HIGRID Project
Community-Based Flood Early Warning Systems in Khando and Gagan rivers, providing vital flood alerts to downstream communities in Nepal and Bihar, India.
Location
Khando River (Saptari) and Gagan River (Siraha District)
Partners
- ICIMOD
- Sustainable Eco Engineering
- Yuganter (India)
About the Program
ICIMOD in collaboration with Samunnati Krishi has implemented Community Based Flood Early Warning Systems in the Khando River at Saptari and Gagan river at Siraha District in Nepal. CBFEWS provides early warning information from the upstream communities to downstream communities. Through such advance digital information, and preparedness, communities are prepared for the upcoming floods.
The system has been effective in providing early warning information and has been acknowledged by the communities and local stakeholders (DDRC, Palikas) as an effective system. With the experience gained by ICIMOD working together with Samunnati Krishi to pilot the sustainability model that created a local level institutional mechanism for the operation and maintenance of the system.
This innovative approach combines traditional knowledge with modern technology to create a robust early warning system that serves communities on both sides of the Nepal-India border, demonstrating the power of cross-border collaboration in disaster risk management.
Key Activities
- 1Regular maintenance of water level monitoring equipment
- 2Updating and testing of dissemination and communication channels
- 3Practicing and enhancing response capability and resilience
- 4Cross-border information sharing with Bihar, India
- 5Installing telemetric flood monitoring devices