Back to news
18 Feb 2015 | News

ICIMOD and Aaranyak monitor and improve the CBFEWS in Assam, India

A technical team comprising ICIMOD and Aaranyak staff revisited the installation sites for the community-based Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) in Assam in August 2014. The FEWS had been installed along the Jiadhal and Singora rivers in the Eastern Brahmaputra Sub-basin in coordination with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Dhemaji in Assam, under the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) component of the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP). Each of the eight installations was carried out after conducting a risk, hazard and vulnerability assessment of the areas.

1 min Read

70% Complete
A delegation from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) visited ICIMOD to discuss current and prospective areas for collaboration with ICIMOD.
The team assessed and modified the existing equipment at the installation sites in Dihiri and Kekuri villages in Dhemaji district. They further augmented the existing equipment with a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) enabled unit, so that flood alerts could be shared immediately via Short Messaging service (SMS).  Additionally, the team trained the Aaranyak field staff and local caretakers in its use and maintenance.
The day after the installation, a warning message was received from the system  in the middle of the night.

As part of the field visit, the team also visited downstream communities and interviewed local people regarding the communication networks and effectiveness of the installed FEWS. The local people said that the information received from the CBFEWS is very useful to them for preparing for a flood.

Following the successful installation and testing of the FEWS, the team briefly met with the deputy commissioners and district project officers for disaster management of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts. They delivered a brief presentation on the community-based flood early warning system (CBFEWS) piloted in the Jiadhal River and Sigora River, and proposed institutionalizing the system under the District Disaster Management Authority. The deputy commissioners of both districts showed keen interest in the idea.

The DRR component of HICAP has been continuously monitoring and augmenting the Community-based FEWS in the two rivers and is considering extending the network across other rivers in the eastern Brahmaputra River Basin, which is prone to incessant flooding.

2
3
1. The FEWS modified by the team is now in place Photo: Sundar Rai/ICIMOD 2. Taking stock of the FEWS equipment prior to installation Photo: Sagar Bajracharya/ICIMOD 3. The team gives a presentation on FEWS to the deputy commissioner of Dhemaji district Photo: Narendra/ICIMOD

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

RELATED CONTENTS

Continue exploring this topic

8 Apr 2016 News
Teesta Basin Visit Reveals Spring Knowledge Gaps

HI-AWARE researchers from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), The Mountain Institute-India and local organisations recently visited Santook ...

ICIMOD and Global Biodiversity Information Facility Asia Nodes

  The 7th GBIF Asia Nodes meeting was organised in Tagaytay, Philippines 28 – 30 June, 2016 to review progress, elect ...

17 Mar 2015 Atmosphere Initiative
Conference on alternatives to open agricultural burning

To discuss the extent to which open burning of agricultural residue and waste causes black carbon emissions and to explore ...

2 Aug 2016 News
Knowledge Forum in New Delhi Called for Stronger Regional Collaboration Among Countries in the Himalayas and Downstream Countries

Countries in the Himalayan and downstream areas of the Hindu Kush Himalayas need to strengthen their collaboration to address food, ...

12 Apr 2016 News
ADAPTHIMAL Partners on the Job Training at ICIMOD

Partners Uttarakhand Gramya Vikas Samiti, Integrated Livelihood Support Project (UGVS-ILSP), India and High Value Agriculture Project in Hill ...

20 Jun 2017 Himalica
Himalica Contributes to the Local 12th Five-Year Plan for Tsirang, Bhutan

BOX 1: Climate-resilient technologies and good practices identfied from the Himalica Pilot site in Barshong for local 12th ...

27 Mar 2015 News
Mobile based Crop Advisory System for Nepal

Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Government of Nepal came together to brainstorm on ...

3 Oct 2017 News
Data Analyzing Skill Development for Nepal Partner

Nirakar Thapa, a hydrologist at DHM and Niraj Shankar Pradhananga, an assistant meteorologist at the department, processed and analyzed field ...