The first training dedicated to the Civil Protection Department’s myDEWETRA.world platform, which provides global data on flood and fire risks, was held between September 24th and October 8th
The first online training within the PPRD South III project was concluded on October 8th. The training was dedicated to the use of the myDEWETRA.world platform, a weather-related hazard monitoring system developed by the Italian Civil Protection Department and by CIMA Research Foundation.
Started in 2018, PPRD South III is a project aimed at improving risk management and coordination in the European Neighborhood countries – Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. Part of the project foresees the installation of an Early Warning support system based on myDEWETRA.world.
The latter is an initiative of the Italian Civil Protection Department, carried out with the technical-scientific support of CIMA Research Foundation, which will aidcountries and organizations in the development of integrated systems for forecasting, monitoring and surveillance of certain risks, in particular floods and forest fires.
“The main difference compared to the Italian version of myDEWETRA is that myDEWETRA.world collects a multitude of data available at a global level that constitute an excellent basis for all possible users,” explains Antonio Libroia, project manager for CIMA Research Foundation. “It includes both static data, such as exposure and national boundaries, and dynamic data from different hydrological, meteorological and forest fire models. It allows also for the integration of local or national data that, through a dedicated interface, allow to improve the monitoring and forecasting of extreme events”.
The beneficiary countries of the PPRD South III project interested in the use of the platform will be able to participate in training courses nd on the development of implementation plans of myDewetra.world at national level. The training held in September, in fact, is the first of three planned within the project: it was aimed to acquire some basic knowledge about the platform and to understand how it can be adapted and used operationally at the national level.
“The course took place over two weeks. It gathered about thirty participants from the different countries involved and operating in various sectors of civil protection, such as experts in hydrology, warning systems and GIS tools,” Libroia continues. The pandemic led to a rethinking of how to administer the training courses, and this was the first course on myDEWETRA.world organized completely online.
“We adopted a mixed mode, with synchronous and asynchronous sessions combined with a final exercise on the use of the platform for the preparation of alert bulletins. The course used the moodle-based e-learning platform of CIMA Research Foundation,” Libroia concludes. “We organized the course in an interactive way and individual exercises were also be carried out. The training is a deliverable of the project, but it is also important because it gives interested countries the opportunity to use the platform, paving the way for potential future collaboration in assistance and support for the development and strengthening of Early Warning Systems in North Africa”.