About this Course

Floods accounted for over half of the total water-related disasters that occurred in the 2001-2018 period, recording about 94,000 casualties and USD ~504 billion financial losses globally. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) developed the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 to mitigate disaster-related losses around the world. The Sendai Framework has seven targets and four priorities for action. Target 7 focuses explicitly on “substantially increasing the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to people.” As the primary water-related disaster, floods and their impacts are needed to be minimized..

Flood early warning systems (FEWS) are one of the flood risk mitigation strategies in practice all over the world in various capacities. There is a need for increased awareness amongst practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders involve in flood disaster risk on the basics of FEWS, their latest advances, and challenges FEWS face in flood disaster risk reduction. This course deepens awareness about the significant role FEWS play in reducing flood risks and in enhancing resilience for sustainable development in practice.

What you will learn

After completing the course, you will be able to:

• Identify the key components of a flood early warning systems and their unique functions in the flood early warning process.
• Understand the main weakness in operational flood forecasting, warning, and response actions in practice.
• Enhance the knowledge on the advanced technologies involved in the four components of a flood early warning system.

Specific knowledge and skills gained:

• Key concepts underpinning Flood forecasting and early warning.
• International efforts in flood risk mitigation through FEWS.

Meet the instructors

Duminda Perera