Forecasting System for Flood Warnings in Bangladesh
A forecasting system has been developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Georgia Institute of Technology, USA to warn thousands of residents in selected flood-prone regions of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the world's most vulnerable regions to floods. Rising waters in the recent past have left dozens of people dead and several million marooned or displaced. The pilot program began with the aim of delivering 1- to 10-day forecasts directly to more than 100,000 people living on floodplains of the Brahmaputra and Ganges rivers, and then expanding to reach additional residents. It predicted the floods a few days in advance, alerting a network of volunteers in Bangladesh to notify residents at risk. The system uses a combination of weather forecast models, satellite observations, river gauges, and new hydrologic modeling techniques. It is part of a larger initiative, known as Climate Forecast Applications in Bangladesh (CFAB), to improve flood and precipitation warnings in the low-lying nation. Almost every other year in recent decades, the Brahmaputra and Ganges rivers have flooded for periods ranging from a few days to a month or more, often with devastating results for local residents. Farmers and fishers can easily lose a year's worth of income in a single flood. Residents of the largely impoverished districts in the forecast area have said that advance notice of floods could help them ward off some of the worst impacts of rising waters. If they had sufficient warning, they could harvest at least a portion of their ripening crops, move some livestock to safety, encircle fish ponds with nets to prevent fish from escaping, and stock food and other supplies. The goal here is to help very local, grassroots economies. The forecasts also alert relief agencies to prepare to bring in drinking water, cholera tablets, and other essentials in case of a major flood. The forecasting system emphasizes modeling and satellite data to compensate for a lack of river gauge data upstream of Bangladesh, as well as for a lack of radar data. It is updated daily with new model runs and measurements. The team is also studying the feasibility of applying this forecasting technology and methods to other vulnerable countries, such as Cambodia and Vietnam. For further details contact: National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) P.O. Box 3000 Boulder, CO 80307-5000 USA Tel: (303) 497-1000
Sector: Disaster Management and Mitigation
Country: India
Area of Application: Flood prone regions of Bangladesh
Keywords: Flood warnings in Bangladesh, Forecasting system
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Development Status: Pilot Plant
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Transfer Terms: Consultancy , Technical Services , Others
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City: New Delhi
Country: India
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