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

Leveraging Collaboration for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Koshi Basin

Scientists, practitioners, and decision makers working in the Koshi Basin reached consensus on the need to further strengthen regional collaboration ...

13 Sep 2019 Cryosphere
Towards data-driven hydropower development in Nepal

Countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region have been endowed with immense hydropower generation potential, but the changing climate and ...

19 Feb 2016 News
Visiting Climate Smart Village

  A high-level delegation visited ICIMOD and CEAPRED’s pilot implementation on climate smart villages (CSV) in Patlekhet and Kalchebesi in Kavrepalanchok ...

15 May 2017 SANDEE
Solar drier to reduce human dependency on forest resources in Mizoram, India

As a measure to promote value addition in agricultural practices on farmlands, the project has supported local communities in the ...

10 Jun 2016 News
Heat Measurement Campaigns Ongoing In India, Pakistan And Bangladesh

Extreme heat conditions in South Asia are making the headlines for the second year in a row (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/20/india-records-its-hottest-day-ever-as-temperature-hits-51c-thats-1238f?). The HI-AWARE ...

13 Jan 2020 Cryosphere
Long-term cryosphere monitoring programme in Pakistan seeks to understand and protect glaciers

ICIMOD’s Cryosphere Initiative – supported by the Government of Norway and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – has ...

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 ...

Homestay Congress 2020: Pioneering dialogue for regional homestay development in the Kangchenjunga Landscape

Homestays serve as an essential aspect of rural tourism in the Kangchenjunga Landscape (KL). They integrate sustainable resource utilization (especially ...