Back to news
8 Sep 2016 | Gender in Koshi

Ratu River Communities Prepared for Flash Floods

1 min Read

70% Complete

A team from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) visited community based flood early warning system (CBFEWS) sites along the Ratu River in early August 2016 to check on instruments and document community experience with the system during the 25 July flood.

The team inspected and calibrated all instruments and conducted comprehensive interviews with caretakers, gauge readers, warning recipients, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM)Community Based Flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Risk Reduction Project (CFGORRP) officials, and citizens living in the flood prone areas to understand their response to the experience.

Caretakers and information recipients said the warning generated by the CBFEWS helped them alert vulnerable communities before flood waters could reach them. Similarly, people living in the flash flood risk area reported the CBFEWS not only warned them of the approaching flood but also trained them how to respond.

Ram Kripal Mahato of Pashupatinagar said a warning call received from Mahendra Bikram Karki, a caretaker & gauge reader at Lalghadh, helped him alert his neighbours giving them time to reach higher ground. Mahalo said floodwaters reached the bank of Pashupatinagar 30 minutes after he received the call.

After receiving a warning call from Mahendra Bikram Karki, Raj Kumar Mahato, a caretaker in Sarpallo, sounded a hand-operated siren provided by DHM/CFGORRP. The warning allowed the village task force time to assemble at an evacuation shelter recently constructed with support from DHM/CFGORRP. Fortunately, the flood did not reach the pre-defined danger level. Mr Mahato said the earlier training had improved the preparedness of the community for flood risks.

The CBFEWS in Ratu River has been jointly piloted by Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM)/Community Based Flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Risk Reduction Project (CFGORRP) and Koshi Basin Initiative, ICIMOD since 2015.

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

Relative content

Continue exploring this topic

17 Nov 2015 News
Water Assessment in Tsirang, Bhutan

The International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration with the Local Government, Tsirang District, Bhutan conducted a rapid ...

19 May 2015 News
International Conference on Ecotourism in Protected Areas opens in Myanmar

The International Conference on Ecotourism in Protected Areas in Myanmar opened today afternoon at the Myanmar International Convention Centre (II), ...

25 Jun 2018 Cryosphere
CMP-B professionals trained on HEC-RAS Flood Modelling

ICIMOD is currently supporting a socio-economic and vulnerability assessment of the Punatshangchu basin as part of the Cryosphere Monitoring Programme ...

17 Apr 2015 News
A new collaboration to manage forests

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) will be collaborating with the World Resources Institute (WRI) through its Global Forest Watch (GFW) initiative ...

12 Jul 2016 News
HIMAP Author Writeshop Held

HIMAP Author Writeshop Held Hindu Kush Himalayas Monitoring and Assessment Program’s (HIMAP) Coordinating Lead Authors' Writeshop was organised by the ...

29 Apr 2016 News
Glaciology Student Work Presented at ICIMOD

On 8 April 2016, four students in their final year of MS Research in Glaciology shared their thesis progress with ...

18 Apr 2017 News
International Symposium on the Cryosphere in a Changing Climate

The two share their experiences from the event: Inka Koch, Glacier Hydrologist, ICIMOD It was an honour to present our research on ...

4 Jan 2018 News
At The Crossroads takes ICIMOD Prize at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival

Through his subtle yet powerful depiction of the struggles of rural mountain village life in Uttarakhand, India, director Savyasachi Anju ...