ISCRAM conference track: early warning and alert systems
Introduction
Early warning systems are essential elements of disaster and risk reduction strategies providing useful services in fields that range from natural physical phenomena and public health, to man-made systems. Such systems typically rely on the ability of models and methods to reproduce real world objects, forecast its behavior and produce early warnings. The United Nations have identified four interlinked elements of effective early warning systems:
1. Knowledge of risks
2. Technical monitoring and warning services
3. Dissemination and communication or risk information and early warnings
4. Response capabilities
The effective integration of all these elements in one fully functional system brings about many challenges, including: the acquisition and modeling of knowledge related to single or multiple hazards; the development and integration of algorithms and technologies to collect data and to forecast the behaviors of systems; the dissemination of alerts to stakeholders; the improvement of preparedness and contingency plans.
Aim of the Track
To promote new ideas and state-of-the-art approaches in the area of early warning and alert systems, by bringing together researchers, decision makers, domain experts and practitioners, with a range of science and engineering background, to discuss the challenges and complexities of designing and developing early warning and alert systems. The track aims also to provide an opportunity for establishing and reinforcing scientific and technological collaboration between experts working in this field.
Objectives
The main objectives of the track are:
-To provide a forum for researchers and practitioners from industry, academia, and government involved in the area of early warning and alert systems
-To enhance the interaction and exchange of ideas and know-how between researchers, end-users and policy makers
-To identify new challenges where research is needed
-To establish a collaborative network.
Topics
We welcome papers covering many aspects of early warning and alert systems. The following is a non-exhaustive list with topics of special interest:
- Resilience, vulnerability and hazard modelling for early warning systems
- Risk reduction and early warning systems
- Operational forecasting and issuing alerts in riverine and coastal systems
- Integration of large data sets and open interfaces to allow integration of existing models
- Dealing with uncertainty
- Technologies and architectures
- Data security and management
- Warning dissemination mechanisms and alert services
- Early warning systems and responses to disasters
- Early warning and policy
- Case studies: Early warning systems for natural and manmade systems
- Early warning systems in social phenomena
- Demonstrations of systems