Dipecho nepal newsletter issue 9 july 2010

DIPECHO Newsletter Issue 9, July 2010 11111

DIPECHO NewsletterDIPECHO NewsletterIssue 9, July 2010N E P A L

d i t o r i a l

Keeping in line with the international framework for disaster riskreduction, Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015,DIPECHO partners in Nepal are formulating ideas and resourcesto contribute towards the second priority action of HFA - Riskidentification, assessment, monitoring and enhancing early warn-ing. DIPECHO partners have incorporated several early warningcomponents and activities in their project components to helpcommunities at risk to be well prepared and act on time to preventthe loss of life and property.

DIPECHO partners have emphasised all four elements of EWS -risk knowledge, monitoring and warning services, disseminationand communication, and response capabilities. EWS is considereda crucial mechanism to raise awareness on flood risk among thevulnerable communities. EWS warns the people prior to floodand is a reliable mechanism to increase the response capacity of thecommunities.

This edition illustrates few initiatives and actions undertaken byDIPECHO partners under DIPECHO V with special focus onPromoting Early Warning: Reducing Risk.

eIN THIS ISSUE

Training manual on Commu-nity Based Early WarningSystem is being preparedjointly by Practical Action andMercy Corps. The trainingmanual will be available to theDRR practitioners and actorsby September 2010.

Early Warning System Usersworkshop will be held from6th - 8th August in Nepalgunjwhere different stakeholdersfrom community level todistrict and national level willbe participating.

To build the capacity ofDepartment of Hydrologyand Meteorology staff, two ofits senior technical memberswere sent to PAGASA,Philippines for training onFlood Early Warning byPractical Action and MercyCorps.

Practical Action and MercyCorps together in collabora-tion with Department ofHydrology and Meteorologyand Ministry of Home Affairsare currently drafting NationalStrategy for Early warning ofNatural Disasters in Nepal.

Page 2 Community basedflood early warning sys-tem in Nepal by Dr. DilipK. Gautam

Page 3 - Action aid -Early warning: savinglivesPage 4 - CARE -Integrating early warningcommunication in floodrisk reductionPage 5 - Danish RedCross -Efficient informationdissemination forbetter readinessPage 5 - Mission East -Early WarningPage 7 - HandicapInternational -For an early warningsystem that does notdiscriminatePage 8 - Mercy Corps -Increasing knowledge andwarning measuresPage 9 - Oxfam -Linking Community toCommunityPage 11 - Practical Action- Preparedness withearly warning system inplace...

Promoting Early Warning: Reducing RiskPromoting Early Warning: Reducing Risk


stations atBhairahawa,Bagasoti,Kusum andNepalgunj.These stations are equipped with VHF wirelessset and PSTN/mobile phone for data transmis-sion. The forecasting stations at Kusum andDevghat collaborate with the local communities,media and district disaster relief committee toshare flood level data and information of thosestations.

The Flood Forecasting Project of DHM located atBabarmahal, Kathmandu is the central point tocollect, analyse and disseminate flood relateddata and information. The water level andrainfall data from stations with telemetry areobtained in real time through web based dataserver www.hydrology.gov.np.

CBFEWS in West Rapti and Narayani River issuccessful in developing linkages of upstreamflood forecasting station with downstreamcommunities. The efficient information dissemi-nation channel has increased the response timeby several hours and increased the potential ofEWS to reduce the impacts of flood.

DHM collaborated with Practical Action andActionAid to establish CBFEWS in Koshi andSunsari River. As CBFEWS will be expanded toother rivers in the coming years, thesustainability aspect must be considered byeveryone involved. To sustain and grow thenumber of CBFEWS in other flood prone areas,community organisations must approach localand central government agencies to allocate fund.

Community based flood earlywarning system in Nepal

Dr. Dilip K. GautamChief, Flood Forecasting Section,Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nepal

The Community Based Flood Early WarningSystem (CBFEWS) is a “people centered” floodwarning system that empowers individuals andcommunities threatened by flood hazards to acton time to reduce the possibility of personalinjury, loss of life, damage to property, and loss oflivelihood.

