Back to news
24 Jul 2018 | CBFEWS

Communities in Four Countries Gear Up to Fight Floods

1 min Read

70% Complete
Participants installing and testing the CBFEWS instrument

At least four communities across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) are better prepared to fight floods this year. Floods and flash floods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya cause considerable loss of lives and property in downstream communities, particularly during the monsoon. To address such flood risks and to enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and its partner organizations have set up community-based flood early warning systems (CBFEWS). A CBFEWS is an integrated system of tools and plans to detect and respond to flood emergencies that is managed by communities. ICIMOD has developed a people-centric CBFEWS that emphasizes four essential elements of early warning systems: risk knowledge and scoping, community based monitoring and early warning, dissemination and communication, and response capability and resilience.

ICIMOD provided flood monitoring devices and established CBFEWS with its partners in Assam and Bihar in India; Mahottari, Nepal, Baghlan in Afghanistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. ICIMOD will establish another CBFEWS in the Kabul River basin in Afghanistan and provide technical support to Oxfam Nepal to establish a CBFEWS in the Mahakali River basin of Nepal.

ICIMOD conducted its third regional hands-on training on CBFEWS from 14 to 18 May 2018. Eighteen participants comprising of caretakers, flood warning recipients, representatives from local government and non-governmental organizations, and members of CBFEWS implementing communities and organizations were trained on installing and using the flood monitoring device and establishing CBFEWS. The course provided technical know-how as well as conceptual knowledge about planning for CBFEWS holistically and concentrated on the use of a flood early warning device designed by ICIMOD with support from Sustainable Eco Engineering (SEE). The device has seen significant upgrades since its first introduction in 2008. The device started as a simple wired device that triggered an alarm during high flows; it now features a telemetric system that reads, records, and transmits water level data in real time. The ability to provide lead time has also increased significantly as a result.

The CBFEWS activity in Afghanistan is supported by the Government of Australia under the Sustainable Water Resource Management in Afghanistan (SWaRMA) programme. In Nepal and India, it is supported by the Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio (SDIP) for South Asia under the Koshi Basin Programme, and in Pakistan, under the Indus Basin Initiative. The governments of Norway and Sweden also provide support in India (Assam) through the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme.

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 content

Continue exploring this topic

20 Mar 2015 News
Consolidating the Himalaya-Third Pole Circle

Initiating and sustaining dialogue and collaboration on the challenges of climate change was at the heart of the ...

23 Sep 2015 News
Upper Indus Basin Network Meeting

ICIMOD and its partner organisations of the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) Network — Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Water and Power Development Authority ...

Regional workshop discusses application of future climate projections in South Asia

The regional workshop, organized by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Met Office, the UK’s national ...

29 Jun 2017 Climate change
REDD+ Experts Meet at the Ministry of Climate Change in Pakistan

Broadly, the meeting paved the way forward for creating synergies and future lines of action in the context of REDD+ ...

31 Mar 2015 News
Partners Refine Strategy for Upper Indus Basin Initiative

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) organized the first Upper Indus Basin (UIB) Strategic Committee Meeting in Lahore ...

Yak Festival 2017

The festival took place in Phalelung rural municipality in Panchthar district, an area bordering Sikkim and the Indian territory of ...

1 Mar 2015 News
Second Workshop on Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP)

Perceiving Drivers of Change as the key global issues and trends driving change in the HKH Region, International Centre for ...

Haa Summer Festival Showcases Local Culture for Tourism Promotion

Haa Valley is a pilot site of the Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KLCDI) of the International Centre for ...