Science in action: Strengthening community resilience for disaster preparedness

A person walks across a gravel-covered area in a rural village surrounded by green hills and scattered houses under a partly cloudy sky. — All photos on this blog by Prakash Chandra Timilsena

On June 15, 2021, 57-year-old Gyanendra Kakshapati received urgent calls from an upstream community member warning him about possible flooding in the Melamchi River. Gyanendra lived in Chanaute Bazaar, Helambu Rural Municipality-6, located midstream along the Melamchi River in Bagmati Province, Central Nepal. Concerned about the situation, he and his son travelled to his Rainbow Trout farm and hotel in Timbu, four kilometres upstream from their home.

Once there, Gyanendra parted ways with his son and met with one of his farm workers to inspect the trout farm and hotel. The messages Gyanendra had received were contradictory and inaccurate, making it difficult to assess the severity of the situation. As a precaution, the two men tried to divert the muddy water from the canal back into the main river, hoping to protect their trout farm.

However, at that moment, a massive and devastating debris flood struck. The worker clung to a tree to save his life. But, caught off guard, Gyanendra was swept away by the rushing debris flow.

This is one of the many lives impacted by floods each year in the Indrawati river basin in Bagmati province, which consists of the Melamchi, Yangri, and Larke rivers. On 15 June 2021, the heavy rainfall caused disastrous flooding in the downstream area of the Melamchi and Indrawati Rivers. Based on the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), Bipad Portal, a total of 5 casualties were reported, and 20 people went missing due to landslides and floods caused by this event in Gyanendra’s village in Helambu Rural Municipality. Additionally, 13 suspension bridges and 7 motorable bridges collapsed. The disaster displaced 525 families, damaged 337 houses, collapsed 259 local enterprises, and caused extensive damage to the Melamchi water supply headwork area.

The intensity and frequency of the floods and landslides in this basin are increasing. The residual risk associated with the Melamchi River remains high. The World Bank report shows that two-thirds of the debris is still accumulated in Bhemathang, the upper part of the Melamchi River Catchment.

To minimise the frequency and intensity of the residual risks of floods and landslides, Practical Action started to develop an end-to-end, community-centric flood-based Early Warning System in the mid-hill area of the Melamchi-Indrawati watershed. Through the “Community Centric Early Warning System for reducing the risk of hydro-meteorological hazards in Bagmati Province of Nepal,” Practical Action supported the government’s initiative to develop a decision support system aimed at reducing losses and damages, utilising both physical science and citizen science approaches. However, the project set to end by June 2025 was cut short due to recent USAID funding cuts. The target population of this project was 59,472 people directly and 137,636 people indirectly, which was almost reached with a few interventions now on hold.

A storage area with life jackets, helmets, a lifebuoy, printer, binders, boxes, safety vests, and some electrical wiring on the wall.

In the current context, upgrading and strengthening the community-centric Early Warning System (EWS) is crucial to protect both lives and livelihoods. In the Sindhupalchok district, our efforts focused on reinforcing all four pillars of the EWS. Activities within the four pillars included:

Risk Knowledge: Flood risk mapping and vulnerability assessments of settlements.
Risk Monitoring and Warning: Installation of automatic precipitation and river gauge stations for data detection and linked with the DHM’s forecasting system.
Risk Dissemination and Communication: Development of a simplified risk communication system/channel using SMS alerts and community-based dissemination methods. Right information, right people, and right time pave the way for anticipatory actions.
Response Capacity Building: Training communities and local governments on how to respond to early warning information. Readiness of the DRR/EWS’s plans, practices, and resources for preparedness and early action.

Physical science and citizen science: two key links to build resilience

The pillars of the EWS fit into two sciences: physical science and citizen science. Physical science includes data detection and hazard risk monitoring. For the detection of the hydrometeorological data, automatic telemetry stations were required. Before the project, most of the stations were manual, installed in a few locations, and lacked any repair and maintenance. Hence, no real-time data could be sent to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM). The data on precipitation and temperature was sent to the DHM office through hard copy on a monthly basis. Without real-time data and information, risk analysis was impossible. This hindered the generation of forecast messages and bulletins.

