THE S.AL.T. AEOLIAN ISLANDS SYSTEM: EARLY WARNING IN STROMBOLI FOR TSUNAMIS AND PAROXYSTIC EXPLOSIONS

A cutting-edge system for tsunami and paroxysmal phenomenon warning now protects the seven islands of the Aeolian archipelago. The S.AL.T. Aeolian Islands (Tsunami Warning System) passed its first test in December 2023, marking an important step forward in the safety of local communities.

Latest generation technology for timely warning

The project, carried out by the Presidency of the Sicilian Region – Department of Civil Protection (DRPC) and currently in the experimental phase, saw Webgenesys install twenty-five high-powered sirens strategically distributed across the seven islands of the Aeolian archipelago. This represents a real technological leap forward, moving from an analog approach, based on nine small sirens controlled solely by analog radio signals, to a completely digital and versatile solution. The new sirens can in fact be activated via various communication channels, including LTE/5G, Wi-Fi, DMR radio and Ethernet, ensuring resilience to adverse events and unprecedented coverage.

S.AL.T. Aeolian Islands: a European model of integration

S.AL.T. Aeolian Islands is the first example in Europe of integration between messages in CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) format, the international standard for public alerting, and DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) technology within warning sirens.

Once a CAP message is received, the sirens play a series of alert sounds, alternating with voice announcements in different languages. This allows the specific nature of the alert to be clearly communicated to the population, whether it is a tsunami/seaquake or a paroxysmal volcanic event (particularly violent and explosive volcanic activity).

The system resulting from the collaboration between Webgenesys and DRPC Sicilia is not only modular, scalable and expandable, but also highly resilient, thanks to its local installation in the Advanced Operations Center (COA) on the island of Stromboli and a replica of the same on the cloud. To facilitate its use, a dedicated application for monitoring and activating the sirens has also been developed, currently managed by the DRPC.

National integration and successful testing

In June 2025, S.AL.T. Aeolian Islands completed the important phase of integration with the national monitoring system managed by the National Department of Civil Protection (DPC), developed by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and the University of Florence (UNIFI – LGS).

This crucial integration enables a fully automatic alert chain, which starts with the detection of paroxysmal phenomena or tsunamis using INGV and University of Florence equipment. The warning signal is sent to the DPC, which in turn communicates with S.AL.T. Eolie. The sirens receive the specific activation signal for the event and automatically reproduce the corresponding warning message.

Recent tests have validated the correct functioning of the warning chain and the overall audibility of the messages broadcast by ten sirens, two of which are in Panarea and eight in Stromboli (including two in Ginostra).

With this project, the Aeolian Islands are now equipped with a state-of-the-art tool for the protection of citizens, significantly strengthening the response capacity to critical natural events, in Early Warning, of the entire Civil Protection system.