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IUGG XXIV General Assembly July 2-13, 2007 Perugia, Italy
(S) - IASPEI - International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's
Interior
JSS003 Oral Presentation 1846
Flood warning system for Bangladesh
Mr. Mohammad Khaled Akhtar
Early-Warning System IASPEI
Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to the floods and associated disasters. The worlds highest mountain,
the Himalayan, in the north and the Bay of Bengal in the south make unique geographical setting for
the country. Bangladesh is a low-lying country in the Meghna delta located at the confluence of three
major rivers; the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna. During recent years several large floods
have caused disasters in Southeast Asia. The inundation and flooding in Bangladesh is a serious
setback. Flood forecasting in a deltaic region like Bangladesh is a difficult problem. Flood occurs almost
every year in Bangladesh with varying intensity and magnitude. In a normal year, 20% of the country is
inundated by river spills and drainage congestions. Approximately 37% of the country is inundated by
floods of 10 years return period. Devastating floods of 1988 and 1998 inundated more than 60% of the
country. Recent floods of 2004 also caused lots of damage to the country economy. Structural measures
for flood management began in Bangladesh in the late 60s to completely eliminate flood in the project
area but later on non-structural measures has also been adopted for flood management. However, with
the modern technological advancement flood forecasting and warning services (a non structural
measure) acquired the highest position to minimizing flood damage and losses because of Tens of
millions people live in flood plains. Moving them out is not an option but providing adequate safety
against large floods combined with a risk reduction system supported by an early warning is desirable.
With the presence of improved data exchange programme through the neighboring country and access
to the result of numerical meteorological models like ECMWF are only option for the country to
significantly increase forecasting lead times and improve forecast accuracy near border areas.
Considering the present situation, this paper aims to develop a system which can improve the early
warning system by increasing the accuracy of the forecasted boundary discharge with the help of
remotely sensed data as well as meteorological models.
Keywords: flood, warning, forecasting