Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary Dr. M. Rajeevan dedicated Flash Flood Guidance services, first of its kind for South Asian countries namely India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka on 22 October 2020.
- The Guidance for flash floods in the form of Threats (6 hours in advance) and Risks (24 hours in advance) will be provided by Regional Centre to National Meteorological & Hydrological Services, National and State Disaster Management Authorities and all other stake holders for taking necessary mitigation measures to reduce the loss of life and property in the South Asian Region countries.
- These include, apart from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
- This will enable all the member countries for issuing impact-based forecasting at watershed and also city level, of floods which are very sudden and of short duration.
About Flash Floods
- Flash Floods are highly localized events of short duration with a very high peak and usually have less than six hours between the occurrence of the rainfall and peak flood.
- There is general lack of flash flood warning capabilities and capacities of the nations across the world.
Flash Flood Guidance System (FFGS)
- Recognizing that flash floods have a particularly disastrous impact on lives and properties of the affected populations, the Fifteenth WMO Congress had approved the implementation of a Flash Flood Guidance System (FFGS) project with global coverage that had been developed by the WMO Commission for Hydrology jointly with the WMO Commission for Basic Systems and in collaboration with the US National Weather Service, the US Hydrologic Research Center (HRC) and USAID/OFDA.
- WMO has entrusted India with the responsibility of Regional Centre of South Asia Flash Flood Guidance System for coordination, development and its implementation.
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