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

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One-third of these disasters

are floods

Transboundary floods - shared vulnerability across national borders

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Ind

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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