Technology and tradition save lives from flash flood disasters in the People’s Republic of China
- The PRC has suffered frequent flood disasters throughout history, setting back socioeconomic development and now hindering achievement of the sustainable development goals.
- An ADB project in Henan and Jiangxi provinces in the PRC has improved monitoring and early warning of floods, as well as community-level emergency responses.
- Communities work from the ground up with high-tech monitoring to ensure disaster prevention from flash floods in innovative ADB project in the PRC.
Forecasting and early warning are considered the most effective measures to save lives and reduce the damage from flash floods.
In the People’s Republic of China, an ADB project combines tradition and technology to prevent flash flood-induced disasters.
Part 2 of this video series shows how community-based disaster response builds on high-tech monitoring to ensure collaboration and accountability among citizens.
Transcript
Since 2018, the Asian Development Bank has piloted innovative flash flood disaster early warning systems in the People’s Republic of China.
A project in Henan and Jiangxi provinces has improved monitoring and early warning, as well as community-level emergency responses.
The ADB project installed two telemetric rainfall and water-stage monitoring and alarm systems in the Shewei and Kongmu river basins.
The community-based disaster response system ensures collaboration among county, town, administrative village, villagers’ group and individual households.
UPSOT IN Chinese: Got the flash flood warning on the APP. The village committee shall immediately broadcast Level III early warning.
For example, a person is tasked to monitor the rainfall and water-stage information at the village department’s entrance.
Another, monitors the village’s manual rainfall station, while someone else issues the warning by striking the gongs.
When the upstream rainfall increases, the alarms installed in households issues the warning for evacuation.
The flash flood early warning app also pushes notifications to residents in high-risk areas.
UPSOT in Chinese Act now! Prepare to evacuate to the hillside behind the village.
If rain or water-stage breaches the threshold, a warning will be immediately transmitted to the house of the person-in-charge in the high-risk areas.
Portable alarms are also distributed to households.
But traditional tools such as gongs, whistles, and megaphones are still important among the villagers.
UPSOT in Chinese: Move now! The rain is heavy. The river is swollen. Go now. Evacuate immediately.
Technological innovations and institutional coordination work together to ensure accurate, timely and effective information delivery, significantly reducing casualties and property losses.