Europe pilots cutting-edge technology to prevent natural disasters in a project coordinated by the UPC
Screenshot of A4Cat showing precipitation forecats in Europe, developed within the framework of the ANYWHERE project by Hyds and implemented at Civil Protection service of Catalonia
Several presentations in Barcelona
On 13 and 14 November, the CRAHI-UPC will welcome about 200 representatives from European civil protection agencies, national, regional and local emergency management organisations, and researchers, developers and companies of the sector at the Third ANYWHERE Workshop to be held in the World Trade Centre of Barcelona. During the event, the first outcomes of the operational implementations that are already in the demonstration phase in the six European pilot sites will be presented for the first time in Europe. The Workshop will be open on Tuesday 13th, at 9 am, by Philippe Quevauviller of the European Commission DG-HOME; Álvaro de la Peña Cuesta of the General Directorate of Civil Protection and Emergencies Spain; Deputy-Director of Civil Protection of Catalonia, Sergio Delgado; the rector of the UPC, Francesc Torres, who will preside the act, and the director of the CRAHI-UPC, Daniel Sempere. This first day the Regional Minister of Interior, Miquel Buch, will assist in the evening.
Innovations and technology solutions developed within the framework of the project will also be presented in a new edition of the Smart City Expo World 2018, the most important event on smart cities to be held at the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona from 13 to 15 November. The ANYWHERE platform will be presented at the UPC's stand (Hall P2, Level 0, Street E, Stand 506) through the Innovation and Technology Centre Foundation (CIT UPC).
Screenshot of A4Lig showing a fire propagation in Corsica, developed within the framework of the ANYWHERE project by CIMA Foundation and implemented in Genoa Civil Protection Service, in the Liguria Region (Italy)
The Centre of Applied Research in Hydrometeorology (CRAHI) of the UPC is coordinating the ANYWHERE project, aimed at establishing a pan-European multi-hazard platform for faster analysis and anticipation of weather-induced risks prior to event occurrence. It will also improve response management in emergency situations and help exposed populations avert loss of life, damage to infrastructure and economic losses related to these events. For the first time in Europe, the first outcomes of the tools developed within the project will be presented this week in Barcelona.
Nov 12, 2018
The ANYWHERE (EnhANcing emergencY management and response to extreme WeatHER and climate Events) project aims to tackle this problem. The project started in 2016 and is due to end in 2019, and is funded under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme with a budget of over €12 million. The partner Consortium is made up of 34 organisations from 11 European countries, combining world representatives of universities and research centres, developers of forecasting techniques, national, regional and local emergency management authorities, and companies in the sector. Together they form the Triple Helix of university-industry-government relationships, which pursues economic development through knowledge. Therefore, this is a user-driven innovation action that not only focuses on scientific achievements but will also reach a pre-commercial stage.
The ANYWHERE platform integrates a Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MH-EWS) which uses about 300 algorithms and forecasting products sorted by meteorological and climate hazards such as floods, storms surges, heatwaves, forest fires, droughts, severe winds and snowfall. This has been achieved by capitalising on the advanced forecasting methodologies and impact models developed over the last decade.
The platform is designed to help predict the immediate evolution of extreme climate and weather events and the specific impact on a territory, allowing the civil protection and emergency system to respond in order to avoid economic losses and save lives. This tool is able to simulate more than one risk simultaneously and to translate meteorological forecasts into quantitative and measurable impacts, paying special attention to affected people (focusing on inhabited areas) and critical infrastructure (roads, hospitals, schools and certain industries).
Real-time coordination and decision-making support
The ultimate purpose of the ANYWHERE project, which is coordinated by Professor Daniel Sempere, a researcher and the director of the Centre of Applied Research in Hydrometeorology (CRAHI) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), is to enable society as a whole and the main civil protection agencies to respond more rapidly and effectively than today to extreme and high-impact weather and climate events, and to better cope with the high social, environmental and economic impacts related to them. The platform provides cutting-edge early warning products to help exposed populations prepare for disasters, and also serves as a tool to support decision-making by management authorities in situations of risk. It thus aims to fill the gap between the available science and technology and the real practice of first-responder command centres during weather-induced emergencies.
One-year demonstration period to validate and improve the platform
Within the framework of the ANYWHERE project, an operational platform to support decision-making processes (A4EU) has been developed and implemented in the Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) control centres of six pilot sites representing different climatic scenarios around Europe: Catalonia (Spain), Liguria (Italy), South Savo (Finland), Bern Canton (Swiss Alps), Rogaland (Norway) and Corsica (France). The scenarios for the pilot tests were chosen on the basis of their diversity (geographic size, orography, population density, most common meteorological risks, etc.) and the interest and commitment expressed by their civil protection services.
The platform, which includes the algorithms and forecasting products, has been locally customised to the specific needs and requirements of each location. Over a one-year demonstration period, starting in October 2018, it will be tested, validated and improved in each pilot site.
The Directorate General for Civil Protection of Catalonia (a partner of the project) defined the features that the tool should have to cover the needs of the Catalan civil protection system. The risk of floods, forest fires, wind storms and snowfall was emphasised. This interaction between end-users and developers helped create a tool (A4Cat) that is already operational in test mode at the Catalan Centre for Operational Coordination (CECAT).
The current version of A4Cat has been designed to meet the following needs: automation of warning systems in order to streamline the reaction and reduce the response time; integration of the available risk/emergency data sources (rain sensors of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia, information from the Catalan Water Agency, phone calls to the 112 emergency number, etc.) to facilitate the monitoring of the phenomena and especially the interpretation and analysis of ongoing risks; higher resolution to predict local phenomena that cannot be easily anticipated today; monitoring focused on critical points (schools, hospitals and prone areas); nowcasting to track potential evolution of events and obtain two-hour advance forecasts; and simplified warnings to better tackle the response with only three levels (yellow, orange and red according to the hazard class).
Through this project, it is planned to make a qualitative leap in the management of risks caused by extreme weather events and potential emergencies associated with them. This improvement might translate into a greater ability to accurately detect serious situations and avoid damage to the population.
Another goal of the ANYWHERE project is to increase self-awareness and self-protection of the population by providing tools for specific situations that citizens and companies can use to enhance their pro-active capacity of response to extreme weather-induced risks.
Solutions to four specific situations are currently being developed. In Finland (South Savo) a tool has been created to anticipate the impact of thunderstorms and strong winds that can cause forest damage and destroy electricity transmission grids. This tool will allow the local electricity operator, Järvi-Suomen Energia (a stakeholder of the project), to identify the main areas at risk and send repair teams out to restore the electricity service as soon as possible.
In Catalonia, a tool allowing the Council of Food Distributors of Catalonia (CEDAC) to predict road impacts during severe snowfall is underway, and will improve managerial decision making in handling the fleets. The tool A4Campsite has also been developed to provide real-time meteorological information, local data provided by river gauges, and forecasts of rainfall and flash flood hazards that can affect campsites located in flood-prone areas.
In Genoa, where there have recently been deaths due to flooding, a tool has been developed to improve communication protocols between schools located in flood-prone areas and emergency managers. It also provides customised information to families about the situation of their children at school.
