Early Warning Systems in Earth Management
More than four million people died in the last century as a result of major natural disasters. Economic losses due to such disasters currently amount to roughly 60 billion US dollars per year. As a result, precautions against natural occurrences such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, hurricanes and flooding will gain in importance in the future. After all, natural occurrences do not necessarily have to result in catastrophes.
Effective early warning systems, sound construction techniques and effective systems for responding to natural disasters can save human lives and keep damage to a minimum.
Early warning systems for natural disasters are defined as systems that provide »prompt warning concerning an imminent natural occurrence«. But the definition of »prompt« can vary greatly, depending on the type of impending danger. In the case of an earthquake, the early warning can only be given within a few seconds or minutes, as a rule. However, this period of time would be sufficient to turn off gas mains, close down operations in chemical plants or set up roadblocks in front of well-travelled bridges. But much longer warning times, during which, for example, evacuation measures can be carried out, are possible for volcanic eruptions, landslides or floods.
The planned research and development projects are aimed in part at gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms that trigger natural occurrences. That’s the task of the scientists involved in the projects. On the basis of their research, new technology must be developed for recording, transmitting and processing the necessary data. This is an area that offers considerable potential for industries and businesses.
The goal of the project support by GEOTECHNOLOGIEN is to jointly exploit this potential so that the harmful effects of natural disasters can be more effectively prevented in the future.
