Svetoslav Mateev of the Regional Innovation Center “Ambitious Gabrovo” presented Gabrovo’s Early Warning and Monitoring System at the MountResilience Consortium General Meeting, held on 9–11 November 2026 in Sion and Val de Bagnes, Valais, Switzerland.
Mateev presented the poster “Gabrovo Demonstrator: Early Warning and Monitoring System” in the interactive poster sessions. In the interactive poster sessions, the project’s six regional demonstrators present their solutions to the four replicator regions. The aim is to give the regions that will apply these solutions a close look at working practice and to help them find partners for exchanging experience.
The Early Warning and Monitoring System
Gabrovo is highly exposed to floods, hurricanes and forest fires. Before the project, there was no real-time data, no integrated risk maps and no coordinated response between institutions. Gabrovo has therefore built a modular, three-component Early Warning and Monitoring System (EWMS):
- Floods: water level monitoring equipment at eight critical points.
- Forest fires: a thermal imaging camera and a drone, two control centres at the Municipality and the Fire Safety service, and training for their staff.
- Hurricanes: meteorological equipment at three locations.
Real-time water level monitoring significantly improves early warning and the response of the relevant services. The thermal camera, the drone and AI-based video and image analysis enable prompt notification of the fire service and pinpoint the location of a fire. Three weather stations collect data that the AI system uses to produce forecasts.
Lessons for other regions
Gabrovo’s experience points to two lessons:
- A robust GIS-based risk assessment helps select the right locations and saves money and effort.
- Public trust grows when people can see real-time data. That is why Gabrovo publishes it on the Gabrovo Green portal.
The replicable elements presented were the pre-investment study, the planning and implementation procedure, and the technical know-how. The replicators were also asked how they would ensure long-term maintenance of the system, data sharing between authorities and public access to real-time information.
The Gabrovo demonstrator is implemented jointly by the Municipality of Gabrovo, the Technical University of Gabrovo, the Regional Innovation Center “Ambitious Gabrovo” and the Applied Research and Communications Fund.
MountResilience (Grant Agreement No 101112876) is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.
