[DIPECHO Network] Satellite Rainfall Estimate for Flood Disaster Preparedness

[Mandira Shrestha]

PRESS RELEASE
(1 October 2007)

ICIMOD  Holds a Workshop on Application of Satellite Rainfall Estimation

Technical experts of national hydrological and meteorological services in 
Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan will attend a 
five-day workshop on the 'Application of Satellite Rainfall Estimation in 
the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region'. The purpose of the workshop is to 
improve the estimation of rainfall in these countries for purposes of 
improved forecasting of floods and monitoring of droughts using advanced 
remote sensing tools.

The workshop will take place in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 1-5 October 2007. 
Technical experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are being brought in as key 
resource persons for the workshop.

Sponsored by the US Agency for International Development's Office of U.S. 
Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA), the workshop is a part of a 
project on Application of Satellite Rainfall Estimation in the HKH region. 
The Project runs from June 2006 to December 2007. The project aims to 
develop a satellite rainfall estimate (SRE) model specifically for the 
Himalayan region by refining a system developed by NOAA Climate Prediction 
Centre, and to test a stream-flow model developed by USGS to stem the 
effects of chronic flooding in the Greater Himalayan region.  The five-day 
workshop aims to review and discuss work on SRE, particularly the 
validation of rainfall estimates and testing of the USGS stream-flow model 
in pilot catchments. The workshop also aims to further strengthen the SRE 
capability of member countries and transfer the NOAA/USGS technology to the 
partners. The workshop provides an opportunity for hydrologists and 
meteorologists of the HKH region to clarify difficulties in validation of 
satellite rainfall estimates in their respective countries and come up with 
practical applications to drought and flood monitoring in partnership with 
ICIMOD, NOAA, and USGS. Building upon the outcome of this project and with 
the needs identified by the partners, the activities of Phase II of the 
project will be discussed and planned.

Accurate estimate of rainfall is required to minimise the impacts of floods 
and droughts. Until recently, the main method used to estimate rain fall in 
an area was interpolation of measurements from a network of 
hydro-meteorological stations. The closer the spacing between stations, the 
more accurate the total rainfall estimate. In mountainous areas, however, 
measuring stations are often few and far between, therefore rainfall 
information is unreliable for predicting floods with any certainty. This 
workshop will review the work done so far, provide inputs for finalising 
the SRE country reports, and plan for the Phase II of the Project. This 
project provides opportunities for countries in the HKH region to better 
estimate rainfall using satellites and will assist the countries to build 
and enhance capacity in rainfall estimates and its applications. The 
project is a component of the Regional Flood Forecasting and Information 
Exchange Project in the HKH region initiated in 2001, which seeks to reduce 
the vulnerabilities caused by flooding.  It is hoped that improved rainfall 
estimates will further enable reliable and timely flood forecasts and 
warning and contribute to minimising loss of life and property in the  region.

For further information contact:
Mandira Shrestha and Pradeep Mool
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Tel: +977-1-5003222
Email: <mailto:mshrestha at icimod.org>mshrestha at icimod.org and 
<mailto:pmool at icimod.org>pmool at icimod.org
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