l Swiss warning centres for individual natural hazards was initiated. This initiative has received high attention and support on a political level. A “Common Information Platform for Natural Hazards” GIN, which aims to present safety-relevant data in real time, was launched. In order to achieve this in a sustainable manner, the collaboration between the different Swiss warning centres had to be enhanced. In the presented contribution, Heil and his colleagues describe the concept of GIN and the main structural components.
In the second contribution, Corey R. Froese describes the “Structure and components for the warning and emergency response system on Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada”. This work focuses on the site of the 1903 Frank Slide, where over 80 sensors have been installed. The data that are continuously collected and analysed help to characterize and provide warning for an expected second large rock avalanche from the eastern face of the mountain, where various unstable masses have been identified. The local conditions in terms of deformation patterns and slope kinematics have been investigated in detail, and the warning and emergency response procedures are addressed. Froese points out that not only responsibilities and communications protocols during an emergency have to be detailed but also the day-to-day operational responses and procedures to ensure a sustainable operational system have to be addressed.
In the contribution, “Infrasound produced by debris flow: Propagation and frequency content evolution” authored by Arnold Kogelnig, Johannes Hübl, Emma Suriñach, Ignasi Vilajosanaa and Brian McArdell, the detection of signals of debris flow movements is done by using an infrasound vibration measurement technique. In recent studies, it was shown that debris flows generate characteristic signals in the low-frequency infrasonic spectrum (4–15 Hz), which can travel thousands of kilometres and can still be detected. Consequently, these signals are implemented into an automated monitoring system, which is located at a safe distance from the debris flow channel. The system has been installed in the Lattenbach torrent, Tyrol (Austria), and in the Illgraben torrent, Canton of Valais (Switzerland). The low-frequency infrasonic signals emitted by a debris flow can be monitored and correlated with seismic signals. During the passage of different debris flows, several surges were identified by ultrasonic gauges and detected in the time series and the running spectra of infrasonic data.
Huaxi Gao presents in his “Study on Spatial Prediction and Time Forecast of Landslide Hazard” components of an early warning system in Xincheng District, Badong County, China. Studies on spatial prediction and zonation of regional landslide hazard are developed using an information content model. Using this model, he is able to quantify and predict the probability of landslide initiations with different magnitudes and with recurrence intervals ranging between 5 and 10 years. The scientific research results serve as a basis for disaster prevention and risk reduction as well as for disaster management with socio-economic development.
Within the paper “Climate Input Parameters for Real Time Online Risk Assessment”, Richard Petritsch and Hubert Hasenauer investigate the link between the assessment of natural risks in combination with the actual or forecasted weather situation. They use the climate interpolation routine DAYMET to construct a new climate database with a standard interface and implement a framework for providing daily updated weather data for online daily weather interpolations across regions. The core of the work is the implementation of the DAYMET interpolation routines within the new framework. Two possible interpolation routines, which use the optimal number of stations, are investigated. Respective error bounds are assessed using an independent validation data set, and the results are compared with a previous validation study. Finally, the developed methodology is derived for the calculation of a fire danger index for a 1 km