ALBERT

Description: The widespread lack of awareness of seismic hazard and the inadequate preparedness to protect people and property explains the high cost of damage caused by earthquakes worldwide to date. Efficient communication is of paramount importance as part of effective risk mitigation strategies. Over the past twenty years, efforts have been pursued at the local, regional, national, and international level to disseminate information on seismic hazard to populations at risk.Focusing on Europe, we analyze the main features of seismic risk communication from 2000 to 2022, and present here an overview of the results obtained based on a scoping review of the scientific literature. Our review was conducted on publications selected from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases and the information was gathered on the basis of the 5 ‘Ws questions’ (Who, What, When, Where, and Why). Overall, the selected publications document the relatively limited engagement of the scientific community in this risk field compared to other natural disasters. Nevertheless, the growing trend over time of publications dealing with seismic risk communication highlights the effort to attract selected targeted audiences (particularly children), using new contents, methods of implementation, and channels such as social networks and the Internet.

Description: Risk communication has evolved significantly over the past two decades. In this study, we provide an overview of the timing, methods and tools we observed in a review study of earthquake risk communication in Europe. Our study shows that communication occurs predominantly in the pre-event phase and that communication during the earthquake crisis is often limited to seismological information. Only one-fifth of the publications reviewed explicitly rely on theories of risk communication. There is an increasing convergence toward a two- or three-way communication model, i.e., the adoption of frameworks in which seismic risk experts promote proactive citizen participation; moreover, the goals of communication become more proactive than informative. The goals of earthquake risk communication are to share information, raise awareness, change behaviors/beliefs, and increase preparedness. Students and citizens are the main target groups for communication activities. The involvement of schools is based on the idea of a 'domino effect," where students share and promote earthquake mitigation information and best practices within their families. In an effort to reach an age-, culturally-, and educationally-diverse audience, traditional education/communication methods such as handouts and lesson plans are gradually giving way to exercises and hands-on activities, as well as more advanced communication tools such as infographics, video scribing, serious (video) games, and augmented reality applications. The results also show the growing role of social media as an information and dissemination channel.

Description: A Vulcanian eruption is described as an eruptive style with strong explosive characteristics. The name derives from the island of Vulcano in Italy, the first place in which it was observed during the last eruptive activity between 1888 and 1890. In this paper we analyze the seismicity recorded at Vulcano during a seismic unrest starting in September 2021 and still present as of November 2022. The distinctive feature of this seismicity is the presence of a variety of signals, most of which have a very long period (~0.5 s) signature. Low frequency content is interpreted as due to fluid involvement. Therefore, the high occurrence rate of VLP seismicity is a potential indication of pressure buildup within the volcanic system, and may herald phreatomagmatic activity (usually the first stage of a Vulcanian eruption), with serious consequences for inhabitants and tourists.Our analyses exploit machine learning procedures, with particular reference to pattern classification, at the aim of identifying varying classes of seismic events and trace their evolution over time. This classification can be useful for surveillance purposes contributing, along with other early warning methods, to reduce the devastating consequences of eruptions for people and property.