Banglalink, CEGIS to implement early flood warning project
FE Report | Wednesday, 2 July 2008
banglalink and Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) started the second phase of the early flood warning dissemination project recently.
This is a continuation of banglalink's support to CEGIS for disseminating early flood warning started in August 2007. Last year it communicated to 500 disaster managers and community covering 400 thousand people in two upazilas in two districts.
This year, it increases to 2,200 disaster managers and community in 12 upazilas in 8 districts covering 1.4 million highly vulnerable population.
From a survey conducted by CEGIS in the pilot area on the first phase of the project, it was found that 66 per cent of the community people got the early flood warning information from the flags raised by the disaster managers in the locality while 34 per cent received the information from other media.
Riverside Technology Inc, USA and CEGIS, jointly developed a flood early warning model named WATSURF using FFWC forecast, to calculate change in flood water level 1-2-3 days in advance along with a early warning communication and dissemination mechanism under a project titled 'Community-based Flood Information System (CFIS)'.
However it had been a financial challenge for CEGIS to make sure that the disaster managers receive the early flood warning message in time. With the help of banglalink, now it has became possible for CEGIS to send the early flood warning messages to the respective disaster managers in time through SMS with wider extent that may save lives and assets from flood.
This is a continuation of banglalink's support to CEGIS for disseminating early flood warning started in August 2007. Last year it communicated to 500 disaster managers and community covering 400 thousand people in two upazilas in two districts.
This year, it increases to 2,200 disaster managers and community in 12 upazilas in 8 districts covering 1.4 million highly vulnerable population.
From a survey conducted by CEGIS in the pilot area on the first phase of the project, it was found that 66 per cent of the community people got the early flood warning information from the flags raised by the disaster managers in the locality while 34 per cent received the information from other media.
Riverside Technology Inc, USA and CEGIS, jointly developed a flood early warning model named WATSURF using FFWC forecast, to calculate change in flood water level 1-2-3 days in advance along with a early warning communication and dissemination mechanism under a project titled 'Community-based Flood Information System (CFIS)'.
However it had been a financial challenge for CEGIS to make sure that the disaster managers receive the early flood warning message in time. With the help of banglalink, now it has became possible for CEGIS to send the early flood warning messages to the respective disaster managers in time through SMS with wider extent that may save lives and assets from flood.