RANGPUR, March 22, 2021 (BSS) – Experts at a workshop today stressed on innovating and adopting effective mechanisms for early warning dissemination at community levels for better preparedness and management of natural disasters like floods.
They expressed the opinion at the workshop titled “Flood early warning dissemination and disaster preparedness’ system organised by RDRS Bangladesh, an NGO, at its Training Centre in Kurigram district town.
The NGO organised the event under the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) supported Trans-boundary Flood Resilience in South Asia Project.
Executive Engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board for Kurigram Engineer Md. Ariful Islam attended the workshop as chief guest while Kurigram Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation Officer Abdul Hye Sarkar was present as special guest.
Representatives from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), CARE Bangladesh, World Food Programme (WFP), different NGOs and local journalists participated in the workshop and shared their views and experiences.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Md. Mamunur Rashid presented an overview of the project in the workshop. He said Bangladesh is a great delta formed by the alluvial deposits of the three mighty Himalayan Rivers like the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna.
“There are about 405 rivers in Bangladesh of which 57 are trans-boundary common rivers. But, flood early warning dissemination to the mid-stream and down-stream communities or countries is still remaining ineffective,” he said.
Head of Disaster Management Department of Begum Rokeya University Dr. Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul Islam presented different channels of flood early warning dissemination mechanism and its advantages and disadvantages in the workshop.
The chief guest said that early warning is very important for better preparedness of disaster which is needed to properly disseminate at community levels.
“Kurigram is a flood prone area and vulnerable to natural disasters. We will establish a Flood Information Centre here from the next rainy season that will remain open round the clock for dissemination of early information and warning on floods,” he added.