Back to news
18 Feb 2015 | News

ICIMOD and Aaranyak monitor and improve the CBFEWS in Assam, India

A technical team comprising ICIMOD and Aaranyak staff revisited the installation sites for the community-based Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) in Assam in August 2014. The FEWS had been installed along the Jiadhal and Singora rivers in the Eastern Brahmaputra Sub-basin in coordination with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Dhemaji in Assam, under the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) component of the Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP). Each of the eight installations was carried out after conducting a risk, hazard and vulnerability assessment of the areas.

1 min Read

70% Complete
A delegation from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) visited ICIMOD to discuss current and prospective areas for collaboration with ICIMOD.
The team assessed and modified the existing equipment at the installation sites in Dihiri and Kekuri villages in Dhemaji district. They further augmented the existing equipment with a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) enabled unit, so that flood alerts could be shared immediately via Short Messaging service (SMS).  Additionally, the team trained the Aaranyak field staff and local caretakers in its use and maintenance.
The day after the installation, a warning message was received from the system  in the middle of the night.

As part of the field visit, the team also visited downstream communities and interviewed local people regarding the communication networks and effectiveness of the installed FEWS. The local people said that the information received from the CBFEWS is very useful to them for preparing for a flood.

Following the successful installation and testing of the FEWS, the team briefly met with the deputy commissioners and district project officers for disaster management of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts. They delivered a brief presentation on the community-based flood early warning system (CBFEWS) piloted in the Jiadhal River and Sigora River, and proposed institutionalizing the system under the District Disaster Management Authority. The deputy commissioners of both districts showed keen interest in the idea.

The DRR component of HICAP has been continuously monitoring and augmenting the Community-based FEWS in the two rivers and is considering extending the network across other rivers in the eastern Brahmaputra River Basin, which is prone to incessant flooding.

2
3
1. The FEWS modified by the team is now in place Photo: Sundar Rai/ICIMOD 2. Taking stock of the FEWS equipment prior to installation Photo: Sagar Bajracharya/ICIMOD 3. The team gives a presentation on FEWS to the deputy commissioner of Dhemaji district Photo: Narendra/ICIMOD

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 CONTENTS

Continue exploring this topic

Strengthening Farmers’ Knowledge on “Animal Nutrition and Health Care for Improving Dairy Production” in the Kangchenjunga Landscape, India

From 16-18 November 2017, around 50 dairy farmers from Ribdi-Gorkhey, India, convened in Ribdi for a three-day hands-on training and ...

ICIMOD DDG Eklabya Sharma speaks at the 19th Popular Lecture Series hosted by GB Pant Institute in India

GBPNIHESD initiated the Himalayan Popular Lecture series to understand and get views and opinions on complex mountain socio-ecological systems from ...

25 Dec 2015 News
ICIMOD Scientists Contribute to Managing Energy, Water and Food Security Challenges in Pakistan

The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) organized the 31st Annual General Meeting and Conference of the 

28 Jul 2015 News
Training focuses on vegetable products for Bhutan

The Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation (Himalica) programme has been implementing a pilot project at Barshong Geog of Tsirang ...

11 Apr 2016 News
Pakistan’s Minister of State Visits ICIMOD Projects

Minister of State, Pakistan and Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Marvi Memon paid a visit to women farmers ...

8 May 2015 News
ICIMOD’s earthquake response task force maps potential helicopter landing sites

A team of GIS and remote sensing experts at ICIMOD are mapping possible helicopter landing sites for village development committees ...

18 Mar 2022 News
Experts discuss policy perspectives on air pollution solutions with young business entrepreneurs from Bhutan and Nepal

On 4 February 2022, as part our Climate Action4Clean Air (CA4CA) programme, our partners

11 Dec 2015 News
The Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas: Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources in Five of Asia’s Major River Basins

The first atlas of its kind, this new publication offers a comprehensive, regional understanding of the changing climate ...