using either the deterministic or the probabilistic approach. This study provides an insight of the different approaches used by Italian (DPC) and Catalonian (SMC) Civil Protection and the results they achieved with their peculiar issuing-system for early warnings. For the former, the analysis considers the period between 2006-2009 in which the predictive ability of the forecasting system, based on the numerical weather prediction model COSMO-I7, has been put into comparison with ground based observations (composed by more than 2000 raingauge stations, Molini et al., 2009). Italian system is mainly focused on regional-scale warnings providing forecasts for periods never shorter than 18 hours and very often have a 36-hour maximum duration . The information contained in severe weather bulletins is not quantitative and usually is referred to a specific meteorological phenomena (thunderstorms, wind gales et c.). Updates and refining have a usual refresh time of 24 hours. SMC operates within the Catalonian boundaries and uses a warning system that mixes both quantitative and probabilistic information. For each administrative region ("comarca") Catalonia is divided into, forecasters give an approximate value of the average predicted rainfall and the probability of overcoming that threshold. Usually warnings are re-issued every 6 hours and their duration depends on the predicted time extent of the storm. In order to provide a comprehensive QPF verification, the rainfall predicted by Mesoscale Model 5 (MM5), the SMC forecast operational model, is compared with the local rain gauge network for year 2008 (Comellas et al., 2010). This study presents benefits and drawbacks of both Italian and Catalonian systems. Moreover, a particular attention is paid on the link between system's predictive ability and the predicted severe weather type as a function of its space-time development.

Contribution to the top-down alert system associated with the upcoming French tsunami warning center (CENALT): tsunami hazard assessment along the French Mediterranean coast for the ALDES project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loevenbruck, A.; Quentel, E.; Hebert, H.

2011-12-01

The catastrophic 2004 tsunami drew the international community's attention to tsunami risk in all basins where tsunamis occurred but no warning system exists. Consequently, under the coordination of UNESCO, France decided to create a regional center, called CENALT, for the north-east Atlantic and the western Mediterranean. This warning system, which should be operational by 2012, is set up by the CEA in collaboration with the SHOM and the CNRS. The French authorities are in charge of the top-down alert system including the local alert dissemination. In order to prepare the appropriate means and measures, they initiated the ALDES (Alerte Descendante) project to which the CEA also contributes. It aims at examining along the French Mediterranean coast the tsunami risk related to earthquakes and landslides. In addition to the evaluation at regional scale, it includes the detailed studies of 3 selected sites; the local alert system will be designed for one of them. In this project, our main task at CEA consists in assessing tsunami hazard related to seismic sources using numerical modeling. Tsunamis have already affected the west Mediterranean coast; however past events are too few and poorly documented to provide a suitable database. Thus, a synthesis of earthquakes representative of the tsunamigenic seismic activity and prone to induce the largest impact to the French coast is performed based on historical data, seismotectonics and first order models. The North Africa Margin, the Ligurian and the South Tyrrhenian Seas are considered as the main tsunamigenic zones. In order to forecast the most important plausible effects, the magnitudes are estimated by enhancing to some extent the largest known values. Our hazard estimation is based on the simulation of the induced tsunamis scenarios performed with the CEA code. Models of propagation in the basin and off the French coast allow evaluating the potential threat at regional scale in terms of sources location and highlight the most exposed areas. The 3 sites have been chosen according to the regional hazard studies, coastal typology elements and the availability of appropriate DTMs (Digital Terrain Models). Indeed, the propagation models accuracy relies on the resolution of the input bathymetry, especially in shallow water areas, and the inundation estimation also depends on the precision of the coastal topographic data. The ALDES project allows the SHOM and the IGN to conduct high resolution data acquisition in the Litto3D framework for 2 sites, one west of the Gulf of Lion and one west of the French Riviera. DTMs of the third site, centered on the Antibes Cape, are built using pre-existent data sets with lesser resolution. Detailed modeling of the tsunamis scenarios provides refined estimation of the potential impacts; it points out the most exposed places and morphologic features prone to amplify potential waves and to generate significant coastal effects. Expected water heights and currents, inundation distances and run-up elevations are assessed. Our set of simulations gives an evaluation of the expected maximum impact distribution and highlights places, such as specific beaches or harbors, where mitigation measures must be given priority.

Waveguide Modulator for Interference Tolerant Functional Near Infrared Spectrometer (fNIRS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walton, Joanne; Tin, Padetha; Mackey, Jeffrey

2017-01-01

Many crew-related errors in aviation and astronautics are caused by hazardous cognitive states including overstress, disengagement, high fatigue and ineffective crew coordination. Safety can be improved by monitoring and predicting these cognitive states in a non-intrusive manner and designing mitigation strategies. Measuring hemoglobin concentration changes in the brain with functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy is a promising technique for monitoring cognitive state and optimizing human performance during both space and aviation operations. A compact, wearable fNIRS system would provide an innovative early warning system during long duration missions to detect and prevent vigilance decrements in pilots and astronauts. This effort focused on developing a waveguide modulator for use in a fNIRS system.

Tsunami Forecasting and Monitoring in New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Power, William; Gale, Nora

2011-06-01

New Zealand is exposed to tsunami threats from several sources that vary significantly in their potential impact and travel time. One route for reducing the risk from these tsunami sources is to provide advance warning based on forecasting and monitoring of events in progress. In this paper the National Tsunami Warning System framework, including the responsibilities of key organisations and the procedures that they follow in the event of a tsunami threatening New Zealand, are summarised. A method for forecasting threat-levels based on tsunami models is presented, similar in many respects to that developed for Australia by Allen and Greenslade (Nat Hazards 46:35-52, 2008), and a simple system for easy access to the threat-level forecasts using a clickable pdf file is presented. Once a tsunami enters or initiates within New Zealand waters, its progress and evolution can be monitored in real-time using a newly established network of online tsunami gauge sensors placed at strategic locations around the New Zealand coasts and offshore islands. Information from these gauges can be used to validate and revise forecasts, and assist in making the all-clear decision.

Bill spurs efforts to improve forecasting of inland flooding from tropical storms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

Newly-enacted U.S. legislation to reduce the threat of inland flooding from tropical storms could provide a "laser beam" focus to dealing with this natural hazard, according to Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.), the chief sponsor of the bill.The Tropical Cyclone Inland Forecasting Improvement and Warning System Development Act, (PL. 107-253), signed into law on 29 October, authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP) to improve the capability to accurately forecast inland flooding from tropical storms through research and modeling.

New early warning system for gravity-driven ruptures based on codetection of acoustic signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faillettaz, J.

2016-12-01

Gravity-driven rupture phenomena in natural media - e.g. landslide, rockfalls, snow or ice avalanches - represent an important class of natural hazards in mountainous regions. To protect the population against such events, a timely evacuation often constitutes the only effective way to secure the potentially endangered area. However, reliable prediction of imminence of such failure events remains challenging due to the nonlinear and complex nature of geological material failure hampered by inherent heterogeneity, unknown initial mechanical state, and complex load application (rainfall, temperature, etc.). Here, a simple method for real-time early warning that considers both the heterogeneity of natural media and characteristics of acoustic emissions attenuation is proposed. This new method capitalizes on codetection of elastic waves emanating from microcracks by multiple and spatially separated sensors. Event-codetection is considered as surrogate for large event size with more frequent codetected events (i.e., detected concurrently on more than one sensor) marking imminence of catastrophic failure. Simple numerical model based on a Fiber Bundle Model considering signal attenuation and hypothetical arrays of sensors confirms the early warning potential of codetection principles. Results suggest that although statistical properties of attenuated signal amplitude could lead to misleading results, monitoring the emergence of large events announcing impeding failure is possible even with attenuated signals depending on sensor network geometry and detection threshold. Preliminary application of the proposed method to acoustic emissions during failure of snow samples has confirmed the potential use of codetection as indicator for imminent failure at lab scale. The applicability of such simple and cheap early warning system is now investigated at a larger scale (hillslope). First results of such a pilot field experiment are presented and analysed.

Insights from interviews regarding high fatality rate caused by the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ando, M.; Ishida, M.

