How can cities prepare for the future and monitor climate threats? From community-based assessments to national multi-hazard warning systems, innovative solutions are giving citizens access to the right information when they need it most.
Innovation examples
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Innovation examplesMulti-hazard early warning systems in Shanghai
Getty Images /© conceptualmotionNatural disasters often have a domino effect. Having an integrated early warning system can prepare cities and communities for multiple hazards, such as storm surges and typhoon-triggered floods. One of the first examples of multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) was set up in Shanghai, a megacity of over 23 million people. Through a single system, alerts are provided on 14 categories of weather condition. They include climate-related disasters such as extreme heat, floods, tropical storms and typhoons.[1] The system was set up to provide warnings based on color-coded warning signals with three to four levels – red, orange, yellow or blue – depending on severity. Integrated warning systems place extra demand on coordination and joint response mechanisms between agencies, cities and regions, and need to actively involve at-risk communities. They also require robust technologies to support accurate hazard descriptions and communicate warnings efficiently. On a technical level, the Shanghai MHEWS combines various platforms for monitoring, detecting and forecasting multiple hazards. These are integrated with mechanisms for dissemination of alerts via text messages, TV, radio, web, public electronic screens and billboards, and many other media.[2] In 2009, the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) was registered at the United Nations with the aim of strengthening National Meteorological and Hydrological services in countries in Asia and Africa. On a global level, the International Network of Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems provides resources such as a checklist to help countries set up key elements of an integrated warning system.
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Innovation examplesMulti-country datasets for early warning systems in Bangladesh
Getty Images /© Muhammad Amdad HossainBangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to cyclones and storms. The country witnesses on average five to six cyclones a year along the coast. In addition, it is one of the most flood-prone countries, with water often overflowing from three large river systems – the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna. Bangladesh has taken several steps toward improving its early warning systems. Rather than opting for more advanced technological systems, the goal has been to increase response times so as to provide warnings at least 12–24 hours in advance. This has meant simplifying modelling in some cases, such as in riverine discharge modelling. Other models such as the one for storm surge were upgraded to forecast total water level estimates by incorporating wave and tidal inputs. A key contribution to the success of the system been made by data and technologies provided through a number of collaborations, including with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the Bangladesh Navy (digital elevation models), and through the Delft Flood Early Warning System (FEWS). Many factors determine the number of fatalities caused by an extreme weather event. It is therefore difficult to measure the direct impact of early warning systems. However, having a fairly good idea of what is coming and when will enable preparedness and increase resilience.
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Innovation examplesCommunity-based risk assessments and open mapping
Getty Images /© Oscar WongDuring a 2014 flood in Jakarta, Indonesia, a twitter application (PetaJakarta) [1] engaged communities in managing an effective flood response. Within 24 hours of onset, 150,000 tweets were collected to dynamically map where the flooding was across the city.[2] Traditionally, communities have been engaged in collecting information and data through participatory methods such as Participatory Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments (PVCAs). These often result in maps of hazards, flood extent, exposure and risk. Mobile phone and applications use is now enabling faster and broader ways to collect data in real-time through community engagement. Information can also be digitized to better merge with other types of information and reach key stakeholders, for example through shared open databases such as OpenStreetMap (OSM). In least developed countries, where human and technological capacity for disaster risk monitoring may be low, mobile technologies can help overcome major obstacles in flood response and recovery. Another example is the 2010 Haiti Earthquake where humanitarian responders had little or no access to detailed maps. Voluntary contributors rapidly began mapping road networks using satellite images and OpenStreetMap. The organization Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team has now engaged nearly 400,000 community mappers to map nearly three million roads and over 130 million buildings.
