SIATA’s Operational Group: Experiences Learned from a Local Risk Management Strategy

SIATA, the Early Warning System of Medellín and the Aburrá Valley, in Colombia, is a local initiative for risk management. One of the main goals of SIATA is to monitor, in real-time, hydrometeorological variables and issue alerts to local agencies, the general public, and vulnerable communities when there is a potential threat to citizens lives. To accomplish this goal, a 24/7 operation is carried on by a group of 12 people referred to as the operational group. Given that there is no undergraduate meteorology program in Colombia, the team is mainly constituted by senior college students and junior engineers with majors in civil, environmental, and geological engineering. They work 2-person 12-hour shifts and must guarantee a smooth real-time operation of the different monitoring networks. They are also in permanent communication with the risk management offices and the first responders in the ten cities in the Medellín metropolitan area.
Besides their operational work, the group members are encouraged to join one of the leading research groups at SIATA, which include meteorology, hydrology, seismology, air quality, landslides, and social work with communities, highschool outreach, among others. By joining one of these groups, the operational team members have the opportunity to participate in research projects and develop their undergraduate or master's thesis using the data collected at SIATA.
During the past seven years, 57 undergraduate students and recently graduated engineers have joined the group, 45% of which have been female. Thirteen have graduated from undergraduate programs and completed a master's program in water resources, one in geosciences, and one in environmental engineering. Four are initiating or completing a master's degree in the same program. Also, four of the former operational members joined a Ph.D. program in climate and environmental sciences. Out of the 55 members, 23 got promoted and joined one of the leading groups at SIATA, and 17 out of the 23 are still working in those research groups. We present the positive and negative experiences acquired during the past seven years and the current and future challenges of working with a diverse and young group in such an essential task in risk management at the early warning system, where the lives of the community depend on their timely action.