Several factors must be considered before estab-lishing a CBFEWS, such as hydrologic character-istics of the area, frequency of flooding,community’s interest and awareness, flood losspotential, warning time versus benefits and costof EWS system and community’s capacity torespond. Once the Local Government Unit (LGU)and the community establish CBFEWS, technicalissues have to be settled such as the desiredaccuracy, warning lead time, cost of operationsand sustainability and reliability of the system.

In Nepal, the Department of Hydrology andMeteorology (DHM) is maintaining a network of17 hydrological stations and 28 meteorologicalstations for the purpose of flood forecasting andwarning. Real time telemetry system has beeninstalled in 3 hydrological and 10 rainfall stationsin the Narayani basin. Such type of telemetrysystem utilises CDMA modem for data transmis-sion over the internet. The system will be ex-panded in West Rapti, Babai, Bagmati andKarnali basins in the coming years.

With the objective of establishing CBFEWS inBanke, Bardiya, Nawalparasi, Chitwan andKailali Districts, DHM has signed a memoran-dum of understanding (MOU) with PracticalAction and Mercy Corps. Within the frameworkof this MOU, DHM is providing water level andrainfall data which is being used for CBFEWS inthese districts.

The flood monitoring devices and instrumentsused in DHM stations include water level andrainfall monitoring devices. Narayani basin has 3hydrological stations and 10 rainfall stations withtelemetry. There are two hydrological sites onWest Rapti Basin under Flood Forecasting Projectof DHM, one at Bagasoti and the other at Kusum.West Rapti Basin has 4 rainfall monitoring


PROMOTING EARLY WARNING:PROMOTING EARLY WARNING:PROMOTING EARLY WARNING:PROMOTING EARLY WARNING:PROMOTING EARLY WARNING:

REDUCING RISKREDUCING RISKREDUCING RISKREDUCING RISKREDUCING RISK


"Because of our community based EWS, we aresafer from the flood. We came to know theflood information six hours before from Kusumhence we had enough time to evacuate to safeshelter. EWS will certainly reduce the possibil-ity of loss of lives and properties." - Mr. KamataPrasad Morya, Coordinator, Early warning taskforce, Gangapur 4/5 Banke during ContingencyPlanning Meet in July 7, 2010.

Upstream visit during CBEWS Training, Banke

Early warning: saving lives

ActionAid Nepal has been promoting to set upcommunity based early warning system(CBEWS) for flood in its project areas-Sunsariand Banke districts. CBEWS is "people-centered"system that empowers individuals and communi-ties threatened by flood to act in sufficient timeand in an appropriate manner so as to reduce thepossibility of personal injury, loss of life, damageto property, environment and loss of livelihood.The initiatives are carried out in close collabora-tion with the community,District DevelopmentCommittee, DistrictAdministration Office,Police and Departmentof Hydrology & Metrol-ogy. Practical Action isthe technical partner ofActionAid Nepal inestablishing EWS.

Under the project, earlywarning task force isformed in all the project areas constituting fivepeople. There are 19 such task forces. Meetingsare organised with the community people atdistrict level to establish and institutionaliseCBEWS. EWS task forces are trained in CBEWS,and are familiarised with the process of gaugereading and information flow at the upstreamlevel. The community people are also equippedwith early warning apparatus like siren and hand

mikes. The knowledge of local people in estab-lishing EWS is explored through interaction andvisit, and duly incorporated while establishingnew gauges and other systems. Hence, theinformation channel between upstream and thecommunity is established.

CBEWS provides the disaster managementcommittee, task forces, volunteers and othercommunity people with advance information on

the flood risks thatcan be readilytranslated to disas-ter prevention,preparedness andresponse actions.CBEWS also helpsreduce economiclosses by allowingpeople to betterprotect their assetsand livelihood.

The project integrated EWS in local level contin-gency plan which strengthened the capacity ofthe communities. The EWS integration willgreatly mitigate the flood impact of these com-munities. The partnership between the localdisaster management committee and the localgovernment will certainly help to institutionalisethe process.