Proven technologies
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Proven technologiesIn situ automated weather monitoring
Campbell Scientific
Getty Images /© Terryfic3DCampbell Scientific provides in situ weather monitoring with digital sensors and using solar panels to ensure power supply. Their Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs) and meteorological instruments measure all common parameters (i.e., temperature, wind speed and direction, solar radiation and precipitation). They are suitable for monitoring conditions in urban areas and during extreme weather events. The weather stations are also suitable for weather condition monitoring over an extended period of time without intervention. A cloud-based software allows data to be visualized in real-time. This lends itself well to research and for educational purposes where weather data displayed on public screens can raise awareness. The company has worked with the University of Birmingham to upgrade 26 weather stations supplying urban climate data across multiple city locations. The technology is also used by the Belgian city of Antwerp to monitor the urban heat island effect.[1]
- Contracting type: For sale
- Technology level: Medium
- Country of origin: United Kingdom
- Availability: Worldwide
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Proven technologiesElectronic sirens and city early warning systems
Telegrafia Company a.s.
Getty Images /© HhakimTelegrafia has implemented warning systems in over 80 countries. Its product portfolio consists of various forms of electronic siren for industrial use or public mass warnings. Sirens can be used as stand-alone devices or part of networks, either stationary or mobile (e.g., for installation on cars). The company also offers communication infrastructure, monitoring stations and sensors. Their city early warning system warns against floods, fires or other natural disasters and consists of a network of up several hundred sirens. A main control center (or district control center in larger cities) monitors and controls sirens and communication channels, and supports automated first responder notifications. The company’s own software applications are available for monitoring, control of electronic warning systems and for managing emergency rescue processes.
- Contracting type: For sale/service
- Technology level: Medium
- Country of origin: Slovakia
- Availability: Worldwide
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Proven technologiesWireless emergency alerts
US Federal Communications Commission
Getty Images /© Jeff Greenberg / ContributorWireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are a system of emergency messages used in the United States. These are sent directly to people’s phones by authorized government authorities. The messages typically consist of less than 90 characters and can be used to send warnings about emergencies such as extreme tornados and severe flash floods. When an area is about to be hit by a storm, an alert is issued and picked up by cell towers in the affected area. They then transfer the alert to the phones connected to that cell tower. By operating through only those cell towers in the affected area, cell networks are not overloaded by millions of text messages and outages avoided.
- Contracting type: Free
- Technology level: Medium
- Country of origin: United States
- Availability: United States
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Proven technologiesWeather and climate messages for remote communities
Werner Labs Inc.
Photo:© Peter Fisher, Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited (MetService)“Chatty beetles” are two-way text messaging devices suitable for rough terrains and remote communities. Communities like those on Pacific islands where over 100 chatty beetles have been deployed. The devices are part of a system that uses a constellation of private communication satellites provided by the company Iridium. It is an important tool for disseminating early warning signals and messages back out to distant communities without need of internet access. The devices instead receive and send text alerts via email and mobile phones using radio and the internet (RANET).
- Contracting type: For Sale
- Technology level: Medium
- Country of origin: United States
- Availability: Worldwide
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Proven technologiesHigh-impact Weather Assessment Toolkit (HIWAT)
ICIMOD
Photo:© ICIMODHIWAT are a set of web-based tool that provides guidance on hazard and weather forecasts to forecasters and decision-makers. The tools are tailored for the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region and further customized for Bangladesh and Nepal at the local level. These tools use a mesoscale numerical weather prediction model and the global precipitation measurement (GPM) constellation of satellites. The toolkit provides projections of weather events such as lightning strikes, high-impact winds, extreme rainfall and hail.
- Contracting type: Collaboration
- Technology level: Medium
- Country of origin: United States
- Availability: HKH region
Frontier technologies
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Frontier technologiesUnmanned drones for hurricane forecasting
Raytheon Technologies
Getty Images /© alxpinOriginally developed for the military, the Raytheon Coyote is a small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that can track and model hurricanes. Once launched from an aircraft, the drone can gather data from up to 50 miles away. It can fly at altitudes too low or dangerous for manned aircraft and provide forecasters with real-time data on atmospheric air pressure, temperature, moisture, wind speed and direction, as well as surface temperature.[2] Together with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the system was deployed to collect data during Hurricane Edouard in 2014 and Hurricane Maria in 2017.
