Flood warning communication using mobile services in flash flood communities of Bangladesh

Communicating warning information so it is understood and responded to at the community level is a key step in the flood forecasting, warning and response process. Effective communication is, however, challenging, despite the penetration of communication technologies such as mobile phones. The North East region of Bangladesh is a high risk area for flash flooding. Although continued efforts are being made to develop a warning system, a warning communication system remains undeveloped. This research presents the potential use of mobile services to effectively communicate flash flood warnings to improve the warnings' social performance. In the context of this research social performance refers to improving the warnings communication using mobile services with the aim to initiate a protective response. Information was gathered on the current flash flood warning system and the use of mobile services from interviews and meetings with stakeholders at national and regional level. Understanding the characteristics of the communities, their current access to warning information and their needs for warning communication using mobile services were obtained through 12 focus group discussions (FGDs) with different end user groups (farmers, women, fisher-farmers and Union Disaster Management Committees) at four different locations in the North East of Bangladesh and 8 key informant interviews (KIIs) in the area. Warning messages through mobile technologies, Short Messaging Service (SMS), Cell Broadcasting Service (CBS) and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) were demonstrated in the FGDs. The study firstly demonstrates that the communities are really in demand of flash flood warning information and the current efforts to improve this are not being satisfactorily achieved at the community level. Secondly, it was revealed that mobile services are the preferred mode of warning communication in these areas at risk but warnings must be sent before the time of impact, transmit present and forecasted rainfall and water level and also disseminate guidance information. It was understood that voice based services must be a key part of the warning communication system as the communities preferred voice based IVR over SMS and CBS, while Voice SMS was preferred over all other services. The IVR service (demand based) needs to be improved making it more specific to the targeted area and supplemented with push based services. Voice SMS is ideal for targeting individuals and can contain sufficient information while CBS should be used for warnings with short lead times to quickly disseminate to large numbers, once the constraints are resolved. Text based messages need to be simple, use symbols and refer to the IVR for more information. The main obstacles identified for utilising mobile services included the inability to send Bangla text messages, the need for infrastructure and handset updates for CBS and the need for co-operation between mobile phone companies. Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) district offices and local social networks need to play a more proactive role in the dissemination process at the community level but require mobilisation and institutional strengthening to achieve this. A feedback system is required to integrate indigenous knowledge and local conditions. Additionally awareness raising activities, which can be integrated through the local social networks, are prerequisite to engage the end users. Extra emphasis must be placed on providing these communities with flash flood information, allowing them to protect their vulnerable livelihoods