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Early warning and forecasting system for the reduction of serious atmosphere-hydrosphere disasters

Wang Ang-Sheng
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, CAS. Beijing 100029, China.
Tel: +86-10-62048994 Fax: +86-10-62046316 or 62028604,
E-mail: angswang@mimi.cnc.ac.cn

Abstract:
The Disaster Early Warning and Forecasting System (EWFDS) for mitigation of serious atmospheric-hydrospheric disasters was researched and established in China, from 1991 to 1996 by 20 institutes and universities and more than 200 scientists and engineers under Prof. Wang Ang-Sheng’s direction.

In the summer and autumn of 1994 and 1995, the system was run for 200 days in real time, when several major disasters occurred in China. The system operates in the fields of disaster monitoring, warning, forecasting, assessment and as a countermeasure, and carries out important works of disaster reduction. EWFDS is the first system in the world which can forecast a disaster about 1–3 days in advance in real time. The new system has obvious social and economic benefits. It has reduced the economic losses resulting from disasters by about 1.8 billion RMB yuan, or 220 million US$).

The author will introduce the structure, function and characteristic of the EWFDS.

This system was awarded the China National Prize and the first class of the "Scientific and Technological Progress Prize, Chinese Academy of Science" in 1996.