Timely flood warnings for downstream Nepal and India

ICIMOD

By: Giovanni Ortolani

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Timely flood warnings for downstream Nepal and India</h1>
<h4>By: Giovanni Ortolani</h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><iframe loading="lazy" frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" data-src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/247012887&color=e10000&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=false&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" class="lazyload" data-load-mode="1"></iframe><em>If you are unable to listen to this audio, please update your browser or <a href="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/247012887/download?client_id=cUa40O3Jg3Emvp6Tv4U6ymYYO50NUGpJ">click here to download [6.6MB]</a>.</em></p>
<p>[KATHMANDU] Communities in flood-prone areas often do not have access to information about flood forecasting. As a result, they do not have sufficient time to evacuate and put their <a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/agriculture/livestock/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">cattle</a> and belongings in a safe area. The new Community-Based Flood Early Warning system, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)’s new initiative, now allows communities downstream to access almost real-time information about the <a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/environment/water/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">water</a> level upstream.</p>
<p>The system is cheap (at US$1,000) and the <a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/enterprise/technology/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">technology</a> simple. A solar-charged transmitter has a flood gauge set up on a river, and a receiver has a control unit installed in a household on the riverbank. As the water rises, the electronic sensors produce an alarm, which is communicated to the receiver through a wireless device. A caretaker observes the risk level and sends a flood-warning message via mobile phone. The message is relayed to the focal person living in flood-prone downstream villages, the project team and the district <a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/environment/disasters/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">disaster</a> management authorities, who further disseminate the information to the <a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/governance/vulnerability/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">vulnerable</a> communities further downstream.<div class="related_widget"><h3 class="widgettitle">You might also like</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/news/nepali-farmers-get-climate-smart/">Nepali farmers get climate-smart</a></li><li><a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/news/knowledge-platform-on-brahmaputra-river-basin/">Knowledge platform on Brahmaputra river basin</a></li><li><a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/news/satellite-boosts-flood-prediction-in-bangladesh/">Satellite boosts flood prediction in Bangladesh</a></li><li><a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/multimedia/rising-above-floods-in-bangladesh/">Rising above floods in Bangladesh</a></li></ul></div>Communities along some 45 flood-prone villages downstream of Jiadhal and Singora rivers in India are already benefitting from the service and have an average lead time of one or two hours to prepare for the rising waters. In 2014 the system was among <a href="http://unfccc.int/secretariat/momentum_for_change/items/8688.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">winners</a> of the UN Climate Change secretariat's Lighthouse Activity Award, which recognises <a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/enterprise/innovation/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">innovative</a> and transformative solutions that address <a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/environment/climate-change/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate change</a> and wider economic, social and <a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/environment/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">environmental</a> challenges. </p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/" target="_parent" rel="noopener noreferrer">This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s South Asia desk.</a></em></p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/multimedia/timely-flood-warnings-for-downstream-nepal-and-india/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/multimedia/timely-flood-warnings-for-downstream-nepal-and-india/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

If you are unable to listen to this audio, please update your browser or click here to download [6.6MB].

[KATHMANDU] Communities in flood-prone areas often do not have access to information about flood forecasting. As a result, they do not have sufficient time to evacuate and put their cattle and belongings in a safe area. The new Community-Based Flood Early Warning system, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)’s new initiative, now allows communities downstream to access almost real-time information about the water level upstream.

The system is cheap (at US$1,000) and the technology simple. A solar-charged transmitter has a flood gauge set up on a river, and a receiver has a control unit installed in a household on the riverbank. As the water rises, the electronic sensors produce an alarm, which is communicated to the receiver through a wireless device. A caretaker observes the risk level and sends a flood-warning message via mobile phone. The message is relayed to the focal person living in flood-prone downstream villages, the project team and the district disaster management authorities, who further disseminate the information to the vulnerable communities further downstream.

Communities along some 45 flood-prone villages downstream of Jiadhal and Singora rivers in India are already benefitting from the service and have an average lead time of one or two hours to prepare for the rising waters. In 2014 the system was among winners of the UN Climate Change secretariat's Lighthouse Activity Award, which recognises innovative and transformative solutions that address climate change and wider economic, social and environmental challenges.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s South Asia desk.