Integrating early warningcommunication in floodrisk reduction

Kailali District stands 19th in the risk of flood,48th in landslide, 24th in fire and 1st in epidemicsamongst other districts in Nepal. Thus, in termsof disaster vulnerability it is considered ex-tremely vulnerable. Kailali has 42 VDCs and 2municipalities among them Lalbhoji VDC isconsidered exceptionally vulnerable to flooding.Lalbhoji is bordered by Mohana River to theSouth and Kandra River to the North and is alsothe confluence point of these two rivers.

Considering the flood vulnerability,SAMADHAN programme was launched in 6communities of Lalbhoji VDC. Early warningtask forces with 4 - 5 members were formed ineach community. The EWS task forces attendedthree days capacity building training on earlywarning and visited the flood measurementstation. The objective of the training was toenhance early warning communication contactpoints and channels for the floods in the area.Task forces were oriented and trained on efficientinformation dissemination to the communitypeople about the increasing water level. A centerpoint was selected to collate information onincreasing flood level in the river. Various stake-holders, VDC members and community memberswere familiarised with the rain fall measuringgauge and other EWS equipments such as handsiren and mike.

On the initiation of Red Cross subdivision, aVDC level collaborative meeting was conducted

to minimise the risk of flood. Red Cross subdivi-sions Lalbhoji is responsible disseminating floodinformation to the villagers to abide the devastat-ing consequences. Telephone number of variousactors on early information flow and floodmeasurement station was pasted in public placesfor easy access by all the community members.The community people have now started tocommunicate river level readings obtained fromthe gauge reader to the downstream communitymembers via telephone.

Recently recorded rainfall reading of 19 and 20July were communicated to the villagers viatelephone and verbally ensuring prior prepared-ness in the community. As mentored during thetraining the EWS task force in the communityhad circulated the information to the communitymembers through hand mike. The first levelwarning was to alert the villagers of the incomingflood. Second level warning was for the people toact on the first warning and to collect importantdocument and dry foods. Third level warningwas to get people to safe places in the highergrounds with their family members, livestockand important belongings. This kind of warningprovided the people of Labhoji VDC with mini-mum 3 – 4 hours of preparedness time savinglives and property. Thus, the proper functioningof EWS task force and timely circulation of floodinformation has resulted in zero human casual-ties and minimal property loss this year inLabhoji VDC.

Efficient informationdissemination forbetter readiness

Accurate and timely information saves lives andcommunity based early warning is an essentialelement of disaster risk reduction initiative;experienced and accepted worldwide. It helps tomitigate loss of life and property and to reducethe severe impact of hazards. Strengthening earlywarning systems (EWS) ensures the efforts madetowards making communities resilient and theaction plans and existing policies are sustainable.

"SAFE – Safer Communities through Multi-Hazard Risk Reduction" project is implementedby Nepal Red Cross Society with support fromDanish Red Cross and is funded by the EuropeanCommission through its Humanitarian AidDepartment. Communities working with SAFEproject are vulnerable to multiple hazards such aslandslide, flash flood and fire due to the geo-climatic condition and other factors caused by



nature or human error. Experience accentuatesthat, after continuous heavy rainfall the skymight be clear but is followed by other hazards,such as flash floods and debris flow. Further,areas recently destroyed by wildfires are particu-larly susceptible to flash floods during rain-storms. Communities living without EWS must atleast have an effective information disseminationmechanism so that relevant messages can bedisseminated on time. People can be alerted bypassing information/warning on the probabilityof hazards based on the trigger indicators. Inlandslide prone areas the communities takeprecautionary measures seeing the triggeringfactors of landslides such as;

Soil moving away from foundations

Leaning telephone poles, trees, retainingwalls or fences

Offset fence lines or retaining walls

New cracks or unusual bulge in the ground orstreet pavement

Sticking doors and windows, and visible openspaces indicating jambs and frames out ofplumb

Tilting or cracking of concrete floors andfoundations

Hoarding boards are placed in strategic locationsin every community showing hazard risks areas,location of vulnerable households and availableresources to tap on the onset of disaster. Commu-nities are comparatively better aware of thehazard risks and the action they need to take

Map showing hazard prone locations in Bigutarcommunity, Okhaldhunga district.