2012-12-01

The 11 March 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake (Mw9.0) caused approximately 19,000 casualties including missing persons along the entire coast of the Tohoku region. Three historical tsunamis occurred in the past 115 years preceding this tsunami. Since these tsunamis, numerous countermeasures against future tsunamis such as breakwaters, early tsunami warning systems and tsunami evacuation drills were implemented. Despite the preparedness, a number of deaths and missing persons occurred. Although this death rate is approximately 4 % of the population in severely inundated areas; 96 % safely evacuated or managed to survive the tsunami. To understand why some people evacuated immediately while others delayed; survivors were interviewed in the northern part of the Tohoku region. Our interviews revealed that many residents obtained no appropriate warnings and many chose to remain in dangerous locations partly because they obtained the wrong idea of the risks. In addition, our interviews also indicated that the resultant high casualties were due to current technology malfunction, underestimated earthquake size and tsunami heights, and failure of warning systems. Furthermore, the existing breakwaters provided the local community a false sense of security. The advanced technology did not work properly, especially at the time of the severe disaster. If residents had taken an immediate action after the major shaking stopped, most local residents might have survived considering that safer highlands are within 5 to 20 minute walking distance from the interviewed areas. However, the elderly and physically disabled people would still be in a much more difficult situation to walk such distance into safety. Nevertheless, even if these problems occur in future earthquakes, better knowledge regarding earthquakes and tsunami hazards could save more lives. People must take immediate action without waiting for official warning or help. To avoid similar high tsunami death ratios in the future, residents including young children should be taught the basic mechanism of tsunami generation. Such basic knowledge can lead local residents to evacuate sooner, enabling more people to survive a tsunami even if warning systems or other technology would fail to function.

Assessing the impact of climate-change scenarios on landslide occurrence in Umbria Region, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciabatta, L.; Camici, S.; Brocca, L.; Ponziani, F.; Stelluti, M.; Berni, N.; Moramarco, T.

2016-10-01

Landslides are frequent and widespread geomorphological phenomena causing loss of human life and damage to property. The main tool for assessing landslide risk relies on rainfall thresholds and thus, many countries established early warning systems aimed to landslide hazard assessment. The Umbria Region Civil Protection Centre developed an operational early warning system for landslide risk assessment, named PRESSCA, based on the soil saturation conditions to identify rainfall thresholds. These thresholds, currently used by the Civil Protection operators for the day-by-day landslide hazard assessment, provided satisfactory results with more than 86% of the landslides events correctly identified during the period 1990-2013. In this study, the PRESSCA system was employed for the assessment of climate change impact on landslide hazard in Central Italy. The outputs of five different Global Circulation Models (GCMs) were downscaled and weather generators were used for obtaining hourly rainfall and temperature time series from daily GCMs projection. Then, PRESSCA system was employed to estimate the number of landslide occurrence per year. By comparing results obtained for three different periods (1990-2013 (baseline), 2040-2069 and 2070-2099), for the Umbria territory a general increase in events occurrence was expected (up to more than 40%) in the future period, mainly during the winter season. The results also revealed that the effect of climate change on landslides was not straightforward to identify and the close interaction between rainfall magnitude/intensity, temperature and soil moisture should be analysed in depth. Overall, soil moisture was projected to decrease throughout the year but during the wet season the variations with respect to the present period were very small. Specifically, it was found that during the warm-dry season, due to the strong decrease of soil moisture, even for a sensible increase in rainfall intensity, the landslide occurrence was unchanged. Conversely, during the cold-wet season, the number of landslide events increased considerably if a positive variation in rainfall amount, more significant than rainfall intensity, was coupled with small negative variations in soil moisture.

Tsunami evacuation buildings and evacuation planning in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

PubMed

Yuzal, Hendri; Kim, Karl; Pant, Pradip; Yamashita, Eric

Indonesia, a country of more than 17,000 islands, is exposed to many hazards. A magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, on December 26, 2004. It triggered a series of tsunami waves that spread across the Indian Ocean causing damage in 11 countries. Banda Aceh, the capital city of Aceh Province, was among the most damaged. More than 31,000 people were killed. At the time, there were no early warning systems nor evacuation buildings that could provide safe refuge for residents. Since then, four tsunami evacuation buildings (TEBs) have been constructed in the Meuraxa subdistrict of Banda Aceh. Based on analysis of evacuation routes and travel times, the capacity of existing TEBs is examined. Existing TEBs would not be able to shelter all of the at-risk population. In this study, additional buildings and locations for TEBs are proposed and residents are assigned to the closest TEBs. While TEBs may be part of a larger system of tsunami mitigation efforts, other strategies and approaches need to be considered. In addition to TEBs, robust detection, warning and alert systems, land use planning, training, exercises, and other preparedness strategies are essential to tsunami risk reduction.

False alarms and missed events: the impact and origins of perceived inaccuracy in tornado warning systems.

PubMed

Ripberger, Joseph T; Silva, Carol L; Jenkins-Smith, Hank C; Carlson, Deven E; James, Mark; Herron, Kerry G

2015-01-01

Theory and conventional wisdom suggest that errors undermine the credibility of tornado warning systems and thus decrease the probability that individuals will comply (i.e., engage in protective action) when future warnings are issued. Unfortunately, empirical research on the influence of warning system accuracy on public responses to tornado warnings is incomplete and inconclusive. This study adds to existing research by analyzing two sets of relationships. First, we assess the relationship between perceptions of accuracy, credibility, and warning response. Using data collected via a large regional survey, we find that trust in the National Weather Service (NWS; the agency responsible for issuing tornado warnings) increases the likelihood that an individual will opt for protective action when responding to a hypothetical warning. More importantly, we find that subjective perceptions of warning system accuracy are, as theory suggests, systematically related to trust in the NWS and (by extension) stated responses to future warnings. The second half of the study matches survey data against NWS warning and event archives to investigate a critical follow-up question--Why do some people perceive that their warning system is accurate, whereas others perceive that their system is error prone? We find that subjective perceptions are--in part-a function of objective experience, knowledge, and demographic characteristics. When considered in tandem, these findings support the proposition that errors influence perceptions about the accuracy of warning systems, which in turn impact the credibility that people assign to information provided by systems and, ultimately, public decisions about how to respond when warnings are issued. © 2014 Society for Risk Analysis.

New Directions in Seismic Hazard Assessment Through Focused Earth Observation in the MARmara SuperSITE - Project Achievements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meral OZel, Nurcan; Necmioǧlu, Öcal; Ergintav, Semih; Ozel, Oǧuz; Favali, Paolo; Bigarre, Pascal; Çakır, Ziyadin; Ozeren, Sinan; Geli, Louis; Douglas, John; Aochi, Hideo; Bossu, Remy; Zülfikar, Can; Şeşetyan, Karin; Erdik, Mustafa

2016-04-01

The MARsite Project, which started in November 2012,funded by the EC/ FP7-ENV.2012 6.4-2 (Grant 308417) identifies the Marmara region as a 'Supersite' within European initiatives to aggregate on-shore, off-shore and space-based observations, comprehensive geophysical monitoring, improved hazard and risk assessments encompassed in an integrated set of activities. MARsite aimed to harmonize geological, geophysical, geodetic and geochemical observations to provide a better view of the post-seismic deformation of the 1999 Izmit earthquake (in addition to the post-seismic signature of previous earthquakes), loading of submarine and inland active fault segments and transient pre-earthquake signals, related to stress loading with different tectonic properties in and around Marmara Sea. This presentation provides an overview of the achievements of MARSite which aimed to coordinate research groups ranging from seismology to gas geochemistry in a comprehensive monitoring activity developed in the Marmara Region based on collection of multidisciplinary data to be shared, interpreted and merged in consistent theoretical and practical models suitable for the implementation of good practices to move the necessary information to the end users in charge of seismic risk management of the region. In addition, processes involved in earthquake generation and the physics of short-term seismic transients, 4D deformations to understand earthquake cycle processes, fluid activity monitoring and seismicity under the sea floor using existing autonomous instrumentation, early warning and development of real-time shake and loss information, real- and quasi-real-time earthquake and tsunami hazard monitoring and earthquake-induced landslide hazard topics are also covered within MARSite. In particular, achievements and progress in the design and building of a multi-parameter borehole system consisting of very wide dynamic range and stable borehole (VBB) broad band seismic sensor, with incorporated 3-D strain meter, tilt meter, and temperature and local hydrostatic pressure measuring devices would be reported. Progress has been marked on photogeological analysis of DInSAR temporal series and of space multispectral/hyperspectral image data, an important geophysical field survey of one of the most important landslide that yielded a refined geological engineering model, numerical dynamic modelling of this and installation of a real-time monitoring system the field. We improved the existing earthquake early warning and strong motion networks and they are mostly integrated. The early warning signals extend to the critical infrastructure's of Marmara Region like as natural gas distribution line IGDAS and transportation line MARMARAY). The project reached the following goals: intensive monitoring infrastructure have been installed, data sharing among the partners and researchers even the out of the Marsite project have been succesfully realized, more than 70 articles ,reports, presentations have been already issued (or published) and presented by 18 partners institutions.

