Funded by AICS and coordinated by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM), the Sustainability of SEA and LAnd for Environmental and COMmunity Development (SEALACOM) project is dedicated to strengthening the Early Warning system for floods and wildfires in Lebanon.
CIMA Research Foundation’s contribution
Since the end of 2023, SEALACOM sees CIMA Research Foundation continuing the activities on the warning system for Lebanon initiated back in 2013.
Specifically, the project involves CIMA Research Foundation supporting the Lebanese CNRS in implementing a national version of the myDEWETRA prediction and monitoring platform with an update to the RISICO model, which provides information on the behavior a fire may exhibit after ignition, thus allowing assessment of its potential impact on the area of interest. Additionally, we will implement a customized version of another model dedicated to wildfires, PROPAGATOR: also developed by CIMA Research Foundation, it predicts the likelihood of fire spread, forecasting flame front dynamics, and consequently defining any emergency scenarios.
Regarding flood risk, within the project, the CIMA Research Foundation will implement a flood impact forecasting tool, based on the FloodPROOFS suite and flood inundation maps developed by CNRS, in two vulnerable river basins in Lebanon. The operational results of the updated tools will be made available to support the timely issuance of warning information.
