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The Relevance of Early-Warning Systems and Evacuations Plans for Risk Management

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Mountain Risks: From Prediction to Management and Governance

Abstract

Early-Warning Systems (EWS) include the provision of timely and effective information, through identified institutions, that allows individuals exposed to hazard to take action in order to avoid or reduce risk and prepare for effective response. EWS are extensive frameworks that integrate different components of risk governance and disaster risk reduction policies with the main purpose of minimizing loss of life and reducing the economic and social impact of a threatening event on the physical assets and populations exposed to hazards. This section describes and analyzes different types of EWS with the aim to connect scientific advances in hazard and risk assessment with management (emergency preparedness and response) strategies and practical demands of stakeholders and end-users. Besides a structural approach, an Integrated People-Centred EWS (IEWS) is also presented. The system is mainly based on prevention as a key element for disaster risk reduction and aims not only to increase the level of awareness and preparedness of the community and decrease its vulnerability, but also to strengthen institutional collaboration, in particular at a local level, in order to assure sustainability of the efforts in the long term and to strength the risk governance process. In this way, the whole disaster cycle can be covered, trying to apply the most advanced technology available and also making the solutions easier to use by people not accustomed to manage these techniques in their daily tasks.

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Abbreviations

DSS:

Decision Support Systems

DEFRA:

Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs

DKKV:

Deutsches Komitee Katastrophenvorsorge e.V.

DMTP:

Disaster Management Training Programme

DREAD-ED:

Disaster Readiness through Education

DRR:

Disaster Risk Reduction

DEWS:

Distant Early Warning System

EW:

Early-Warning

EWC:

Early-Warning Conference

EWS:

Early-Warning Systems

EDURISK:

Educational Itineraries for Risk Reduction

EPRS:

Emergency Preparedness and Response Strategies

EC:

European Commission

GPRS:

General Packet Radio Service

GIS:

Geographical Information Systems

GPS:

Global Positioning System

GBInSAR:

Ground Based Radar Systems for Movement Monitoring

ICT:

Information and Communication Technology

IRASMOS:

Integral Risk Management of Extremely Rapid Mass Movements

FLOODSite:

Integrated Flood Risk Analysis and Management Methodologies

NEAREST:

Integrated observations from near shore sources of Tsunamis

IEWS:

Integrated People-Centred Early-Warning System

IRGC:

International Risk Governance Council

IREALP:

Istituto di Ricerca per l’Ecologia e l’Economia Applicate alle Aree Alpine

LEWIS:

Landslide early-warning integrated system

SAFELAND:

Living with Landslides Risk in Europe

PPR:

Plan de Prévention des Risques

PPEW:

Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning

RINAMED:

Rischi Naturali nel tratto Mediterraneo Occidentale

RISKRED:

Risk Reduction Education for Disaster

SAFER:

Seismic Early Warning for Europe

SLEWS:

Sensor based Landslide Early Warning System

SMS:

Short Message Service

SAR:

Synthetic Aperture Radar

TLS:

Terrestrial Laser Scanning

TETRA:

TErrestrial Trunked RAdio

TRANSFER:

Tsunami Risk and Strategies For the European Region

UN/EP:

United Nations/Environment Programme

UN/ISDR:

United Nations/International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

WMO:

World Meteorological Organization

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Garcia, C., Frigerio, S., Daehne, A., Corsini, A., Sterlacchini, S. (2014). The Relevance of Early-Warning Systems and Evacuations Plans for Risk Management. In: Van Asch, T., Corominas, J., Greiving, S., Malet, JP., Sterlacchini, S. (eds) Mountain Risks: From Prediction to Management and Governance. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 34. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6769-0_13

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