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An integrated system for forecasting Arno River flash floods

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Abstract

A system for effectively forecasting flash floods of the Arno River (Tuscany, Italy) should provide a flood warning with 10–12 h of lead time, primarily in order to evacuate the city of Florence. This goal may be achieved by acquiring and processing meteorological and hydrological data in real-time and, accordingly, by releasing alarms at different levels of reliability and concern. Through the application of both procedural language and expert system techniques, a prototype was developed which can readily handle a variety of relevant information and make predictions on flood hazard in Florence. The system was fairly successfully tested by processing simple meteorological data which enable a 24 hour forewarning to be released.

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Carrara, A., Frontero, P., Maio, D. et al. An integrated system for forecasting Arno River flash floods. Nat Hazards 5, 179–197 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00127005

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00127005

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