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Detection and potential early warning of catastrophic flow events with regional seismic networks

K. Cook, R. Rekapalli, M. Dietze, M. Pilz, S. Cesca, N. Rao, D. Srinagesh, H. Paul et al.

Science, 2021

200 participants · 114 citations

Abstract

Description Far away landslide detection A mass wasting and flood event on 7 February 2021 in Uttarakhand, India, killed more than 200 people and damaged two hydropower plants. Cook et al. discovered that teleseimic signals from the beginning of this event were recorded at different stations on a regional seismic network in northern India. The signals were observed up to 100 kilometers from the disaster and demonstrate the potential for these far-away monitoring stations to be useful for early warning. This discovery suggests a different way to monitor such remote Himalayan valleys for mass wasting hazards. —BG Seismic records of a hazard cascade reveal the potential for early warning of Himalayan debris flow and flooding hazards. Early warning is a critical potential tool for mitigating the impacts of large mass wasting and flood events, a major hazard in the Himalaya. We used data from a dense seismic network in Uttarakhand, India, to detect and track a fatal rockslide to mass flow to flood cascade and examine the potential for regional networks to provide early warning for extreme flow events. Detection limits of the 7 February 2021 event depend on the nature of the active process and on the anthropogenic and environmental seismic noise levels at each station. With the existing network, a seismic monitoring system could have detected all event phases from up to 100 kilometers and provided downstream warnings within minutes of event initiation.

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