Early Warning for Natural Hazards
Linking Helmholtz Knowledge and Expertise on Early Warning Systems and Risk Communication
During the workshop, it was discussed how early warning systems utilize hazard information, along with vulnerability and exposure data to forecast impact and assist in disaster response. © Marie Heidenreich
Participants at the EW4NH workshop. © Marie Heidenreich
On 13 September 2022, the SynCom Workshop Early Warning for Natural Hazards took place at the University of Potsdam. Researchers from the Helmholtz Research Field Earth & Environment came together to exchange expertise on extreme events and early warning systems.
After a welcome by Marie Heidenreich (SynCom) and an introduction by Prof. Christian Kuhlicke (UFZ), the plenary session highlighted key hazards: severe weather (Prof. Peter Knippertz, KIT), floods (Dr. Daniel Caviedes Voullieme, FZJ; Dr. Sergiy Vorogushyn, GFZ), droughts (Prof. Sabine Attinger, UFZ), and earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis (Prof. Fabrice Cotton, GFZ).
Parallel breakout sessions offered deeper insights into these topics, presenting methodologies, monitoring strategies, and recent research activities. In the afternoon, Prof. Jörn Lauterjung (GFZ) presented tsunami early warning as a success story, followed by Prof. Ted Shepherd (FZJ & University of Reading, UK) on approaches to risk communication.
The workshop underlined the diversity and complementarity of expertise in the Helmholtz Research Field Earth & Environment, and participants emphasized that it provided valuable insights, exchange opportunities, and a comprehensive overview of early warning system activities.