25 April 2016: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has launched a toolkit to help flood management practitioners in transboundary river basins improve their flood forecasting and early warning capabilities, drawing on real-time satellite data and flood modeling techniques.

The publication, titled ‘Flood Forecasting and Early Warning in Transboundary River Basins: A Toolkit,’ highlights the availability of tools, techniques and other resources from agencies in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES), the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the World Bank’s South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI).

ESCAP and RIMES collaborated to produce the toolkit, which addresses not only producing flood forecasts, but also how to distribute the information. RIMES is an intergovernmental partnership for disaster preparedness and early warning arrangements; its Council is composed of Heads of national meteorological and hydrological services and national scientific and technical agencies.

Launching the guide, ESCAP said that recent advances in science and technology now allow for flood forecasts to be made five to eight days in advance; however, riverside communities on average still receive one day’s notice of evacuation. ESCAP intends to use the guide to build the capacities of flood forecasters, disaster risk managers, and policymakers to strengthen disaster preparedness and strengthen the operational capacity and resilience of countries that share transboundary river basins. The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s most disaster-prone region, and frequently experiences large-scale flooding. [ESCAP Press Release] [Report Web Page] [Publication: Flood Forecasting and Early Warning in Transboundary River Basins: A Toolkit]