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Journal Highlights - November 2005 

The 30 December 2002 landslide-induced tsunamis in Stromboli: sequence of the events reconstructed from the eyewitness accounts
Tinti, S. , Manucci, A., Pagnoni, G., Armigliato, A., and Zaniboni, F.
Page(s) 763-775. SRef-ID: 1684-9981/nhess/2005-5-763. Vol. 5, Number 6

This study focuses on the reconstruction of the landslides and tsunamis that occurred on December 30, 2002 on the island of Stromboli (southern Italy), based primarily on eyewitnesses' accounts. The paper represents one of the few examples in the published literature dealing with the detailed reconstruction of the characteristics and time evolution of a natural phenomenon based on reports of people who happened to witness the event. Due to the scarcity of the instrumental data set, the accounts turned out to be very precious and permitted to ascertain important details, such as that there were two main tsunamigenic landslides and that the first one detached underwater. Read the full article.

Seismic detection and characterization of landslides and other mass movements
Suriñach, E. , Vilajosana, I., Khazaradze, G., Biescas, B., Furdada, G., and Vilaplana, J.
Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (2005) 5: 791 – 798

The paper deals with a specific feature observed in the seismic signals produced by a mass movement approaching the sensor. This feature consists of an increase in the frequency content of the signal over time. This was observed in snow avalanches and the paper shows that this also occurs in other mass movements.   This phenomenon could be helpful in refining the algorithms for automatic detection and in monitoring different mass movements. Read the full article. 

Characteristics of the 14 April 1999 Sydney hailstorm based on ground observations, weather radar, insurance data and emergency calls
Schuster, S. S. , Blong, R. J., Leigh, R. J., and McAneney, K. J.
Page(s) 613-620. SRef-ID: 1684-9981/nhess/2005-5-613. Number 5

This study focuses on the Sydney hailstorm of 14 April 1999 from an interdisciplinary point of view and merging the “physical” information about the event with the emergency response intensity. With this aim, comparisons are drawn between observed hailstone sizes, radar-derived reflectivity and damage data in the form of insurance claims and emergency calls. Read the full article.

An operational flash-flood forecasting chain applied to the test cases of the EU project HYDROPTIMET
Taramasso, A. , Gabellani, S., and Parodi, A.
Page(s) 703-710. SRef-ID: 1684-9981/nhess/2005-5-703

The paper describes the application of a new forecast chain applied to the cases of study of a European project called Hydroptimet, for which an special issue will be published by NHESS. The principal interesting aspects are  the use of different meteorological models in the forecast phase, of an original stochastic downscaling procedure, of a particular rainfall-runoff model, well tested in the Italian basin, and the utilization of all available measured data in the validation and in the verification phase of the chain proposed. The results of the application show how the probabilistic forecasting system can give, especially in the case of convective events, a valuable contribution in addressing the uncertainty at different spatio-temporal scales involved in the flash flood forecasting problem in small and medium basins with complex orography. Read the full article. 

Progress toward developing a practical societal response to severe convection (2005 EGU Sergei Soloviev Medal Lecture)
Doswell III, C.
Page(s) 691-702. SRef-ID: 1684-9981/nhess/2005-5-691

This paper shows a review of severe convection in the context of geophysical hazards and the societal response to severe weather. This response depends on the ability to forecast the events but also on the infrastructure and information to allow a society to respond properly and in time to mitigate the hazard. Worldwide implications of the experience with severe convective storms in the USA are discussed, with an emphasis on its relevance to the situation in Europe. Read the full article.