NH
Natural Hazards

Natural Hazards

Artificial intelligence for disaster management: that’s how we stand

Artificial intelligence for disaster management: that’s how we stand

On the 23rd of June, I participated in the Second Workshop for AI (Artificial Intelligence) for Natural Disaster Management that hosted around 400 scientists, UN advisors, practitioners and policymakers from all over the world interested in machine learning for supporting disaster prediction and early warning. AI is not my research area; however, I have always been interested in the new advances t ...[Read More]

Lessons learnt, and to be learnt from the Uttarakhand, Himalaya 2021 catastrophic event.

Lessons learnt, and to be learnt from the Uttarakhand, Himalaya 2021 catastrophic event.

Rising global temperature and melting of glaciers in the Himalaya are changing the Himalayan cryospheric dynamics and causing a dramatic increase in the frequency and magnitude of the natural and anthropogenic hazards. One such example was the 7th February 2021 Uttarakhand landslide-induced floods, which killed almost 200 people and washed away two hydropower dams, amidst when India was dealing wi ...[Read More]

Mitigating Soil Erosion After Wildfires

Mitigating Soil Erosion After Wildfires

Wildfires are a natural element in many ecosystems and play a central role in their dynamics. For example, they clear forest floors and liberate nutrients that can replenish the soil. However, changes in fire regimes induced by anthropogenic factors (such as climate change and land uses) have resulted in fire patterns that harm ecosystems [1]. Let’s see together the issues and the mitigation solut ...[Read More]

LANDAWARE: the international network on landslide early warning systems

LANDAWARE: the international network on landslide early warning systems

For today’s interview, it gives me great pleasure to host Dr Manfred Stähli, who will tell us about a new initiative in the field of Landslide Early Warning Systems (LEWS), which is attracting the attention and participation of researchers from many countries. This initiative is called LandAware. Manfred is a senior scientist in mountain hydrology, slope stability and early warning systems a ...[Read More]