Flood Early Warning Systems in Nepal: State-of-the-art, advantages, and opportunities

Nepal ranks tenth highest country in the world in terms of exposure to fluvial (riverine) flooding[1]. Every year, during the monsoon season - June through September - fluvial flooding causes loss and damage to buildings and infrastructure, and causalities in Nepal, particularly in the flat Terai region. The hilly and mountainous regions are prone to flash-floods, flood-induced landslides, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF). To save lives and livelihoods, and minimize loss and damage, flood early warning systems have been installed in the major flood prone basins across the country. Although community-based flood early warning has existed for many decades, if not centuries, formalization of the flood early warning systems (FEWS) began in the 1990s for GLOF and in 2002 for fluvial and pluvial flooding. During the last two decades, FEWS have helped governments and communities to shift from a reactive approach to a proactive, people-centered approach to flood risk management. A shift from "watch and warn" to web-based telemetric systems and people-centered citizen science has improved both flood warning accuracy and lead times for vulnerable communities. This research explores how flood early warning systems have evolved, improved, and become instrumental in saving lives and livelihoods, and reducing flood damage in Nepal. We will discuss advantages and benefits of different FEWS, and identify opportunities and gaps to improve the system further.

[1] https://www.wri.org/insights/worlds-15-countries-most-people-exposed-river-floods