Now, after the project is implemented by Practical Action in collaboration with DHM, the stations are updated and maintained as automatic telemetry stations. The stations provide real-time data to the DHM web server every 20 minutes. This has ensured accuracy and built the reliability of the forecast message developed by DHM.

If the information and messages are not properly disseminated at the right time, the community-centric EWS is not meaningful. That is where citizen science comes in. It’s important that people not only understand the information provided but also take timely action, as it is meant for their safety and well-being.

The below case examples show how physical science and citizen science work together to save lives:

Prem Bahadur’s story: Collaboration that saves lives

Two men dig in a muddy ditch with shovels, surrounded by makeshift tents and construction materials.

On July 15, 2024, 60-year-old Prem Bahadur Danuwar and his wife woke up in the middle of the night to their phone ringing insistently. At first, they did not answer, but when they picked up after it began ringing again, a familiar voice warned them urgently: “A flood is coming and it’s extremely dangerous. Leave your home without delay!”

The call was from Kedar Karki, chairperson of the Community Disaster Management Committee (CDMC) in Melamchi Municipality-9. Kedar and Prem were both part of this committee, working together to protect the lives and properties of communities in flood-risk zones in their rural municipality.

Kedar had called twice: once, at 12:50 AM, while fleeing from the flood with his family; by the second time, just minutes afterwards, when Prem picked up, the devastating flood had already reached Kedar’s village. Knowing that Prem’s village was downstream from there and that the flood was soon to reach them, Kedar knew he could waste no time in contacting him.

After that crucial call, Danuwar and his wife ran to a safe location uphill. The flood swept away their house, organic vegetable farm, and agricultural land.

“I feel like I am living my second life”, Prem shared earnestly. “The early warning gave me four minutes to evacuate to safety. I owe my life to the CDMC chairperson and the upstream communities who promptly sent me alert messages on my phone, even amidst the devastation of the hydrological station in the Indrawati River.”

Gyanu’s story: Alert and prepared to take action

In the early morning of August 19, 2024, 33-year-old Gyanu Giri was getting ready for the day in her home near Melamchi Bazar when she received an SMS alert from the DHM. The alert was clear: the Melamchi River had crossed the danger level at Nakote station, approximately 14 km away from her home. As a member of the search and rescue task force team under the Community Disaster Management Committee (CDMC) of her local community, she knew she had to look for more information and take action.

After that SMS, Gyanu also received messages from Sange Lama in a Facebook Messenger group created for community members from different parts of the basin to update each other about potential flood risks. Sange, a resident of Nakote, an upstream community in the Melamchi River basin, had received training in risk monitoring and communication from Practical Action and was proactively sending real-time information based on his observations of flood levels and the level of precipitation at the upstream.

Gyanu had been keeping track of the weather forecast and bulletins provided by the DHM, which helped validate the local observations, such as Sange’s and enhance risk monitoring efforts. Thanks to the timely alerts sent by both Sange and the DHM, Gyanu and her neighbours moved to a safer location uphill.

Based on her understanding of risk preparedness, Gyanu also prepared a “go-bag” containing important documents and essential emergency supplies. Fortunately, in the end, their homes were spared from the devastating floods. Nonetheless, they remain prepared, vigilant and informed.

A woman in a maroon patterned outfit sits on a tree stump beside a river, with green hills and foliage in the background.

Durga’s story: Fighting back fear with preparedness and information

A fenced garden plot stands in a green field with houses, trees, and hills in the background under a blue sky with clouds.

35-year-old Durga Acharya lives in Helambu Rural Municipality-4 with her husband, daughter and son. Her house was severely damaged and left isolated by the 2021 Melamchi Floods. While it remains standing, it is unsafe to live in due to the high risk of flooding.