Community leaders meeting at theDisaster Preparedness unit office inTaluwa community in Okhaldhungaafter receiving information on thetriggering indicators for possiblelandslides.

when they receive warning messages. Peopleneed to be aware of the risk factors and adoptmechanisms to reduce the impact of hazardsbecause early warning alone cannot save lives.They have realized that effective early warningsystems are the most obvious way to get thisinformation to populations at risk. The key totheir safety is putting people, not just technology,at the centre of their warning systems!



Early Warning

Early warning in mountainousareas must be addresseddifferently as the types ofhazards and its threats aredifferent. For example address-ing EWS in case of GLOF isvery different compared tolandslide. In case of GLOF, thescale of destruction is large.For many years lots of institu-tions, NGO and governmentbodies and in some case,Monitoring Station and EarlyWarning System were set up toaddress specific GLOF threat.Such system requires heavyinvestments and single VDC oreven a District cannot allocaterequired resources.

In Humla, where Mission East has started aCBDRM project under DIPECHO funding, GLOFis not an issue but landslide is, and it has a majorimpact on the livelihood. But landslides can occurbasically everywhere in mountainous environ-ment, and even if some technical solutions existfor monitoring landslide, it is not realistic toequip every single hazardous slope with it.

Moreover, the few EWS that exists for landslide,such as a cable tight rope between a stable pointand the potentially unstable slope that wouldbreak if land start to move and trigger an alert, isonly recommended for large scale landslide risk.In Humla, a landslide will affect mostly the rareagricultural terraces that provide food to itspopulation, few houses that could be on the way,some livestock and connection path betweencommunities. The cost of a monitoring system isnot affordable owing the little savings it willgenerate, even if the impact for the affectedpopulation can be huge in terms of crops andlivestock loss.

In such context where communities bear littleresources and where minor but numerouslandslides occur, EWS may not be a viablesolution for remote and isolated locations. Thenwhat can we do?

Mission East DIPECHO team is currently lookingat turning some basic landslide monitoringprinciples by training land owner and villagers toassess the level of risk. Basically only 3 indicators

can help measure a landslide risk: slope, vegeta-tion and quantity/intensity of rainfall. Devising asimple toolkit for communities to understand thecauses of landslide, measure the risk as per thegiven indicators (see below box) and to be alert ifthe risk becomes high. All these indicators couldbe an affordable solution which may save house-holds, human lives and livestock.


Main triggers of rainfall induced landslides(source ICIMOD)

There is a direct correlation between theamount of rainfall and the incidence oflandslides:

Cumulative rainfall between 50-100 mmin one day and daily rainfall exceeding 50mm can cause small scale and shallowdebris landslides - LOW RISKCumulative two day rainfall of about 150mm, and daily rainfall of about 100 mmhas a tendency to increase the number oflandslides - MEDIUM RISKCumulative two day rainfall exceeding250 mm, or an average intensity of morethan 8 mm per hour in one day, rapidlyincreases the number of large landslides -HIGH RISK

The type of slope and the slope angle have agreat influence on landslides. Landslidesrarely occur on slopes less than 25°. The largemajority of landslides occur on slopes withangles ranging from 30° to 50°. Presence orabsence of dense vegetation also determines

Risk of destructive landslide in Humla


the likelihood of landslide.

For an early warning systemthat does not discriminate

Under this DIPECHO V Action Plan, HandicapInternational has profited from all opportunitiesbrought by Practical Action and Mercy Corps tolearn, reflect and bring inputs on Early Warning:during the preparatory work and field testing ofthe Training Manual, the presentation andcommenting stages of the draft National EWSStrategy and trainings at community level.

As per mandate and the focus of its DIPECHO Vproject, HI inputs for inclusive EWS have beengiven to EWS designers and implementers toreach all the people at risk. The Hyogo Frame-work for Action invites us to design peoplecentered early warning systems, including all themembers of the community, especially those whoare most vulnerable and most at risk of notacknowledging the warning. The risk occurswhen only a single means of warning is used andwhen people do not participate in DRR activitiesand trainings because of gender, age, socialconsiderations, or physical, intellectual or senso-rial impairment.

A siren that is in place in the centre of the village

will not be heard by somebody who has a totalhearing impairment or who lives in the periphery(as most of Dalit groups do). The meaning of thenoise of a siren may not be understood as awarning by people with intellectual impairment,hearing impairment, young children or isolatedelderly people who have not been involved inawareness sessions.

