Orientation on Community Based Flood Early Warning System

Background

The Community Based Flood Early Warning System (CBFEWS) is an integrated system of tools and plans managed by and for communities. It provides near real-time early warnings when rising flood waters are detected. The warning information is transmitted to caretakers who disseminate the information to the rest of the community, government line agencies, and stakeholders. Although the detection of flood risk and its communication to vulnerable communities are driven by technology, the functioning of the CBFEWS lies in a people-centered approach to flood response. CBFEWS has been piloted by ICIMOD and its partners in Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

ICIMOD and Save the Children are collaborating to enhance the long term resilience of communities, including children, by enhancing their ability to prepare and respond to flash floods. The aim of this collaboration is to create an enabling environment for sustained implementation of CBFEWS through institutional capacity building, community mobilization, and the delineation of roles and responsibilities among the collaborating partners – including local government line agencies – for the effective implementation and sustainability of the project.

ICIMOD is leading an online CBFEWS orientation for members of the Save the Children team covering its four basic elements – risk knowledge and scoping; community-based monitoring and early warning; dissemination and communication; and response capability and resilience. The orientation, being hosted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will also include a session on equipment operation. Participants will be guided through community risk and vulnerability assessment procedures and taught how to develop reliable and efficient communication networks encompassing caretakers, concerned agencies, and communities for efficient dissemination of flood warnings.

ICIMOD and Save the Children are conducting the training with support from Sustainable Eco Engineering (SEE), Nepal.
As an output of the orientation, the participants will be able to:

• Understand the working modality of CBFEWS based on its four elements with a focus on the integration of the sustainability module
• Conduct community risk and vulnerability assessment procedures
• Select a CBFEWS caretaker and information recipients in line with selection criteria
• Develop and maintain reliable and efficient communication networks encompassing the caretaker, information recipients, and concerned agencies
• Work with local line agencies for preparedness and the enhancement of the response capabilities of the vulnerable communities

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