Abstract

The FP7 Theseus research project (2009–2013) aims to develop and assess innovative technologies and methodologies for coastal protection against erosion, flooding and environmental damages. While protection structures may help to reduce the level of hazard and the expected degree of loss, some danger of technical failures or human errors will always remain. For extreme events, the implementation of non-structural measures as early warning systems and disaster management practices is required to ensure the protection of population. During Theseus, a methodology for helping the local authorities to prepare an action plan in case of coastal flooding was developed and tested on the estuary of Gironde in France. The methodology builds over the return of experience from past events and tries to clearly identify all the stages of an evacuation and the thinking process that can lead to a robust evacuation plan. It relies on a conceptual framework – SADT – which helps to understand how data should be processed from its collection to its use in the plan. The risk scenarios were calculated for current and future conditions of the XXIst century, taking into account the effects of climate change. The methodology is supported by the OSIRIS software, prototyped during the FP5 eponymous project and later distributed by CETMEF and the French basin authorities of Loire and Meuse. The methodology for the preparation of evacuation plans was applied on a pilot city of Theseus, Bordeaux on the estuary of Gironde (France), and the software used to calculate evacuation times was tried out on Cesenatico near the Adriatic coast (Italy). This comparison verified the replicability of methodological guidelines in two different European contexts. The cultural and organizational differences and the different number of people involved underlined strong questions to be addressed when applying them. In order to assess the efficiency of an evacuation strategy and to compute the number of people successfully evacuated over time, a macroscopic model (not representing each individual vehicle but only flows of vehicles in congestion points) for the simulation of traffic congestion was used, based on the work of the University of Twente, Rijkswaterstaat and INFRAM. This model will be integrated in the Theseus decision support system for helping coastal managers to select their strategy for risk mitigation.

Abstract

The paper presents decision support tools developed for municipalities and historic city managers. These exploit the categorization of cultural heritage assets according to their vulnerability in disaster situations. A manual guiding individual cultural heritage owners, users and other citizens of historic areas provides advices on how to prevent or reduce damage and loss to cultural heritage. The recommendations cover pre-disaster, during as well as post-disaster situations and concern both built and moveable heritage. All measures are illustrated with examples taken during real disaster situations. The methodology has been tested during the international research project “ProteCHt2save” supported under the Interreg CE program.

Abstract

Structural Health Monitoring is an exciting opportunity to use real time quantitative data of a structure’s response in analysis and evaluation. However, this technology has yet to achieve common use in practice and remains linked to research of iconic buildings. This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities for use of SHM for widespread projects with damaged buildings and limited budgets. The SHM approach used was long term low frequency (static) data collection of both environmental inputs and structural responses. This data was used to develop relationships between loads and responses that could be effectively used to determine safety of the building and where in the structure deterioration continues.