Early warning systems for landslides: The necessity of a systematic and bottom-up approach

This briefing note describes a bottom-up methodology for landslide early warning systems (LEWS), which should consider the knowledge and participation of local communities. It calls for systematic approach that implements the different elements involved in a LEWS. In the emergency phase, a LEWS must properly address evacuation routes and emergency shelters.

It provides an example of the participatory Disaster Risk Management Network in the river basin of Córrego D’Antas, Nova Friburgo in Brazil. After a disaster in 2011 involving floods and landslides, the network was set up to foster social participation based on a systematic approach, integrating the various actors involved in disaster risk reduction.