The objective of KNIGHT (Knowledge base for Nile Geo-Hazards Tackling) is to strengthen resilience to geo-hazards and climate challenges along the Nile corridor, increasing the capacity to manage emergencies. It is a project promoted by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) that sees participation from the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA) at the University of Trieste.

The project, co-financed by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, was officially launched on 20th January. It will last two years and counts among its partners the Municipality of Lignano Sabbiadoro, Cooperative Shoreline, the Faculty of Science at the Damietta University (Egypt) and the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG, Egypt).

KNIGHT is aimed at natural disaster mitigation and emergency management. More specifically, it aims to strengthen the resilience of the natural, economic and cultural heritage along the Nile River and its delta. It does so by supporting the review of the national plan for natural hazard mitigation with data, models and innovative technologies.

Within this highly multi-disciplinary project, a research team from the University of Trieste composed of Chiara Bedon (DIA), Marco Fasan (DIA) and Fabio Romanelli (MIGe) will focus on advanced structural and seismological analysis, also using innovative methods and technologies. Their goal is to characterise and assess the seismic risk and vulnerability of some case-study buildings that will be identified along the course of the Nile. All this will contribute to drawing up natural risk exposure maps, the identification of optimal strategies for the prevention of natural disasters, and the establishment of emergency management procedures.

The collaboration between the partners will allow for the sharing of data that will be analysed, standardised and integrated into a database using a GIS platform, making it possible to identify the areas most subject to anthropic and/or natural stress (and therefore most vulnerable), and to assess natural hazards and possible cascading risks in order to mitigate them.

‘There are three main activities that will be carried out. First of all, work will be done to develop a data and knowledge base for the integrated assessment of geological and environmental risks at selected sites along the Nile, the delta and the surrounding coastal areas. At the same time, new methodologies for integrating multi-hazard scenarios and environmental monitoring will be tested at key sites along the course of the Nile, ranging from the Aswan Dam to the coastal areas of the delta, with a special focus on the area of Damietta, a city of significant economic and social interest. Finally, specialised training, technology transfer, citizen-science and awareness-raising activities will also be carried out,' says Antonella Peresan, seismologist at OGS and coordinator of the project.

‘These activities,’ concludes Peresan, ’will over the 24 months of the project lead to concrete and useful products for the future: the creation of an archive of data and knowledge and the development of shared guidelines to improve the resilience of the natural and environmental heritage in the area of intervention, an area where natural events and climate change can significantly affect socio-economic growth.’