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International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Kathmandu, Nepal
Managing Disasters,
Sustaining Development:
A narrative of the fragile
Hindu Kush Himalayas
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Kathmandu, Nepal
The Himalayas are prone to
disasters
Disaster statistics from 1990-2012
Hindu Kush Himalayan region
The region has had an average of
76 disaster events each year.
On average, more than 36,000
people are killed and 178 million affected each year due to
natural disasters in the region.
Source: EM-DAT – The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database
Cum
ula
tive d
isaste
r eve
nt
One-third of these disasters
are floods
Transboundary floods - shared vulnerability across national borders
So
urc
e:
Ind
iaL
oo
kU
p.in
Types of floods in the HKH
region
Types of Floods
Riverine Floods Flash Floods
- Landslide dam outburst floods - Glacial lake outburst floods - Rapid snow melt - Cloudbursts
Flash floods result
in higher mortality
rates
Flood
Landslide/Avalanche
Famine
Water rel. Epidemic
Drought
Jonkman, 2005
Water-related hazards
Floods are often transboundary
• Transboundary rivers – shared
vulnerability across national borders
• Lack of exchange of real-time data
especially across national boundaries
– inadequate lead time
• Diversity of technical, scientific, and
institutional know-how
• Some bilateral agreements/treaties
exist
• Opportunity for regional cooperation to
prevent disasters
Transboundary floods have
greater impact on lives and
property
Globally, 10% of all floods are transboundary, and they cause over 30%
of all flood casualties and account for close to 60% of all those displaced
by floods.
Bakker, 2006
Lack of information,
little preparation
• 9 April 2000: Landslide blocked
the Yigong River, a tributary of
the Yarlung Zangbo
(Brahmaputra) River
• Outburst on 10 June 2000
created a huge flash flood of up
to 1.26x105 m3/s
• Extensive damage, but no
casualties in China
• In India, heavy causalities
- 30 dead
- >100 missing
- >50,000 homeless
- damage of USD 22.9 million
Data sharing can save
lives and property
• Data sharing agreement developed between India
and China in 2002
• 22 June 2004: Landslide blocked the Pareechu River
in Tibet (upper reaches of Sutlej River)
• Lake volume - 79,180,000 m3
• Chinese authorities communicated to their Indian
counterparts well before and when the breach
occurred
• 56 villages along the Sutlej from Kinnaur to Bilaspur
were identified as at risk
• The dam burst on 25 June 2005
• The direct cost of flood damage was an estimated
USD 200 million
• There were no human casualties because of prior
communication from the upstream country
1 month after
landslide
2.5 months after
landslide
After landslide
dam outburst
Koshi Floods 2008:
Embankment breach
Source: www.disasterscharter.org
Lessons learned from disasters
• Data gaps
• End-to-end information systems
• Proper infrastructure planning and
management
• Overarching need for transboundary
cooperation
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Kathmandu, Nepal
Challenges and solutions
Data gaps
• High-altitude monitoring stations are sparse
• Limited transboundary data sharing
Monitoring station distribution
Satellite rainfall
estimates fill data gaps
• Sparse density –
inadequate
hydrometeorological
stations
• Delay in data
transmission
• Inadequate lead time –
absence of data
sharing across
transboundary borders
Flood modelling to fill data
gaps
HKH-HYCOS: Setting up monitoring
stations and establishment of real-time
flood information systems
‘Making Information Travel Faster Than Flood Waters’
Establishment of a Regional
Flood Information System in the
HKH-Region - Timely exchange of
flood data and information through
an accessible and user friendly
platform
HYCOS is a vehicle for technology transfer,
training, and capacity building
Drawing on regional
experience: Mekong HYCOS
Mekong River Commission (MRC) is the intergovernmental agency for joint management of shared water resources and sustainable development of the Mekong River.
Mekong HYCOS network • Cambodia - 12
• Lao PDR - 12
• Thailand - 11
• Vietnam - 12
• China - 2
Total: 49 stations
• Provides flood situation information to national agencies every 15 minutes
• Flood management and mitigation programme for flood forecasting
Designing end-to-end flood
information system
Control Unit
Flood Gauge
Rain Gauge
Flood Early Warning System “AL6M”
Manufactured by
Sustainable Eco Engineering Pvt. LtdPatan, Lalitpur -16, Nepal
Low-tech, low cost, community-
based flood early warning system in
Assam
ICIMOD’s state-of-the-art MODIS receiving facility
helps provide timely data for various applications,
including early flood and fire detection
MODIS receiving facility MODIS images are used for national
and regional level mapping including
rapid response mapping after a flood
event.
Visit http://geoportal.icimod.org/realtime/modis.aspx# to visualize MODIS image.
Application: MODIS-based Forest Fire
Detection and Monitoring System
• Developed by ICIMOD in close collaboration
with Department of Forests, Nepal.
• Launched in March 2012 with SMS and
email fire alert features.
• Sends fire notifications within 20 minutes of
the Terra/Aqua satellite overpass.
Need for proper infrastructure
planning: GLOFs and Hydropower
• About 56 GLOF events in the
HKH region to date
• Potentially dangerous lakes
located upstream of
settlements and major
infrastructure
• Transboundary GLOFs: 10
of 24 GLOF events in Nepal
originated in China
• Transboundary approach is
crucial to address and
manage the issue
Example: Koshi Basin
Flood information system in the
Koshi
• Koshi Basin: 10
hydrometeorological
stations transmitting
real-time data
• Flood outlook products
being developed to
support flood
forecasting
GLOF in Sun Koshi sub-basin
• Zhangzangbo-cho lake has burst twice in 1964 and 1981.
• The largest burst discharge in 1981 was 1600 m3/s
• The amount of released water was about 19x106 m3
• This GLOF caused enormous damage in Nepal, which includes complete destruction of friendship Bridge, and two other bridges extensive damage to the road and damage to the diversion weir of Sun Koshi Hydropower Project.
Real-time hydrometeorological
stations
• Use of latest technology for data collection for example in the Baharabise station
• Transmission (mobile phone using CDMA/ GSM, satellite communication)
• Establishment of national flood information systems
GLOF risk assessment is now standard procedure for the feasibility study of
hydropower in Nepal (e.g. Tama Koshi, Tamor, etc.)
Communities
at Risk
Conclusion
• Need for end-to-end information systems
– Hi-tech to low-tech
– Science to government to community
• Infrastructure planning
– Identify risks and vulnerabilities
• Mountain specific planning
• Transboundary information sharing
– Sharing mechanisms
• Underpinned by regional cooperation
Thank you Thank you