ASTARTE: Assessment Strategy and Risk Reduction for Tsunamis in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baptista, M. A.; Yalciner, A. C.; Canals, M.

2014-12-01

Tsunamis are low frequency but high impact natural disasters. In 2004, the Boxing Day tsunami killed hundreds of thousands of people from many nations along the coastlines of the Indian Ocean. Tsunami run-up exceeded 35 m. Seven years later, and in spite of some of the best warning technologies and levels of preparedness in the world, the Tohoku-Oki tsunami in Japan dramatically showed the limitations of scientific knowledge on tsunami sources, coastal impacts and mitigation measures. The experience from Japan raised serious questions on how to improve the resilience of coastal communities, to upgrade the performance of coastal defenses, to adopt a better risk management, and also on the strategies and priorities for the reconstruction of damaged coastal areas. Societal resilience requires the reinforcement of capabilities to manage and reduce risk at national and local scales.ASTARTE (Assessment STrategy And Risk for Tsunami in Europe), a 36-month FP7 project, aims to develop a comprehensive strategy to mitigate tsunami impact in this region. To achieve this goal, an interdisciplinary consortium has been assembled. It includes all CTWPs of NEAM and expert institutions across Europe and worldwide. ASTARTE will improve i) basic knowledge of tsunami generation and recurrence going beyond simple catalogues, with novel empirical data and new statistical analyses for assessing long-term recurrence and hazards of large events in sensitive areas of NEAM, ii) numerical techniques for tsunami simulation, with focus on real-time codes and novel statistical emulation approaches, and iii) methods for assessment of hazard, vulnerability, and risk. ASTARTE will also provide i) guidelines for tsunami Eurocodes, ii) better tools for forecast and warning for CTWPs and NTWCs, and iii) guidelines for decision makers to increase sustainability and resilience of coastal communities. In summary, ASTARTE will develop basic scientific and technical elements allowing for a significant enhancement of the Tsunami Warning System in the NEAM region in terms of monitoring, early warning and forecast, governance and resilience. This work is funded by project ASTARTE - Assessment, STrategy And Risk Reduction for Tsunamis in Europe. Grant 603839, 7th FP (ENV.2013.6.4-3 ENV.2013.6.4-3)

Crash Warning Interface Metrics: Final Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-08-01

The Crash Warning Interface Metrics (CWIM) project addressed issues of the driver-vehicle interface (DVI) for Advanced Crash Warning Systems (ACWS). The focus was on identifying the effects of certain warning system features (e.g., warning modality) ...

Tsunami Hockey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weinstein, S.; Becker, N. C.; Wang, D.; Fryer, G. J.

2013-12-01

An important issue that vexes tsunami warning centers (TWCs) is when to cancel a tsunami warning once it is in effect. Emergency managers often face a variety of pressures to allow the public to resume their normal activities, but allowing coastal populations to return too quickly can put them at risk. A TWC must, therefore, exercise caution when cancelling a warning. Kim and Whitmore (2013) show that in many cases a TWC can use the decay of tsunami oscillations in a harbor to forecast when its amplitudes will fall to safe levels. This technique should prove reasonably robust for local tsunamis (those that are potentially dangerous within only 100 km of their source region) and for regional tsunamis (whose danger is limited to within 1000km of the source region) as well. For ocean-crossing destructive tsunamis such as the 11 March 2011 Tohoku tsunami, however, this technique may be inadequate. When a tsunami propagates across the ocean basin, it will encounter topographic obstacles such as seamount chains or coastlines, resulting in coherent reflections that can propagate great distances. When these reflections reach previously-impacted coastlines, they can recharge decaying tsunami oscillations and make them hazardous again. Warning center scientists should forecast sea-level records for 24 hours beyond the initial tsunami arrival in order to observe any potential reflections that may pose a hazard. Animations are a convenient way to visualize reflections and gain a broad geographic overview of their impacts. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has developed tools based on tsunami simulations using the RIFT tsunami forecast model. RIFT is a linear, parallelized numerical tsunami propagation model that runs very efficiently on a multi-CPU system (Wang et al, 2012). It can simulate 30-hours of tsunami wave propagation in the Pacific Ocean at 4 arc minute resolution in approximately 6 minutes of real time on a 12-CPU system. Constructing a 30-hour animation using 1 minute simulated time steps takes approximately 50 minutes on the same system. These animations are generated quickly enough to provide decision support for emergency managers whose coastlines may be impacted by the tsunami several hours later. Tsunami reflections can also aid in determining the source region for those tsunamis generated by non-seismic mechanisms without a clear source such as meteotsunamis, tsunamis generated by meteorological phenomena. A derecho that crossed the New Jersey coast and entered the Atlantic Ocean at approximately 1500 UTC June 13, 2013 generated a meteotsunami that struck the northeast coast of the US causing several injuries. A DART sensor off Montauk, NY, recorded tsunami waves approximately 200 minutes apart. We show how the arrival times of the tsunamis recorded by this DART can help to constrain the source region of the meteotsunami. We also examine other reflections produced by the Haida Gwaii 2012, Tohoku 2011, and other tsunamis.

Building a Communication, Education, an Outreach Program for the ShakeAlert National Earthquake Early Warning Program - Recommendations for Public Alerts Via Cell Phones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeGroot, R. M.; Long, K.; Strauss, J. A.

2017-12-01

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners are developing the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System for the West Coast of the United States. To be an integral part of successful implementation, ShakeAlert engagement programs and materials must integrate with and leverage broader earthquake risk programs. New methods and products for dissemination must be multidisciplinary, cost effective, and consistent with existing hazards education and communication efforts. The ShakeAlert Joint Committee for Communication, Education, and Outreach (JCCEO), is identifying, developing, and cultivating partnerships with ShakeAlert stakeholders including Federal, State, academic partners, private companies, policy makers, and local organizations. Efforts include developing materials, methods for delivery, and reaching stakeholders with information on ShakeAlert, earthquake preparedness, and emergency protective actions. It is essential to develop standards to ensure information communicated via the alerts is consistent across the public and private sector and achieving a common understanding of what actions users take when they receive a ShakeAlert warning. In February 2017, the JCCEO convened the Warning Message Focus Group (WMFG) to provide findings and recommendations to the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions on the use of earthquake early warning message content standards for public alerts via cell phones. The WMFG represents communications, education, and outreach stakeholders from various sectors including ShakeAlert regional coordinators, industry, emergency managers, and subject matter experts from the social sciences. The group knowledge was combined with an in-depth literature review to ensure that all groups who could receive the message would be taken into account. The USGS and the participating states and agencies acknowledge that the implementation of ShakeAlert is a collective effort requiring the participation of hundreds of stakeholders committed to ensuring public accessibility.

Effectiveness of safety belt warning and interlock systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-04-01

Rental cars in Fayetteville, N.C., were equipped with four seat belt and warning systems: (Phase I) detachable shoulder and lap belt, no warning system; (Phase II) detachable shoulder and lap belt, warning system (January 1, 1972 standard); (Phase II...

USGS Earthquake Program GPS Use Case : Earthquake Early Warning

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-12

USGS GPS receiver use case. Item 1 - High Precision User (federal agency with Stafford Act hazard alert responsibilities for earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides nationwide). Item 2 - Description of Associated GPS Application(s): The USGS Eart...

77 FR 53189 - Notice of Public Meetings for the Draft Legislative Environmental Impact Statement for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-31

... and facilitate maintenance of prohibited entry and hazardous area warning signs along the CMAGR... military training. Selection of this alternative would trigger planning and actions to compensate for the...

Research and technology, 1984 report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Research and technology projects in the following areas are described: cryogenic engineering, hypergolic engineering, hazardous warning instrumentation, structures and mechanics, sensors and controls, computer sciences, communications, material analysis, biomedicine, meteorology, engineering management, logistics, training and maintenance aids, and technology applications.

49 CFR 193.2507 - Monitoring operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) PIPELINE SAFETY LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS FACILITIES... watching or listening from an attended control center for warning alarms, such as gas, temperature...

