‘Early flood warning system needs to be updated’

Flood is a common phenomenon in Bangladesh, but its impacts are homogenous across the country. Although the early warning system for cyclones has improved and is effective, challenges still remain for flood early warning systems.

Since chars are away from the mainland, these warning messages hardly reach the hard-to-reach and underserved communities, experts says in a round table in the city on Monday organized by Friendship NGO jointly with the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and RSS-Hydro.

The topic dealt with 'Flood Inundation Modelling to Improve Flood Disaster Resilience in Bangladesh'. The round table was chaired by Runa Khan, Founder, and Executive Director, of Friendship, says a press release.
It was inaugurated by Nazmul Ahsan, Secretary of, the Ministry of Water Resources, and Md. Kamrul Hasan ndc, Secretary, of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief was chief guest.

Among others Ms. Anna Orlandini, Head of the office, DG ECHO BGD, Delegation of the European Union of Bangladesh, Md. Mohsin, Senior Partnership Advisor, (Government Engagement), World Food Program spoke.

Malik Fida A Khan, Executive Director, CEGIS,  Marco Chini, Scientist, Luxemburg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and Representatives of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), Department of Agriculture Extension, ADB, Practical Action, Rimes, Institute of Water Modelling (IWM and many other also spoke,

In the Northern riverine (chars) region of Bangladesh, a combination of erosion and sedimentation processes led to constant changes in the morphology of the floodplains which led to disappearance of islands and significant soil properties.

In these regions, floods wreak havoc washing away houses and crops and deepening existing inequalities and injustices.

Although an early warning system for cyclones has improved and is effective, challenges still remain for flood early warning systems.
 
Inadequate access to up-to-date information, state-of-the-art monitoring and prediction technologies, and partial understanding of the risk are some of the major factors hampering disaster risk reduction in Bangladesh.  

The discussion was based on improving flood disaster resilience through retrieving flood-related information from multi-source remote sensing data and integrating such information into an operational decision support system.

It was participated by experts, Government officials from relevant departments, NGO practitioners, officials from the European Commission Humanitarian Office (echo), and other relevant stakeholders.

A team of foreign experts from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and RSS-Hydro will be taking the lead in conducting the scientific research and Friendship will implement the prevention plan and relief and rehabilitation through engaging vulnerable communities and local authorities.