25 Jun 2018 | Cryosphere

CMP-B professionals trained on HEC-RAS Flood Modelling

A weeklong training on flood modelling using Hydrologic Engineering Center – River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) was recently organized in Kathmandu from 23 to 27 April 2018 for professionals from Bhutan’s National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). As part of the training, participants learned the basics of HEC-RAS flood models. They modeled Bhutan’s Phochu River Basin flood and developed flood inundation maps for the Punatshangchu basin.

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The training participants and resource persons with Arun Bhakta Shrestha, Regional Programme Manager, River Basins and Cryosphere, and Anna Sinisalo, Programme Coordinator, Cryosphere Initiative. Photo: Jitendra Bajracharya

ICIMOD is currently supporting a socio-economic and vulnerability assessment of the Punatshangchu basin as part of the Cryosphere Monitoring Programme Bhutan (CMP-B), which is being implemented by the NCHM. CMP-B aims to implement long-term cryosphere monitoring and data collection in Bhutan and has enhanced the competence of national partners through trainings on field-based data collection and remote sensing. The inundation maps developed during the training gathered important information for communities downstream of the Punatshangchu basin, including flood travel time, maximum flood height, and potential flood risk areas, which will be used in the assessment.