- Contracting type: For Sale/Service
- Technology level: High
- Country of origin: United States
- Availability: United States
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Frontier technologiesAI-based flood prediction
Google Flood Forecasting Initiative
Getty Images /© Laurence DuttonGoogle’s Flood Forecasting team complements efforts by governments to provide early warning systems to populations living in flood-risk areas. Their modelling systems for flood prediction collect thousands of satellite images to build digital models of the terrain and simulate thousands of possible scenarios of how the rivers could behave. Simulations and high-quality elevation maps are cross-referenced with measurements sent from by government. Alerts can then be sent to individuals via different channels, with a claimed 90 percent accuracy. So far, Google has sent out over 100 million Android notifications in India and Bangladesh to people in flood-risk areas.[1]
- Contracting type: Free
- Technology level: High
- Country of origin: United States
- Availability: India, Bangladesh (plans for expansion in South Asia and South America)
Horizon technologies
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Horizon technologiesVirtual sensors for weather data collection
Ericsson
Getty Images /© blackdovfxEricsson and the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) have developed a method for reporting on precipitation using telephone network microwave data. The “Ericsson Weather Data” initiative builds on the knowledge that microwaves are sensitive to raindrops, and offer higher temporal and spatial resolution compared to existing radar solutions. As rain falls across the telephone network, real-time rainfall maps can be made by analyzing microwave signal loss patterns. This solution may be of particular interest to countries that lack an extensive weather-monitoring network but do have a microwave-based telephone network. It has been tested in Sweden, Germany and Rwanda, and aims to provide a high degree of early warning system foresight without the need for weather stations.[3] Recent research on such microwave backhaul technologies from communication networks has suggested great potential for precipitation and flood monitoring in urban areas.[4]
- Contracting type: Research cooperation
- Technology level: High
- Country of origin: Sweden
- Availability: Worldwide
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Horizon technologiesCrowd-sourcing disaster data through social media
Snapchat
Getty Images /© Orbon AlijaOrdinary citizens and volunteers on the ground may become important actors in collecting and analyzing climate and disaster data around the world. Through a process known as ‘“Groundtruthing” satellite data is verified on the ground. This is done using crowdsourced “pin drops” and pictures sent by people whose mobile devices have cameras. Groundtruthing allows authorities to tap into localized data, study disasters, build automated land-use classification algorithms and better understand how people experiences these in real-time. One example is the social media company Snapchat’s map function called Snap Map. The map is part of a social media app with millions of followers used for sharing short temporary video clips of people’s lives, pinned to a certain geographical spot. Although the app was not developed for disaster data reporting, its millions of users may give it a far wider reach than the fit-for-purpose apps. The use of social media has the potential to offer insights into how hurricanes, storms and floods unfold so as to guide first responders to critical intervention points.
- Contracting type: Free
- Technology level: Medium
- Country of origin: United States
- Availability: Worldwide
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5. Cities / Early warning systems, modelling and monitoring / Horizon technologiesCitizen-based early warning system
FloodCitiSense
Getty Images /© Annie OtzenFloodCitiSense has developed an early warning system app for use by citizens and authorities in response to urban rainfall flooding. To date, the tool has been piloted in European cities Brussels, Rotterdam and Birmingham. Citizens observations are a key component in responding to the need for dispersed rainfall data. Citizens are engaged to place low-cost rainfall sensors at their homes. The data obtained is entered into an app where citizens can make reports of rainfall intensity in real-time.
- Contracting type: Collaboration
- Technology level: Medium
- Country of origin: Belgium
- Availability: N/A
Now replaced by PetaBencana.id, an expanded disaster mapping service currently deployed for Jabodetabek (greater Jakarta), Surabaya and Bandung.
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