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A debris-flow alarm system for the Alpine Illgraben catchment: design and performance

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Abstract

We describe the development, implementation, and first analyses of the performance of a debris-flow warning system for the Illgraben catchment and debris fan area. The Illgraben catchment (9.5 km2), located in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, in the Rhone River valley, is characterized by frequent and voluminous sediment transport and debris-flow activity, and is one of the most active debris-flow catchments in the Alps. It is the site of an instrumented debris-flow observation station in operation since the year 2000. The residents in Susten (municipality Leuk), tourists, and other land users, are exposed to a significant hazard. The warning system consists of four modules: community organizational planning (hazard awareness and preparedness), event detection and alerting, geomorphic catchment observation, and applied research to facilitate the development of an early warning system based on weather forecasting. The system presently provides automated alert signals near the active channel prior to (5–15 min) the arrival of a debris flow or flash flood at the uppermost frequently used channel crossing. It is intended to provide data to support decision-making for warning and evacuation, especially when unusually large debris flows are expected to leave the channel near populated areas. First-year results of the detection and alert module in comparison with the data from the independent debris-flow observation station are generally favorable. Twenty automated alerts (alarms) were issued, which triggered flashing lights and sirens at all major footpaths crossing the channel bed, for three debris flows and 16 flood flows. Only one false alarm was issued. The major difficulty we encountered is related to the variability and complexity of the events (e.g., events consisting of multiple surges) and can be largely solved by increasing the duration of the alarm. All of the alarms for hazardous events were produced by storms with a rainfall duration and intensity larger than the threshold for debris-flow activity that was defined in an earlier study, supporting our intention to investigate the use of rainfall forecasts to increase the time available for warning and implementation of active countermeasures.

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Acknowledgments

The work presented here was coordinated within the framework of the project HYDRALP and is a contribution to EU-Project IRASMOS. We are very grateful to D. Bérod (DSFB/SRCE, Canton of Valais), C. Wuilloud, (DWL/SFP, Canton of Valais), and the municipality of Leuk for their support of this study. We greatly appreciate the project support of Ph. Teysseire and F. Dufour and assistance of B. Fritschi in the design and installation of the detection system. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments that have improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Alexandre Badoux, Christoph Graf & Brian W. McArdell

  2. WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland

    Jakob Rhyner

  3. Teysseire & Candolfi AG, Visp, Switzerland

    Richard Kuntner

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  1. Alexandre Badoux
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  5. Brian W. McArdell
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Correspondence to Alexandre Badoux.

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Badoux, A., Graf, C., Rhyner, J. et al. A debris-flow alarm system for the Alpine Illgraben catchment: design and performance. Nat Hazards 49, 517–539 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-008-9303-x

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