Africa is the only continent where the number of flood victims has increased since 1990. Comprehensive flood protection through dikes is only possible in a very limited number of cases. Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS) is seen as a very cost-efficient mitigation measure.

FEWS are typically a public good, and in most countries, only government agencies are allowed to give off warnings. We work closely with the meteorological agencies in the region with TEMBO Africa member KMD (Kenya Meteorological Department) taking the lead both in FEWS development and scaling up to other countries through sister organizations. It is expected that the scaling up of our solution can be achieved through donor investments and that the relatively minor operational costs can be carried by national and local governments.

We have developed a set of very cost-efficient alternatives for the most costly elements, such as radar and stream gauges. By standardizing these elements, we can now rapidly build FEWS with minor investments. Keys are the cost-efficient innovative weather sensors and discharge measurement techniques, combined with models and satellite data.

In addition to the urban FEWS, we will produce large-scale flood forecast maps at the basin level. There is a great need among emergency relief agencies, like the International Red Cross/Crescent, to respond rapidly. Large-scale flood information will help reservoir managers to anticipate better and to become part of the solution instead of the problem.