Community Flood Early Warning Systems Across Nepal's River Basins

Since piloting its first community-based flood early warning system on the Rapti river in 2002, Practical Action has helped Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology build out community-based early warning systems now operating across eight major river basins, including the Karnali, Koshi, Narayani and Bagmati. Local volunteers read upstream gauges and relay alerts by phone and siren to downstream communities, work that has pushed lead times on the Karnali from just 2-3 hours to 7-8 hours — enough time for families to move people, livestock and belongings to safety. The model has since been adapted for cyclone and flood alerts in Bangladesh, where a joint disaster-alert app reached 75,000 households during Cyclone Remal in 2024.