Towards an Integrated Information Logistics for Multi Hazard Early Warning Systems

Abstract

The delivery of user-tailored warning messages for heterogeneous user groups is a challenge rarely covered by hazard monitoring and Early Warning Systems (EWS) even though it is one of the four key elements of early warning systems identified by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR). This article describes the concepts of generic information logistics developed for the distant early warning system (DEWS). It is not limited to specific hazard types, languages or other deployment specifics. Instead, it enables the generation of user-tailored warning messages that account for specific needs, individual requirements, different levels of understanding, distinct perceptions and varying personal abilities and it provides several filter mechanisms to avoid unintentional message flooding in emergency situations. This novel approach is completed by a reusable graphical user interface component, which provides functionality to generate warning messages in compliance with the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standard to leverage inter-operability among early warning systems.