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

19 Jun 2018 Cryosphere
Institutional Recognition for Promoting Women in Glaciology Research in the HKH

Since its inception in 2011, the Cryosphere Initiative at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has made a ...

Governance Structure for Pakistan Chapter of Upper Indus Basin Network Recommended

In his opening remarks, the Chair stated, “The UIBN was initially Pakistan focused. It is becoming more regional now. We ...

13 Jun 2017 Atmosphere Initiative
Creating New Data Sets for Emissions Inventory

In Nepal, many community forests are involved in the production of charcoal from forest materials generated from the annual cutting ...

24 Jan 2019 HI-RISK
Regional water-related disaster experts discuss gaps in flood early warning communication and potential solutions

In his welcome remarks, Basanta Shrestha, Director of Strategic Cooperation at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), emphasized ...

5 Jun 2015 News
World Environment Day 2015: ‘Sustainable consumption and production’

ICIMOD celebrated World Environment Day 2015 in collaboration with the Government of Gilgit Baltistan, the Pakistan Agricultural Research ...

17 Nov 2015 News
Recovery and Resilience in Nepal

Journalist training workshop investigates earthquake recovery, climate change John Crump, senior science writer with GRID-Arendal, recollects his experiences from ...

13 Aug 2018 News
ICIMOD’s Eklabya Sharma delivers Sikkim University Foundation Day Lecture

By sharing relevant data from the HKH on increasing temperature trends, glacier area loss, and changing precipitation patterns, Sharma explained ...

24 Sep 2015 News
Landslide early warning system for Chittagong Metropolitan area, Bangladesh

Every year, the rainy season in the Chittagong Metropolitan Area (CMA), Bangladesh brings news of human causalities and property damage ...