Two simple ways to enable a people-centeredEWS are: First, participation and involvement ofall segments of the population, including personswith disabilities and other vulnerable or disad-vantaged groups (such as women, elderly people,Dalit groups, etc.), from the stage of the design toimplementation. They are capable of advisingDRR actors as to how they can and should bereached.

Secondly, community-based communicationnetworks can bring solutions to the challenge ofreaching ALL. For example, the design of a“notification tree” for individual notification,based on the community map.It is not more difficult to design and implementan inclusive EWS, but it is more efficient andmore lives are saved.


School level awareness programme on inclusiveness


Increasing knowledge andwarning measures

Mercy Corps in collaboration with Nepal RedCross Society are implementing the secondKailali Disaster Risk Reduction Initiatives as partof DIPECHO Fifth Action Plan. One of the maincomponents of this project is expansion andinstitutionalisation of community based anddistrict EWS introduced as part of the previousDIPECHO supported projects.

Kailali District is characterised by many shortrivers originating from the Siwalik Range (pleaserefer to Map). During monsoon the area experi-ences heavy localised rain storms. The principalthreat in this area is from flash floods, whichfollow intense or prolonged rainfall. These eventsare by definition very fast developing, with nomore than 12 hours and sometimes as little as 1.5hours between the occurrence of precipitationand the flood. It was therefore decided withDepartment of Hydrology and Metrology to pilota low tech flash flood forecasting model suitablefor short river systems in Kailali District and forreplication elsewhere. The model uses historicalknowledge to define a set of warning levels

upstream which indicate a coming flood eventdownstream. The overall idea is to add warningtime for the communities living along the rivers.

CBEWS is now introduced in 16 communitiesalong the Mohana River and its tributaries and isreplicated in a number of neighboring communi-ties. Using a community to community approach,early warning committees established under theprevious project have supported establishment ofCBEWS in project communities. Upstreamobservers trained with project support takereadings of water level and rainfall at gauge sitesalong the rivers and relay them to downstreamcommunities through agreed communicationchannels. Early warning is build into communitycontingency plans and early warning committeesin each community are responsible for the day today management of the systems includingorganisation of simulation and equipment suchas hand operated sirens and megaphones.

Early warning is of high priority for district andVDC stakeholders in Kailali. The Early WarningManagement Committee has therefore developedoverall EWS guidelines for Kailali. The guidelinesinclude day to day management, financialmanagement, emergency telephone numbers,

Wooden pole used for identification of warning

Map of the River Systems in Kailali district



roles and responsibilities ofvarious stakeholders andsustainability. A decision topool funds for the EWS provesthe commitment of the DDCand 32 flood prone VDCs in thedistrict.

Mercy Corps further seeks toput EWS high on the nationaland district agenda throughvarious initiatives in collabora-tion with Practical Action andDHM.

EWS Committee testing siren

Linking Communityto Community

When a community knows ahead of time that adisaster is about to strike, it will respond moreeffectively and will save lives and livelihoods.Under its Risk Reducing programme funded byDIPECHO, Oxfam GB and its local partners(Center for Disaster Management inNawalparasi, Bagmati Sewa Samaj Nepal inSarlahi and Koshi Victim Society in Saptari) haveestablished 12 CBEWs in 28 vulnerable communi-ties of 3 tarai districts in Nepal. These 12 EWSlink communities living on the banks of theJarahi and Lakhandehi rivers.

The upstream communities observe the waterlevel in the rivers using flood markers to deter-mine the level of risk. The risk is ranked into 3categories: high, medium and low. These catego-ries are initially determined through discussionsbetween the communities during exchange visitsand is based on past flood experiences. Duringthe dry season, the water level is below the lowEarly Warning Task Force sounding siren during the

mock drill in Rampur, Maleniya VDC, Saptari District



risk level and every subsequent increase iscommunicated by phone to the downstreamcommunities. This information is disseminatedwithin the communities by Early Warning Taskforce communities equipped with sirens, mega-phones and loudspeakers. A system of colourcoded flags is used to notify the hearing im-paired.

