Introduction to landslide early warning systems

This is an introductory guide to early warning systems for rainfall-triggered landslides, including differences between local and regional early warning systems. The Science for Humanitarian Emergencies and Resilience (SHEAR) programme supports world-leading research to enhance the quality, availability and use of risk and forecast information. This resource aims to synthesise learning and knowledge from across SHEAR to produce a short introduction to landslide early warning systems for practitioners, donors, and researchers in developing countries.

Some of the topics this paper assesses include:

• Landslides are complex phenomena that cause significant loss of life and damage to buildings and infrastructure.
• Forecasting landslides is a difficult yet important task that can provide time needed to mitigate and/or reduce the effects of landslides, saving lives and reducing economic losses.
• By monitoring rainfall and other environmental conditions, it is possible to forecast the likelihood of landslides.