Floods are the most common cause of weather-related disasters globally, causing billions of dollars’ worth of damage and the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. As with all disasters, the poorest are hardest hit: they are more likely to live in vulnerable areas and less likely to have the skills or financial resources to protect themselves. Women are more likely than men to lose their lives and livelihoods. But the charity I work for, Practical Action, has been developing and adapting technology to create end-to-end Flood Early Warning Systems with vulnerable communities in Nepal since 2002. This began as very simple technology that has steadily been improved and extended to more communities. Since 2013, Practical Action has collaborated with Zurich Insurance through the Zurich Flood Resilience Programme (ZFRP) to reach more people more effectively.

his global programme is also implemented in Peru and Bangladesh and in the Karnali basin of Nepal we now implement end-to-end warning systems with 74 communities. Now, not only does this technology have the ability to save thousands of lives a year, it also means that many thousands more who would have survived don’t necessarily lose their livelihoods, savings and possessions every time disaster hits.

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