A Walk through TRIDEC's intermediate Tsunami Early Warning System for the Turkish and Portuguese NEAMWave12 exercise tsunami scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, Martin; Lendholt, Matthias; Reißland, Sven; Schulz, Jana

2013-04-01

On November 27-28, 2012, the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) and the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) joined other countries in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAM) region as participants in an international tsunami response exercise. The exercise, titled NEAMWave12, simulated widespread Tsunami Watch situations throughout the NEAM region. It is the first international exercise as such, in this region, where the UNESCO-IOC ICG/NEAMTWS tsunami warning chain has been tested to a full scale for the first time with different systems. One of the systems is developed in the project Collaborative, Complex, and Critical Decision-Support in Evolving Crises (TRIDEC) and has been validated in this exercise among others by KOERI and IPMA. In TRIDEC new developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are used to extend the existing platform realising a component-based technology framework for building distributed tsunami warning systems for deployment, e.g. in the North-eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAM) region. The TRIDEC system will be implemented in three phases, each with a demonstrator. Successively, the demonstrators are addressing related challenges. The first and second phase system demonstrator, deployed at KOERI's crisis management room and deployed at IPMA has been designed and implemented, firstly, to support plausible scenarios for the Turkish NTWC and for the Portuguese NTWC to demonstrate the treatment of simulated tsunami threats with an essential subset of a NTWC. Secondly, the feasibility and the potentials of the implemented approach are demonstrated covering ICG/NEAMTWS standard operations as well as tsunami detection and alerting functions beyond ICG/NEAMTWS requirements. The demonstrator presented addresses information management and decision-support processes for hypothetical tsunami-related crisis situations in the context of the ICG/NEAMTWS NEAMWave12 exercise for the Turkish and Portuguese tsunami exercise scenarios. Impressions gained with the standards compliant TRIDEC system during the exercise will be reported. The system version presented is based on event-driven architecture (EDA) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) concepts and is making use of relevant standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). In this way the system continuously gathers, processes and displays events and data coming from open sensor platforms to enable operators to quickly decide whether an early warning is necessary and to send personalized warning messages to the authorities and the population at large through a wide range of communication channels. The system integrates OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) compliant sensor systems for the rapid detection of hazardous events, like earthquakes, sea level anomalies, ocean floor occurrences, and ground displacements. Using OGC Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) spatial data are utilized to depict the situation picture. The integration of a simulation system to identify affected areas is considered using the OGC Web Processing Service (WPS). Warning messages are compiled and transmitted in the OASIS Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) together with addressing information defined via the OASIS Emergency Data Exchange Language - Distribution Element (EDXL-DE). This demonstration is linked with the talk 'Experiences with TRIDEC's Crisis Management Demonstrator in the Turkish NEAMWave12 exercise tsunami scenario' (EGU2013-2833) given in the session "Architecture of Future Tsunami Warning Systems" (NH5.6).

Enhancing resilience to coastal flooding from severe storms in the USA: international lessons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lumbroso, Darren M.; Suckall, Natalie R.; Nicholls, Robert J.; White, Kathleen D.

2017-08-01

Recent events in the USA have highlighted a lack of resilience in the coastal population to coastal flooding, especially amongst disadvantaged and isolated communities. Some low-income countries, such as Cuba and Bangladesh, have made significant progress towards transformed societies that are more resilient to the impacts of cyclones and coastal flooding. To understand how this has come about, a systematic review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature related to resilience of communities to coastal flooding was undertaken in both countries. In both Cuba and Bangladesh the trust between national and local authorities, community leaders and civil society is high. As a consequence evacuation warnings are generally followed and communities are well prepared. As a result over the past 25 years in Bangladesh the number of deaths directly related to cyclones and coastal flooding has decreased, despite an increase of almost 50 % in the number of people exposed to these hazards. In Cuba, over the course of eight hurricanes between 2003 and 2011, the normalized number of deaths related to cyclones and coastal floods was an order of magnitude less than in the USA. In low-income countries, warning systems and effective shelter/evacuation systems, combined with high levels of disaster risk-reduction education and social cohesion, coupled with trust between government authorities and vulnerable communities can help to increase resilience to coastal hazards and tropical cyclones. In the USA, transferable lessons include improving communication and the awareness of the risk posed by coastal surges, mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the education system and building trusted community networks to help isolated and disadvantaged communities, and improve community resilience.

Electrical Distribution System (EDS) and Caution and Warning System (CWS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcclung, T.

1975-01-01

An astronaut caution and warning system is described which monitors various life support system parameters and detects out-of-range parameter conditions. The warning system generates a warning tone and displays the malfunction condition to the astronaut along with the proper corrective procedures required.

49 CFR 234.257 - Warning system operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Warning system operation. 234.257 Section 234.257... EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.257 Warning system operation. (a) Each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be tested to determine that it...

47 CFR 87.483 - Audio visual warning systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Audio visual warning systems. 87.483 Section 87... AVIATION SERVICES Stations in the Radiodetermination Service § 87.483 Audio visual warning systems. An audio visual warning system (AVWS) is a radar-based obstacle avoidance system. AVWS activates...

49 CFR 234.257 - Warning system operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Warning system operation. 234.257 Section 234.257... EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.257 Warning system operation. (a) Each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be tested to determine that it...

49 CFR 234.257 - Warning system operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Warning system operation. 234.257 Section 234.257... EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.257 Warning system operation. (a) Each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be tested to determine that it...

Integrating the science and socio-economics of resilience along the Northeastern coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdoch, P. S.; Jones, S.; Andersen, M. E.; Focazio, M. J.; Fulton, J. W.; Muir, R.

2014-12-01

New systems for early warning of coastal hazards, and a more accurate assessment of vulnerability of coastal regions and resources are needed to safely occupy, use, and protect the ecosystem services of our coastal landscapes and waters. The US Geological Survey and their Federal, State, Local, Non-government, and Academic partners have initiated a suite of projects to improve coastal resilience in the Northeast through better scientific understanding, modeling, and decision support. Improving coastal resilience requires understanding the complex interactions of several components of the coastal environment and their combined response to disturbances such as sea level rise, more powerful storms, development pressure, pollution, and resource extraction. New USGS research is focused on improving our capacity to predict coastal hazards and define the thresholds of resilience required for a range of sea-level rise and storm-surge scenarios. Predictive models of earth processes and ecological responses are being refined, thus improving early warning of disturbance in specific coastal sub-regions, and refining maps of the relative vulnerabilities of coastal features and communities from Virginia to Maine. Better understanding of sand sources and transport for beach replenishment and protective berms, mapping contaminant sources and release pathways, defining the factors controlling marsh accretion or migration, linking coastal and watershed hydrology, and networking new and existing tide, surge, and wave monitoring for real-time tracking of water hazards represent the multiple science products being combined to understand and protect coastal ecosystems, communities, and commerce. The integrated science underway is clarifying the thresholds of tolerance for multiple disturbance vectors in the coastal environment, and informing long-term, science-based strategies that will support "whole system" resilience into the future. A new multi-agency effort to establish metrics for measuring change in coastal resilience will build off this integrated science to help guide future coastal science in the most productive directions.

Tsunami Ready Recognition Program for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions Launched in 2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Hillebrandt-Andrade, C.; Hinds, K.; Aliaga, B.; Brome, A.; Lopes, R.

2015-12-01

Over 75 tsunamis have been documented in the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions over the past 500 years with 4,561 associated deaths according to the NOAA Tsunami Database. The most recent devastating tsunamis occurred in 1946 in Dominican Republic; 1865 died. With the explosive increase in residents, tourists, infrastructure, and economic activity along the coasts, the potential for human and economic loss is enormous. It has been estimated that on any day, more than 500,000 people in the Caribbean could be in harm's way just along the beaches, with hundreds of thousands more working and living in the tsunamis hazard zones. In 2005 the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission established the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (ICG CARIBE EWS) to coordinate tsunami efforts among the 48 participating countries in territories in the region. In addition to monitoring, modeling and communication systems, one of the fundamental components of the warning system is community preparedness, readiness and resilience. Over the past 10 years 49 coastal communities in the Caribbean have been recognized as TsunamiReady® by the US National Weather Service (NWS) in the case of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and jointly by UNESCO and NWS in the case of the non US jurisdictions of Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. In response to the positive feedback of the implementation of TsunamiReady, the ICG CARIBE EWS in 2015 recommended the approval of the guidelines for a Community Performance Based Recognition program. It also recommended the adoption of the name "Tsunami Ready", which has been positively consulted with the NWS. Ten requirements were established for recognition and are divided among Preparedness, Mitigation and Response elements which were adapted from the proposed new US TsunamiReady guidelines and align well with emergency management functions. Both a regional ICG CARIBE EWS and national/territorial "Tsunami Ready" boards will administer the recognition program. With the "Tsunami Ready" program, it will be possible for to better track the full implementation of tsunami warning system in the Caribbean and Adjacent regions. Member States and donor agencies have been invited to support pilot projects.

