Back to news
22 Jul 2019 | Water

Fourth regional hands-on training on community-based flood early warning systems

1 min Read

70% Complete
The fourth regional hands-on training on CBFEWS – conducted in Kathmandu from 15 to 19 May 2019 – provided technical expertise and conceptual knowledge to different stakeholders. (Photo credit: Jitendra Raj Bajracharya/ICIMOD)

Floods and flash floods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya cause considerable loss of lives and property, particularly during the monsoon. To address such flood risks and enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities, ICIMOD and its partner organizations have initiated community-based flood early warning systems (CBFEWS). A CBFEWS is an integrated community-managed system of tools and plans that detects and responds to flood emergencies. ICIMOD has developed a people-centric CBFEWS that emphasizes four essential elements of early warning systems: risk knowledge and scoping, community-based monitoring and early warning, dissemination and communication, and response capability and resilience.

ICIMOD provided flood monitoring devices and established CBFEWS with its partners in Assam and Bihar in India; Mahottari and Siraha in Nepal; Baghlan in Afghanistan; and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. ICIMOD will establish another CBFEWS in the Kabul River basin in Afghanistan and provided technical support to the Rural Municipality of Tilathi Koiladi and Sabal Nepal in Saptari to establish a CBFEWS in the Khando River at Saptari, Nepal.

ICIMOD conducted its fourth regional hands-on training on CBFEWS from 15 to 19 May 2019. Twelve participants comprising caretakers, flood warning recipients, representatives from local government and non-governmental organizations, and members of CBFEWS implementing communities and organizations were trained on installing and using the flood-monitoring device and establishing CBFEWS. The course provided technical expertise as well as conceptual knowledge about planning for CBFEWS holistically and concentrated on the use of a flood early warning device designed by ICIMOD with support from Sustainable Eco Engineering (SEE). The device was invented in 2008 as a simple wired device that triggered an alarm during high flows; it now features a telemetric system that reads, records, and transmits water-level data in real time. As a result, the lead time has also increased significantly.

CBFEWS implementation is supported by the Government of Australia under the following ICIMOD initiatives: Strengthening Water Resources Management in Afghanistan (SWaRMA); the Koshi Basin Initiative under the Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio (SDIP) for South Asia in Nepal and India (Bihar); and, under the Indus Basin Initiative in Pakistan. In Assam, India, CBFEWS implementation is supported by the Governments of Norway and Sweden under the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP). ICIMOD’s core donors in Afghanistan are also involved in the implementation.

1. Trainees practise operation of a flood early warning device designed by ICIMOD. (Photo credit: Sundar Kumar Rai/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

21 Jun 2018 Cryosphere
Cryosphere Information Hub for Bhutan

The National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) in Bhutan will soon have a Cryosphere Information Hub that will share ...

22 Dec 2020 KDKH
Stakeholders call for more transboundary cooperation to address disaster risk in the Koshi River basin

Earlier this year, the South Asian floods of 2020 were declared a humanitarian crisis when millions across the subcontinent were ...

23 Nov 2015 News
Multi-stakeholder Consultation Meeting for AdaptHimal Initiative in Khagrachari, Bangladesh

  The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) organised a multi-stakeholder consultation meeting in collaboration with the Khagrachari Hill Development Council ...

21 Jan 2020 News
Balancing hydropower development and freshwater ecosystem conservation in Nepal

Freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers, streams, springs, and wetlands provide various direct and indirect services. They are a critical ...

9 Oct 2017 News
Looking Forward to Bounce Back Better from Floods

The statistics about the damages of the 2017 floods are endless and compelling. The images of the flooding even ...

6 Feb 2015 News
Consultation on Promoting Sustainable Mountain Agriculture in Gilgit Baltistan

During the meeting, Izhar Hunzai, a consultant with ICIMOD, gave an overview of the proposal. Seerat Asghar, Federal Secretary at ...

25 May 2015 News
Value chain and participatory appraisal orientation in Bhutan

As part of Support for Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation Programme (Himalica), an orientation workshop was organized on Value ...