Improved Flood Preparedness and Community-based Early Warnings Needed in Nepal

A group of people walk through a muddy, debris-filled street in a residential area, with damaged buildings and clouds in the sky.

WMO field visit following severe flooding in Nepal on 28 September

On 28 September, heavy monsoon rains triggered severe flooding that devastated several regions of Nepal. Overflowing rivers caused landslides and inundated landholdings, homes and infrastructure. Hundreds of families were displaced and many communities were unreachable due to damaged roads and bridges. Kathmandu, the nation’s capital, was not spared, it recorded some 240 mm of precipitation, breaking a record that had held for 54 years. The widespread devastation highlighted the critical need for understandable, actionable impact-based early warnings that reach the most vulnerable communities.

A group of people stand and talk outside a building, with one person taking notes.

The WMO team recording the impacts of the flood on the community

Following the floods, WMO conducted a field visit to Kathmandu on 5 October, with the assistance of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) of Nepal, to discuss the events of 28 September with the impacted communities. They observed that many houses that had been constructed along riverbanks without flood protection structures were damaged. They sought a better understanding of how they could help the communities to better prepare and act when facing such threats. The WMO team met with the director of a private hospital, a local politician and the chair of local health services who shared their experiences and the impact of the flood on their community:

The Emergency section of the private hospital, which had not been built as per government standards for flood hazard, was submerged, resulting in the evacuation of several patients
The hospital itself is facing major economic losses from damages but reported no casualties
The possibility of temporarily displacing people at risk was significantly hampered by road blockage
Electricity and drinking water access was cut-off during the flood
Waterborne diseases posed a high risk following the flood.

DMH and other stakeholders also highlighted several key areas for improvement:

At the national level, a tailored impact-based flood forecasting system is urgently needed – it is big gap in Nepal’s early warning system. There are also gaps in coordination, which prevents vital early warnings from reaching various sectors, such as health and transportation, in a timely manner. Warnings to municipalities should be issued with a minimum 24-hour lead time to allow for better preparedness and evacuation measures.
At the community level, there is a need to educate vulnerable groups about the impacts of flooding, how and where to receive warnings, and how to prepare should flooding suddenly occur.

A group of people, some seated under a canopy, are engaged in conversation. A woman in a uniform is at the centre, and others are attentively listening.

Members of the community share their flood experiences

Following the field visit, WMO will be organizing knowledge and awareness training sessions on integrated flood management for the affected community members. The training will be tailored to address the gaps that were identified and to strengthen community-based flood management and response capabilities. Flood warnings signs or markers will also be installed on houses with the support of community representatives. This will be done through the CREWS EW4All multi-stakeholder accelerator in LDCs and SIDS project.

The field visit was funded through the Adaptation Fund as part of efforts developing the HydroSOS Bangladesh & Nepal project.