Hazard Assessment and Early Warning of Tsunamis: Lessons from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satake, K.

2012-12-01

The March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake (M 9.0) was the largest earthquake in Japanese history, and was the best recorded subduction-zone earthquakes in the world. In particular, various offshore geophysical observations revealed large horizontal and vertical seafloor movements, and the tsunami was recorded on high-quality, high-sampling gauges. Analysis of such tsunami waveforms shows a temporal and spatial slip distribution during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. The fault rupture started near the hypocenter and propagated into both deep and shallow parts of the plate interface. Very large, ~25 m, slip off Miyagi on the deep part of plate interface corresponds to an interplate earthquake of M 8.8, the location and size similar to 869 Jogan earthquake model, and was responsible for the large tsunami inundation in Sendai and Ishinomaki plains. Huge slip, more than 50 m, occurred on the shallow part near the trench axis ~3 min after the earthquake origin time. This delayed shallow rupture (M 8.8) was similar to the 1896 "tsunami earthquake," and was responsible for the large tsunami on the northern Sanriku coast, measured at ~100 km north of the largest slip. Thus the Tohoku earthquake can be decomposed into an interplate earthquake and the triggered "tsunami earthquake." The Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warning 3 minutes after the earthquake, and saved many lives. However, their initial estimation of tsunami height was underestimated, because the earthquake magnitude was initially estimated as M 7.9, hence the computed tsunami heights were lower. The JMA attempts to improve the tsunami warning system, including technical developments to estimate the earthquake size in a few minutes by using various and redundant information, to deploy and utilize the offshore tsunami observations, and to issue a warning based on the worst case scenario if a possibility of giant earthquake exists. Predicting a trigger of another large earthquake would still be a challenge. Tsunami hazard assessments or long-term forecast of earthquakes have not considered such a triggering or simultaneous occurrence of different types of earthquakes. The large tsunami at the Fukushima nuclear power station was due to the combination of the deep and shallow slip. Disaster prevention for low-frequency but large-scale hazard must be considered. The Japanese government established a general policy to for two levels: L1 and L2. The L2 tsunamis are the largest possible tsunamis with low frequency of occurrence, but cause devastating disaster once they occur. For such events, saving people's lives is the first priority and soft measures such as tsunami hazard maps, evacuation facilities or disaster education will be prepared. The L1 tsunamis are expected to occur more frequently, typically once in a few decades, for which hard countermeasures such as breakwater must be prepared to protect lives and properties of residents as well as economic and industrial activities.

Assessment of a severe-weather warning system and disaster preparedness, Calhoun County, Alabama, 1994.

PubMed Central

Liu, S; Quenemoen, L E; Malilay, J; Noji, E; Sinks, T; Mendlein, J

1996-01-01

Tornado preparedness warning system effectiveness, and shelter-seeking behavior were examined in two Alabama areas after tornado warnings. In the area without sirens, only 28.9% of 194 respondents heard a tornado warning of these, 73.2% first received the warning from radios or television. In the area with sirens, 88.1% of 193 respondents heard a warning, and 61.8% first received the warning from a siren. Knowledge of warnings, access to shelter, and education were key predictors for seeking shelter. Our findings indicate that installing sirens, providing access to shelter, and teaching appropriate responses to warnings are important elements of an effective disaster prevention system. PMID:8561251

Probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment in Greece for seismic sources along the segmented Hellenic Arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novikova, Tatyana; Babeyko, Andrey; Papadopoulos, Gerassimos

2017-04-01

Greece and adjacent coastal areas are characterized by a high population exposure to tsunami hazard. The Hellenic Arc is the most active geotectonic structure for the generation of earthquakes and tsunamis. We performed probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment for selected locations of Greek coastlines which are the forecasting points officially used in the tsunami warning operations by the Hellenic National Tsunami Warning Center and the NEAMTWS/IOC/UNESCO. In our analysis we considered seismic sources for tsunami generation along the western, central and eastern segments of the Hellenic Arc. We first created a synthetic catalog as long as 10,000 years for all the significant earthquakes with magnitudes in the range from 6.0 to 8.5, the real events being included in this catalog. For each event included in the synthetic catalog a tsunami was generated and propagated using Boussinesq model. The probability of occurrence for each event was determined by Gutenberg-Richter magnitude-frequency distribution. The results of our study are expressed as hazard curves and hazard maps. The hazard curves were obtained for the selected sites and present the annual probability of exceedance as a function of pick coastal tsunami amplitude. Hazard maps represent the distribution of peak coastal tsunami amplitudes corresponding to a fixed annual probability. In such forms our results can be easily compared to the ones obtained in other studies and further employed for the development of tsunami risk management plans. This research is a contribution to the EU-FP7 tsunami research project ASTARTE (Assessment, Strategy And Risk Reduction for Tsunamis in Europe), grant agreement no: 603839, 2013-10-30.

[Tourism ecological security early warning of Zhangjiajie, China based on the improved TOPSIS method and the grey GM (1,1)model].

PubMed

Xu, Mei; Liu, Chun la; Li, Dan; Zhong, Xiao Lin

2017-11-01

Tourism ecological security early warning is of great significance both to the coordination of ecological environment protection and tourism industry rapid development in tourism destination, and the sustainable and healthy development of regional social and economy. Firstly, based on the DPSIR model, the tourism ecological security early warning index system of Zhangjiajie was constructed from 5 aspects, which were driving force, pressure, state, impact and response. Then, by using the improved TOPSIS method, the tourism ecological security situation of Zhangjiajie from 2001 to 2014 was analyzed. Lastly, by using the grey GM (1,1) model, the tourism ecological security evolution trend of 2015-2020 was predicted. The results indicated that, on the whole, the close degree of Zhangjiajie's tourism ecological security showed a slightly upward trend during 2001-2014, the warning degree was the moderate warning. In terms of each subsystem, warning degree of the driving force system and the pressure system of Zhangjiajie's tourism ecological secu-rity were on the rise, which evolved from light warning to heavy warning; warning degree of the state system and the impact system had not changed so much, and had been in the moderate warning; warning degree of the response system was on the decline, which changed from huge warning to no warning during 2001-2014. According to the current development trend, the close degree of Zhangjiajie's tourism ecological security would rise further in 2015-2020, and the warning degree would turn from moderate warning into light warning, but the task of coordinating the relationship between tourism development and ecological construction and environmental protection would be still arduous.

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211 Section 234.211 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD....211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall...

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211 Section 234.211 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD....211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall...

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211 Section 234.211 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD....211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall...

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall be secured against unauthorized entry. ...

49 CFR 234.211 - Security of warning system apparatus.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Security of warning system apparatus. 234.211... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.211 Security of warning system apparatus. Highway-rail grade crossing warning system apparatus shall be secured against unauthorized entry. ...

Enhanced Gravity Tractor Technique for Planetary Defense

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mazanek, Daniel D.; Reeves, David M.; Hopkins, Joshua B.; Wade, Darren W.; Tantardini, Marco; Shen, Haijun

2015-01-01

Given sufficient warning time, Earth-impacting asteroids and comets can be deflected with a variety of different "slow push/pull" techniques. The gravity tractor is one technique that uses the gravitational attraction of a rendezvous spacecraft to the impactor and a low-thrust, high-efficiency propulsion system to provide a gradual velocity change and alter its trajectory. An innovation to this technique, known as the Enhanced Gravity Tractor (EGT), uses mass collected in-situ to augment the mass of the spacecraft, thereby greatly increasing the gravitational force between the objects. The collected material can be a single boulder, multiple boulders, regolith or a combination of different sources. The collected mass would likely range from tens to hundreds of metric tons depending on the size of the impactor and warning time available. Depending on the propulsion system's capability and the mass collected, the EGT approach can reduce the deflection times by a factor of 10 to 50 or more, thus reducing the deflection times of several decades to years or less and overcoming the main criticism of the traditional gravity tractor approach. Additionally, multiple spacecraft can orbit the target in formation to provide the necessary velocity change and further reduce the time needed by the EGT technique to divert hazardous asteroids and comets. The robotic segment of NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) will collect a multi-ton boulder from the surface of a large Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) and will provide the first ever demonstration of the EGT technique and validate one method of collecting in-situ mass on an asteroid of hazardous size.