During the flood, she spent several troubling days seeking refuge in the upper part of her neighbour’s house. Gradually, she and her family returned to their daily lives: her children resumed school, and she and her husband went back to work. With time, they were able to have a family home of their own again by renting a house in Gyalthum Bazar.

Nonetheless, her daughter, who is only nine years old, has become increasingly aware of the flood risk and feels extremely anxious during the monsoon season. To reassure her, Durga observes the real-time data from telemetry stations, tracking precipitation levels and river thresholds. She then explains the situation to her daughter, using this information to help alleviate her fears.

Durga is a development worker and the Early Warning System (EWS) task force coordinator for the Community Disaster Management Committee (CDMC) in Gyalthum. She actively participates in various EWS training programmes focused on risk communication and dissemination. Through these experiences, she has gained valuable technical knowledge and inspection skills, as well tools to empower her family and reclaim a sense of security for them all.

Science from and for the people

Communicating risk in a way that communities understand is the key to preparedness. When people grasp the risks they face, they are more likely to take preventive and immediate actions that can save lives and protect livelihoods. It is equally important to consider the diversity and the intersection of vulnerabilities, to ensure that no one is left behind. In response, Community Disaster Management Committees (CDMCs) have been formed and trained in the Melamchi and Indrawati River basins to support local disaster preparedness and response. These committees consist of representatives from the affected communities who are empowered to understand and act for the preparedness and response of disasters. Furthermore, task forces are formed in each CDMC. Both CDMCs and task force members are capacitated on the EWS and anticipatory actions.

The upstream, mid-stream, and downstream communities are connected through phone and social media platforms such as Facebook Messenger and Viber groups. When DHM shares regular or special forecast bulletins based on the weather/river discharge stations of the Melamchi-Indrawati watershed, or alert messages to specific communities, the CDMC and task force members begin their groundwork. They convey these forecast and warning messages to the most vulnerable people, especially those who have limited access to warning messages due to literacy, level of understanding or access to a smartphone. The CDMCs are capacitated and sensitised to acknowledge the diversity in the community, convey the risk messages, and act inclusively. The CDMCs and task force members’ techniques and skills on the local risk mapping and disaster preparedness discourses are also enhanced.

But creativity and collective expression also play a powerful role in preparing for risk. Gyanu Giri and her community have discovered new ways to connect, communicate, and share warnings. Through music, they pass on a message of memory and resilience—an echo of lived experience transformed into harmony and hope— that today is shared all around Nepal the National Disaster Risk Reduction And Management Authority (NDRRMA).

A group of people, mostly women in traditional Nepali attire, sit together singing and clapping, with one person playing a drum and others holding a sheet of paper.

At the heart of solutions: Preparedness and collective action

Climate and weather patterns are changing due to the impact of climate change, and hydrometeorological disasters are becoming more frequent and intense. In such a scenario, the roles of vulnerable communities and the accountability of local governments are prime and need to be strengthened.

With the establishment of a community-centric flood-based Early Warning System in the Melamchi Indrawati Watershed, vulnerable communities and local governments can now anticipate hydrometeorological disasters using scientific data and real-time information. Equipped with knowledge and skills in local risk mapping, monitoring, dissemination, and early response, they are better prepared to face these challenges.

Risk communication has also evolved, allowing for powerful collaboration — upstream and downstream communities stay connected through various means, including digital platforms, ensuring a swift information flow to those most at risk. This approach has transformed community behaviour, with people helping each other and responding timelier to early warnings. The true impact of this system was evident during the last monsoon, where zero human casualties were reported—an achievement that underscores the power of preparedness and collective action. To further this life-saving impact, the early warning system needs to be strengthened and sustained through the collective action of communities, local government and civil society organisations.

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Physical science and citizen science: two key links to build resilience

Science from and for the people

At the heart of solutions: Preparedness and collective action