Flood Forecasting and Warning Systems as Climate Change Adaptation Measures through Flood Risk Preparedness - Indonesia

This activity has developed flood forecasting and early warning systems along Indonesia’s Beringin River and strengthened community preparedness through the development of evacuation strategies and identification of flood shelters.

Key facts:

Over 1,000 households in seven communities have directly benefitted from this activity;
Over 7,500 people have indirectly benefitted from this activity. Indirect beneficiaries are community members who are not currently experiencing a flood disaster, but who are at-risk of experiencing one in the future.

The problem

Flood disasters frequently occur along the Beringin River in Indonesia, and communities often find themselves unprepared to deal with them. Flash floods come without warning and can displace communities and ruin livelihoods.

The solution

This activity has installed rainfall monitoring and warning system equipment for flash-floods in specific locations within the Beringin Drainage Sub-system. They have also established automated and manual early warning systems for watershed floods. The computerized, automated system consists of three support tools: a single automatic rain gauge and two automatic river water-level gauges. These three devices automatically send data to a server managed by the Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Air - Water Resource Management Agency in Semarang who then distributes the information to Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah – Local Disaster Management Agency in Semarang and all Disaster Preparedness Groups in the area.

Helping people

In addition to the early warning system, the activity has established Disaster Preparedness Groups and provided guidance for community flood preparedness. During 2013 and 2014, the established Disaster Preparedness Groups received training in first aid, communication, and evacuation in order to minimize the number of injuries and casualties in the event of a disaster. Disaster Preparedness Groups also have established a system for safe evacuation and effective communication to the relevant agencies