Towards developing drought impact functions to advance drought monitoring and early warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachmair, Sophie; Stahl, Kerstin; Hannaford, Jamie; Svoboda, Mark

2015-04-01

In natural hazard analysis, damage functions (also referred to as vulnerability or susceptibility functions) relate hazard intensity to the negative effects of the hazard event, often expressed as damage ratio or monetary loss. While damage functions for floods and seismic hazards have gained considerable attention, there is little knowledge on how drought intensity translates into ecological and socioeconomic impacts. One reason for this is the multifaceted nature of drought affecting different domains of the hydrological cycle and different sectors of human activity (for example, recognizing meteorological - agricultural - hydrological - socioeconomic drought) leading to a wide range of drought impacts. Moreover, drought impacts are often non-structural and hard to quantify or monetarize (e.g. impaired navigability of streams, bans on domestic water use, increased mortality of aquatic species). Knowledge on the relationship between drought intensity and drought impacts, i.e. negative environmental, economic or social effects experienced under drought conditions, however, is vital to identify critical thresholds for drought impact occurrence. Such information may help to improve drought monitoring and early warning (M&EW), one goal of the international DrIVER project (Drought Impacts: Vulnerability thresholds in monitoring and Early-warning Research). The aim of this study is to test the feasibility of designing "drought impact functions" for case study areas in Europe (Germany and UK) and the United States to derive thresholds meaningful for drought impact occurrence; to account for the multidimensionality of drought impacts, we use the broader term "drought impact function" over "damage function". First steps towards developing empirical drought impact functions are (1) to identify meaningful indicators characterizing the hazard intensity (e.g. indicators expressing a precipitation or streamflow deficit), (2) to identify suitable variables representing impacts, damage, or loss due to drought, and (3) to test different statistical models to link drought intensity with drought impact information to derive meaningful thresholds. While the focus regarding drought impact variables lies on text-based impact reports from the European Drought Impact report Inventory (EDII) and the US Drought Impact Reporter (DIR), the information gain through exploiting other variables such as agricultural yield statistics and remotely sensed vegetation indices is explored. First results reveal interesting insights into the complex relationship between drought indicators and impacts and highlight differences among drought impact variables and geographies. Although a simple intensity threshold evoking specific drought impacts cannot be identified, developing drought impact functions helps to elucidate how drought conditions relate to ecological or socioeconomic impacts. Such knowledge may provide guidance for inferring meaningful triggers for drought M&EW and could have potential for a wide range of drought management applications (for example, building drought scenarios for testing the resilience of drought plans or water supply systems).

Is It Going to Rain Today? Understanding the Weather Forecast.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allsopp, Jim; And Others

1996-01-01

Presents a resource for science teachers to develop a better understanding of weather forecasts, including outlooks, watches, warnings, advisories, severe local storms, winter storms, floods, hurricanes, nonprecipitation hazards, precipitation probabilities, sky condition, and UV index. (MKR)

30 CFR 56.4101 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS-SURFACE METAL AND NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control... open flames shall be posted where a fire or explosion hazard exists. ...

30 CFR 57.4101 - Warning signs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Resources MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR METAL AND NONMETAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND METAL AND NONMETAL MINES Fire Prevention and Control... open flames shall be posted where a fire or explosion hazard exists. ...

14 CFR 135.153 - Ground proximity warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Ground proximity warning system. 135.153... Equipment § 135.153 Ground proximity warning system. (a) No person may operate a turbine-powered airplane... equipped with an approved ground proximity warning system. (b) [Reserved] (c) For a system required by this...

14 CFR 135.153 - Ground proximity warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ground proximity warning system. 135.153... Equipment § 135.153 Ground proximity warning system. (a) No person may operate a turbine-powered airplane... equipped with an approved ground proximity warning system. (b) [Reserved] (c) For a system required by this...

Developments in real-time monitoring for geologic hazard warnings (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leith, W. S.; Mandeville, C. W.; Earle, P. S.

2013-12-01

Real-time data from global, national and local sensor networks enable prompt alerts and warnings of earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic eruptions, geomagnetic storms , broad-scale crustal deformation and landslides. State-of-the-art seismic systems can locate and evaluate earthquake sources in seconds, enabling 'earthquake early warnings' to be broadcast ahead of the damaging surface waves so that protective actions can be taken. Strong motion monitoring systems in buildings now support near-real-time structural damage detection systems, and in quiet times can be used for state-of-health monitoring. High-rate GPS data are being integrated with seismic strong motion data, allowing accurate determination of earthquake displacements in near-real time. GPS data, combined with rainfall, groundwater and geophone data, are now used for near-real-time landslide monitoring and warnings. Real-time sea-floor water pressure data are key for assessing tsunami generation by large earthquakes. For monitoring remote volcanoes that lack local ground-based instrumentation, the USGS uses new technologies such as infrasound arrays and the worldwide lightning detection array to detect eruptions in progress. A new real-time UV-camera system for measuring the two dimensional SO2 flux from volcanic plumes will allow correlations with other volcano monitoring data streams to yield fundamental data on changes in gas flux as an eruption precursor, and how magmas de-gas prior to and during eruptions. Precision magnetic field data support the generation of real-time indices of geomagnetic disturbances (Dst, K and others), and can be used to model electrical currents in the crust and bulk power system. Ground-induced electrical current monitors are used to track those currents so that power grids can be effectively managed during geomagnetic storms. Beyond geophysical sensor data, USGS is using social media to rapidly detect possible earthquakes and to collect firsthand accounts of the impacts of natural disasters useful for social science studies. Monitoring of tweets in real-time, when analyzed statistically and geographically, can give a prompt indication of an earthquake, well before seismic networks in sparsely instrumented regions can locate an event and determine its magnitude. With more and more real-time data becoming available, new applications and products are inevitable.

Towards the construction of a Drought Early Warning System in México

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neri, C.; Magaña, V. O.

2011-12-01

Droughts in Mexico are related to severe impacts in agricultural and livestock activities, water management and with the occurrence of wildfire. Droughts are recurrent, on time scales from years to decades. The impacts however, depend on the vulnerability. The negative impacts may be reduced by studying and monitoring the dynamical evolution of meteorological drought, and by identifying the factors that result in vulnerability, in the context of risk management. Considering the analysis of the vulnerability in the northern of Mexico, a semiarid region highly vulnerable to drought, a Drought Early Warning System was created based on the use of climate information. The first step was to identify the capacity to provide useful climate information to develop prevention actions. Results confirm that the drought in northern Mexico is a well-diagnosed phenomenon from the point of view of impacts in various sectors. However, the use of climate information is still very limited resulting in response to mitigate drought impacts rather than preparing for drought. Part of the problem is the limited capacity to interpret probabilistic forecasts to define actions. Therefore, a key element in a Drought Early Warning System is the development of reliable climate information and the use of indicators to determine of the onset, maximum intensity and duration of the event. The occurrence and severity of drought may be estimated using climate diagnosis and forecast. A preventive response to drought may be defined if the severity and duration surpass a threshold value after which a decision action should be made. In order to establish the relevance of indicators for drought risk management, retroactive analyses have been developed considering the case of northwestern Mexico. After a vulnerability analysis that considers the institutional capacity to make use of climate information, a Drought Early warning System has been designed that considers a number of actions that may be put forward in order to reduce the impacts of such climatic hazard. The potential impact of such system is examined considering a number of actions that may be implemented in the water, agricultural and cattle ranching sectors. We conclude that there are great opportunities to reduce the negative impacts of drought if climate information is used.

Realtime Gas Emission Monitoring at Hazardous Sites Using a Distributed Point-Source Sensing Infrastructure.