Oxfam GB and its local partners facilitatedcommunity discussions to establish the EWS. Asa component of the Community Response Plansthe EWS are designed and monitored by theDMC of the downstream communities. Prior tothe monsoon season, these plans, including theEWS were tested and practiced through mockdrills in all 12 communities. The performance ofthe EWS will be evaluated after the monsoonseason to increase its effectiveness.

With the Establishment of this EWS, we are betterprepared and our losses will be minimised"- RajendraMishra, Chairperson of DMC, Khadauna VDC,Nawalparasi District

Flood marker placed at Rampura VDC,Nawalparasi district



Preparedness withearly warning system inplace...

With the aspiration of doing something for thecommunity Fulbasiya Tharu, 38 yrs old womenof Padnaha VDC-ward no. 8- Barbatta is beingoccupied in social work by getting involved as awomen volunteer. She is also a member of “BabaiPragatisheel Prokop Byawasthapan Sameete”, adisaster management committee.

Barbatta community is situated near Babai River.Hence, the danger of flood every monsoon is alooming fear in this community.

“In 1995, heavy rain poured for two days con-tinuously. Around 3 am my house was flooded.That night, my husband Taratal had been out forwork and could not return because of heavyrainfall. My children were small so I was baffled.I had to save my children, store food and otherassets and ultimately save myself. Since I couldnot save food we had a big problem. Although Isaved my children during flood I was not sure if Icould save them after the flood for long time”recalls Fulbasiya with tears.

When asked what she knew about preparednessfor flood she said, “Deep down I always thoughtthat we should have been prepared but theprediction we made by observing the river andclouds often went in despair and we alwayssuffered. She further adds, “When I heard aboutSEWIN project which came with the aim ofraising awareness on preparedness through floodearly warning system, I felt like this program wasmeant for our community. I felt like I should be apart of it to help the entire community be pre-pared so that they will not have to lose theirloved ones and their belongings.”

Fulbasiya is responsible for ringing the handsiren to warn the community after receivinginformation on the water level from the up-stream. She has participated in several trainingsand has also visited Chepang the upstream floodmonitoring station to see the devices that mea-sure the water level. She has access to telephonenumbers of the gauge reader, local police stationand other stakeholders whom she can call if shefeels that there is a danger of flooding. Whenthey confirm that water level is high in theupstream, she will ring the siren to warn thecommunity of the impeding flood.


“We will have at least 5 - 6 hours for preparation.Everyone will have ample time to collect food,important documents and help each other to getto the shelter. We have contributed our time andlabor for construction of shelter, machan, cul-verts, and toilets,” explains Fulbasiya.

Like Fulbasiya there are other women volunteerswho visit people in their houses and explain tothem the benefits of EWS and the danger associ-ated with flood. These volunteers also informcommunity people on EWS activities that raiseawareness on floods through street drama, songcompetition, trainings and rallies.

“I am very happy to be a part of this programme.Even though this program ends the knowledgethat we have will always remain with us. Know-ing that there is early warning system in place Ifeel safe and I no longer have to worry aboutflood” she adds with full confidence.

Fulbasiya with siren


This thematic newsletter has been produced by DIPECHO projects in Nepal with support from theEuropean Commission through its Humanitarian Aid department. The contents and information hasbeen provided by the DIPECHO partners - Action Aid, CARE, Danish Red cross, Handicap Interna-tional, Mercy Corps, Mission East Nepal, Oxfam GB, and Practical Action. This issue is edited andcirculated by Practical Action on behalf of DIPECHO partners in Nepal.

To know more about DIPECHO projects, please contact Luc Verna for DG ECHO/DIPECHO [email protected] and respective project Managers at [email protected] (ActionAid), [email protected] (CARE), [email protected] (Danish Red Cross), dppm@hi nepal.org(Handicap International), [email protected] (mercy Corps),[email protected] (Mission East Nepal), [email protected] (Oxfam GB) [email protected] (Practical Action).


Communities and district stakeholders learning about upstream river station. Practical Action SEWIN

E a r l y W a r n i n g f o r a l l f r o m a l l

Dipecho nepal newsletter issue 9 july 2010

Education

warning time

early warning corps

early warningearly warning

early warning ofby

warning services

downstream warning

warning lead time

flood level data