Central Asian Flood Early Warning System (CAFEWS)

Central Asian Flood Early Warning System (CAFEWS)

World Bank

Start date (month/year): March 2021

Completion date (month/year): June 2022

Regional Centre of Hydrology (RCH)

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

National hydrometeorological services of Central Asian Countries

Role on the Assignment: Consultant

The Central Asian Flood Early Warning System (CAFEWS) project was initiated in January 2021 with the objective of enhancing the technical capabilities of National Hydrometeorological Services (NHMS) in Central Asia and establishing a regional platform for operational data exchange. This project, financed by the World Bank with support from other international organizations, aims to address the lack of a unified platform for timely climate-related information exchange and data-sharing among national hydrometeorological services and emergency agencies in the region.

• Installation of Wide Area Network (WAN) among Central Asian NHMS and Afghanistan
• Provision of forecaster workstations to NHMSs in Central Asia and Afghanistan, meeting local data processing and storage needs.
• Integration of forecaster workstations with the WAN for seamless data sharing and collaboration among NHMSs
• Update of the Central Asian Regional Flash Flood Guidance System (CARFFGS) with new modules for landslide susceptibility and riverine routing.
• Implementation of landslide susceptibility module for prediction of landslide events and riverine routing for seasonal to sub-seasonal ensemble prediction.
• Integration of new models and tools such as the MCH (Dynamic Water Assessment Tool), DWAT (Dynamic Water Resources Assessment Tool), and MODSNOW (Snow Cover Mapping Tool) at each NHMS.
• Capacity development activities to enhance NHMS staff skills in utilizing these tools for operational simulation of floods and other natural hazards.
• Conducting a pilot study on running the ICON (Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic) model in the cloud (ICONIC) for the Central Asian domain.
• Anticipated introduction of the model and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) products for Central Asian NHMS upon successful testing.
• Development of an online platform for data exchange among NHMSs and emergency agencies in Central Asia.
• Integration of the platform with WAN and forecaster workstations for seamless data upload and access by stakeholders.
• Utilization of the online platform for timely information exchange and collaboration in managing hydrometeorological risks and water resources in the region.