PubMed

Manes, Gianfranco; Collodi, Giovanni; Gelpi, Leonardo; Fusco, Rosanna; Ricci, Giuseppe; Manes, Antonio; Passafiume, Marco

2016-01-20

This paper describes a distributed point-source monitoring platform for gas level and leakage detection in hazardous environments. The platform, based on a wireless sensor network (WSN) architecture, is organised into sub-networks to be positioned in the plant's critical areas; each sub-net includes a gateway unit wirelessly connected to the WSN nodes, hence providing an easily deployable, stand-alone infrastructure featuring a high degree of scalability and reconfigurability. Furthermore, the system provides automated calibration routines which can be accomplished by non-specialized maintenance operators without system reliability reduction issues. Internet connectivity is provided via TCP/IP over GPRS (Internet standard protocols over mobile networks) gateways at a one-minute sampling rate. Environmental and process data are forwarded to a remote server and made available to authenticated users through a user interface that provides data rendering in various formats and multi-sensor data fusion. The platform is able to provide real-time plant management with an effective; accurate tool for immediate warning in case of critical events.

Lessons Learned and Unlearned from the 2004 Great Sumatran Tsunami.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Synolakis, C.; Kanoglu, U.

2014-12-01

Huppert & Sparks (2006 Phil Trans Math Phys Eng Sci) wrote It is likely that in the future, we will experience several disasters per year that kill more than 10,000 people. The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster alone resulted in more than 20,000 casualties. Synolakis & Bernard (2006 Phil Trans Math Phys Eng Sci) concluded that Before the next Sumatra-type tsunami strikes, we must resolve to create a world that can coexist with the tsunami hazard. The 2011 Japan tsunami dramatically showed that we are not there yet. Despite substantial advances after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, substantial challenges remain for improving tsunami hazard mitigation. If the tsunami community appeared at first perplexed in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, it was not due to the failure of recognized hydrodynamic paradigms, much as certain geophysical ones and scaling laws failed, but at the worst surprise, the lack of preparedness and education. Synolakis et al. (2008 Pure Appl Geophys) presented standards for tsunami modeling; for both warnings and inundation maps (IMs). Although at least one forecasting methodology has gone through extensive testing, and is now officially in use by the warning centers (WCs), standards need urgently to be formalized for warnings. In Europe, several WCs have been established, but none has yet to issue an operational warning for a hazardous event. If it happens, there might be confusion with possibly contradictory/competing warnings. Never again should there be a repeat of the TEPCO analysis for the safety of the Fukushima NPP. This was primarily due to lacks of familiarity with the context of numerical predictions and experience with real tsunami. The accident was the result of a cascade of stupid errors, almost impossible to ignore by anyone in the field (Synolakis, 26.03.2011 The New York Times). Current practices in tsunami studies for US NPPs and for IMs do not provide us with optimism that the Fukushima lessons have been absorbed and that bagatellomania is still rabid. What saves human lives is ancestral knowledge and community preparedness, as demonstrated repeatedly. Efforts need to be focused in improving education worldwide in the simple steps they can take. We acknowledge the partial supports from the 7th FP (ASTARTE, Grant 603839), TUBITAK, TR (109Y387) and GSRT, GR (10TUR/1-50-1) projects.

Secure Utilization of Beacons and UAVs in Emergency Response Systems for Building Fire Hazard

PubMed Central

Seo, Seung-Hyun; Choi, Jung-In; Song, Jinseok

2017-01-01

An intelligent emergency system for hazard monitoring and building evacuation is a very important application area in Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Through the use of smart sensors, such a system can provide more vital and reliable information to first-responders and also reduce the incidents of false alarms. Several smart monitoring and warning systems do already exist, though they exhibit key weaknesses such as a limited monitoring coverage and security, which have not yet been sufficiently addressed. In this paper, we propose a monitoring and emergency response method for buildings by utilizing beacons and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on an IoT security platform. In order to demonstrate the practicability of our method, we also implement a proof of concept prototype, which we call the UAV-EMOR (UAV-assisted Emergency Monitoring and Response) system. Our UAV-EMOR system provides the following novel features: (1) secure communications between UAVs, smart sensors, the control server and a smartphone app for security managers; (2) enhanced coordination between smart sensors and indoor/outdoor UAVs to expand real-time monitoring coverage; and (3) beacon-aided rescue and building evacuation. PMID:28946659

Secure Utilization of Beacons and UAVs in Emergency Response Systems for Building Fire Hazard.

PubMed

Seo, Seung-Hyun; Choi, Jung-In; Song, Jinseok

2017-09-25

An intelligent emergency system for hazard monitoring and building evacuation is a very important application area in Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Through the use of smart sensors, such a system can provide more vital and reliable information to first-responders and also reduce the incidents of false alarms. Several smart monitoring and warning systems do already exist, though they exhibit key weaknesses such as a limited monitoring coverage and security, which have not yet been sufficiently addressed. In this paper, we propose a monitoring and emergency response method for buildings by utilizing beacons and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on an IoT security platform. In order to demonstrate the practicability of our method, we also implement a proof of concept prototype, which we call the UAV-EMOR (UAV-assisted Emergency Monitoring and Response) system. Our UAV-EMOR system provides the following novel features: (1) secure communications between UAVs, smart sensors, the control server and a smartphone app for security managers; (2) enhanced coordination between smart sensors and indoor/outdoor UAVs to expand real-time monitoring coverage; and (3) beacon-aided rescue and building evacuation.

Optimized Vibration Chamber for Landslide Sensory and Alarm System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, Eliza Sabira Binti; Hadi Habaebi, Mohamed; Daoud, Jamal I.; Rafiqul Islam, Md

2017-11-01

Landslide is one of natural hazard that is not unfamiliar disaster in Malaysia. Malaysia has experienced this disaster many times since 1969. This natural hazard has become a major research concern for Malaysian government when many people were injured badly and even had been killed. Many previous research works published in the open literature aimed at designing a system that could detect landslide in early stage before the landslide becomes catastrophic. This paper presents the early works on a major work-in-progress landslide early warning system for Malaysian environment. The aim of this system is to develop the most efficiently reliable cost-effective system in which slight earth movements are monitored continuously. The challenge this work aims at is to work with a low budget system that produces efficient performance. Hence, the material used is off-the-shelf. Early design optimization results of the vibration sensor used is quite promising detecting the slightest faint tremors, which are amplified using the best vibration chamber available. It is shown that the choice of proper pipe length and diameter dimensions in combination to a gravel to exaggerate the produced higher sensitivity level noise of 5 dB.

Loss of life in flood events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Špitalar, Maruša

2013-04-01

Natural disasters per se give a negative connotation. They are destructive to material elements in a space, nature itself and represent a threat to peoples' lives and health. Floods, especially flash floods due to its power and happening suddenly cause extensive damage. Hence, they are hard to predict and are characterized with violent movement, lots of lives are lost. Floods are among natural hazards the one causing the highest number of fatalities. Having said that very important aspects are humans' vulnerability, risk perception, their behavior when confronted with hazardous situations and on the other hand issues related to adequate warning signs and canals of communication. It is very important to take into consideration this segments also and not mainly just structural measures. However the aim of this paper is to emphasis mainly the social aspects of floods. It consists of two main parts. First one refers to mans' vulnerability, risk perception when it comes to danger caused by rising waters and how does culture influences peoples' response and reaction to flood causalities. The second part consists of data about detailed information on circumstances of death that have been collected from several different sources from several EU countries. There has been also available information on the age and gender of people who lost lives in flood events. With gender males dominated among death people since tend to risk more in risky situations. There has been also defined a vulnerable age group among flood fatalities. Analysis of circumstance of death enabled us to define risky groups that are very important for flood managers. Further on this is very beneficial also for risk prevention, early warning systems and creating the best canals in order to information about upcoming danger would successfully reach people at hazardous areas and also for the others to avoid them.

Probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment for Makran considering recently suggested larger maximum magnitudes and sensitivity analysis for GNSS-based early warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zamora, N.; Hoechner, A.; Babeyko, A. Y.

2014-12-01

Iran and Pakistan are countries frequently affected by destructive earthquakes, as for instance, the magnitude 6.6 Bam earthquake in 2003 in Iran with about 30 000 casualties, or the magnitude 7.6 Kashmir earthquake 2005 in Pakistan with about 80'000 casualties. Both events took place inland, but in terms of magnitude, even significantly larger events can be expected to happen offshore, at the Makran subduction zone. This small subduction zone is seismically rather quiescent, nevertheless a tsunami caused by a thrust event in 1945 (Balochistan earthquake) led to about 4000 casualties. Nowadays, the coastal regions are more densely populated and vulnerable to similar events. Furthermore, some recent publications discuss the possiblity of rather rare huge magnitude 9 events at the Makran subduction zone. We analyze the seismicity at the subduction plate interface and generate various synthetic earthquake catalogs spanning 100000 years. All the events are projected onto the plate interface using scaling relations and a tsunami model is run for every scenario. The tsunami hazard along the coast is computed and presented in the form of annual probability of exceedance, probabilistic tsunami height for different time periods and other measures. We show how the hazard reacts to variation of the Gutenberg-Richter parameters and maximum magnitudes.We model the historic Balochistan event and its effect in terms of coastal wave heights. Finally, we show how an effective tsunami early warning could be achieved by using an array of high-precision real-time GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers along the coast by applying it to the 1945 event and by performing a sensitivity analysis.

