Abstract:

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. 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. 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. Technological innovations coupled with institutional coordination works together while ensuring accurate timely and effective information delivery thereby significantly reducing casualties and property losses.