Enhanced early warning system impact on nursing practice: A phenomenological study.

PubMed

Burns, Kathleen A; Reber, Tracey; Theodore, Karen; Welch, Brenda; Roy, Debra; Siedlecki, Sandra L

2018-05-01

To determine how an enhanced early warning system has an impact on nursing practice. Early warning systems score physiologic measures and alert nurses to subtle changes in patient condition. Critics of early warning systems have expressed concern that nurses would rely on a score rather than assessment skills and critical thinking to determine the need for intervention. Enhancing early warning systems with innovative technology is still in its infancy, so the impact of an enhanced early warning system on nursing behaviours or practice has not yet been studied. Phenomenological design. Scripted, semistructured interviews were conducted in September 2015 with 25 medical/surgical nurses who used the enhanced early warning system. Data were analysed using thematic analysis techniques (coding and bracketing). Emerging themes were examined for relationships and a model describing the enhanced early warning system experience was developed. Nurses identified awareness leading to investigation and ease of prioritization as the enhanced early warning system's most important impact on their nursing practice. There was also an impact on organizational culture, with nurses reporting improved communication, increased collaboration, increased accountability and proactive responses to early changes in patient condition. Rather than hinder critical thinking, as many early warning systems' critics claim, nurses in this study found that the enhanced early warning system increased their awareness of changes in a patient's condition, resulting in earlier response and reassessment times. It also had an impact on the organization by improving communication and collaboration and supporting a culture of proactive rather than reactive response to early signs of deterioration. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

49 CFR 234.257 - Warning system operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Warning system operation. 234.257 Section 234.257..., Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.257 Warning system operation. (a) Each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be tested to determine that it functions as intended when it is placed in...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

49 CFR 234.257 - Warning system operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Warning system operation. 234.257 Section 234.257..., Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.257 Warning system operation. (a) Each highway-rail crossing warning system shall be tested to determine that it functions as intended when it is placed in...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 91.223 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 91..., and Certificate Requirements § 91.223 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured... seat, unless that airplane is equipped with an approved terrain awareness and warning system that as a...

49 CFR 234.225 - Activation of warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Activation of warning system. 234.225 Section 234... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Maintenance Standards § 234.225 Activation of warning system. A highway-rail grade crossing warning system shall be maintained to activate in accordance with the design of the...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 135.154 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 135... Aircraft and Equipment § 135.154 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

14 CFR 121.354 - Terrain awareness and warning system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Terrain awareness and warning system. 121... § 121.354 Terrain awareness and warning system. (a) Airplanes manufactured after March 29, 2002. No... awareness and warning system that meets the requirements for Class A equipment in Technical Standard Order...

Tornado hazard communication disparities among Spanish-speaking individuals in an English-speaking community.

PubMed

Ahlborn, Leslie; Franc, Jeffrey Michael

2012-02-01

The state of Oklahoma, known for destructive tornados, has a native Spanish-speaking (NSS) population of approximately 180,241, of which 50% report being able to speak English "very well" (US Census Bureau). With almost 50% of these native Spanish-speaking persons being limited English proficient (LEP), their reception of tornado hazard communications may be restricted. This study conducted in northeast Oklahoma (USA) evaluates the association between native language and receiving tornado hazard communications. This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted among a convenience sample of NSS and native English-speaking (NES) adults at Xavier Clinic and St. Francis Trauma Emergency Center in Tulsa, OK, USA from September 2009 through December 2009. Of the 82 surveys administered, 80 were returned, with 40 NES and 40 NSS participants. A scoring system (Severe Weather Information Reception (SWIR)) was developed to quantify reception of hazard information among the study participants (1-3 points=poor reception, 4-5=adequate reception, 6-8=excellent reception). Pearson's chi-squared test was used to calculate differences between groups with Yates' continuity correction applied where appropriate, and SWIR scores were analyzed using ANOVA. P-values<.05 were considered significant. NSS fluency in English was 25.6%. No significant association was found between native language and those who watch television, listen to radio, have a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) All Hazards radio or telephone, or are in audible range of a tornado siren. NSS were less likely to have Internet access (P<.004), and less likely to know of local telephone warning programs (P<.03). The mean NSS SWIR score was 3.2 (95% CI, 2.8-3.7) while LEP NSS averaged 2.8 (95% CI, 2.4-3.2). The mean NES SWIR score was 4.5 (95% CI, 4.1-5.0). Results demonstrate a disparity in tornado warning reception between NSS and NES. Poor English proficiency was noted to be 75% among NSS, which is approximately 25% more than estimated by the US Census Bureau. This study demonstrates a need for emergency managers to recognize when appropriate and overcome communication disparities among limited English proficient populations.

The Puerto Rico Component of the National Tsunami Hazard and Mitigation Program (PR-NTHMP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vanacore, E. A.; Huerfano Moreno, V. A.; Lopez, A. M.

2015-12-01

The Caribbean region has a documented history of damaging tsunamis that have affected coastal areas. Of particular interest is the Puerto Rico - Virgin Islands (PRVI) region, where the proximity of the coast to prominent tectonic faults would result in near-field tsunamis. Tsunami hazard assessment, detection capabilities, warning, education and outreach efforts are common tools intended to reduce loss of life and property. It is for these reasons that the PRSN is participating in an effort with local and federal agencies to develop tsunami hazard risk reduction strategies under the NTHMP. This grant supports the TsunamiReady program, which is the base of the tsunami preparedness and mitigation in PR. In order to recognize threatened communities in PR as TsunamiReady by the US NWS, the PR Component of the NTHMP have identified and modeled sources for local, regional and tele-tsunamis and the results of simulations have been used to develop tsunami response plans. The main goal of the PR-NTHMP is to strengthen resilient coastal communities that are prepared for tsunami hazards, and recognize PR as TsunamiReady. Evacuation maps were generated in three phases: First, hypothetical tsunami scenarios of potential underwater earthquakes were developed, and these scenarios were then modeled through during the second phase. The third phase consisted in determining the worst-case scenario based on the Maximum of Maximums (MOM). Inundation and evacuation zones were drawn on GIS referenced maps and aerial photographs. These products are being used by emergency managers to educate the public and develop mitigation strategies. Maps and related evacuation products, like evacuation times, can be accessed online via the PR Tsunami Decision Support Tool. Based on these evacuation maps, tsunami signs were installed, vulnerability profiles were created, communication systems to receive and disseminate tsunami messages were installed in each TWFP, and tsunami response plans were approved. Also, the existing tsunami protocol and criteria in the PR/VI was updated. This paper describes the PR-NTHMP recent outcomes, including the real time monitoring as well as the protocols used to broadcast tsunami messages. The paper highlights tsunami hazards assessment, detection, warning, education and outreach efforts in Puerto Rico.

Warnings and Human Response in the Oroville Dam Crisis, February 2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorensen, J. H.; Mileti, D. S.; Needham, J. T.

2017-12-01

On February 7, 2017, erosion was detected in the primary spillway for Oroville Dam in northern California, causing an elevated concern for the safety of downstream communities. The situation seemed stable until heavy rains on February 11 resulted in the flow of water over the emergency spillway. On February 12, erosion below the emergency spillway was observed. At 4:21 PM on February 12, the Butte County Sheriff issued an evacuation order for "low levels of Oroville and downstream areas". Counties downstream followed with evacuation warnings. The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results of research, conducted for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, on the Oroville event. This investigation is part of a research program designed to collect and analyze data on: 1) The timing of the decisions to order public evacuation warnings including the flow of information between engineers and geologist monitoring the hazard and local officials. 2) The method and timing of the dissemination of those warnings including the diffusion or warning by various communication channels. 3) The interpretation and response of the public to those warnings, including the timing of protective action decisions. The findings from these studies will be incorporated into risk assessment models used in assessing the impacts of dam and levee failures on a national basis.