The HIP FEWS project falls within the framework of the Jordan Israeli Palestinian Professional Dialogue Process initiated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), whose objective is to enhance capacities and cooperation with regard to emergency preparedness and response.
Preliminary field missions and additional reports highlighted the importance of better flood forecasting and early warning in Jordan, Palestine and Israel. The studies conducted has made it possible to set up a project which aims to support the regional coordination mechanism of disaster risk management by strengthening flash flood early warning system and data exchanges.
Improving flood early warning mechanism and response
HIP FEWS supports Jordan, Palestine and Israel with the production and sharing of real-time and reliable data among beneficiary countries.
Pilot areas were selected for the project:
• Wadi Zarqa Ma'in and Wadi Al Mujib (Madaba District) in Jordan
• Wadi Zeimar and Wadi Qelt (Nablus District) in Palestine
The project will equip Jordan and Palestine with rain and water-level monitoring materials and enable data transmission both at national and regional levels, also setting-up collaborations with existing regional tools and platforms.
The equipment will not only allow measures in real time but also provide these countries useful information for modelling flood patterns and improving flood forecasting. Under this data interoperability system and in light of the needs of recipient countries, the project will provide capacity-building to national hydro-meteorological stakeholders in the areas of flood forecasting, information sharing and early warning mechanism.
Through these activities, il will strongly foster collaboration both at national and transboundary levels between hydro-met services on the first hand and between the latter and disaster management authorities on the second hand. The objective is to deliver high-quality flood alerts to the relevant authorities to enhance effective disaster response.
HIP FEWS expected impacts
• National systems for flood forecasting and early warning are strengthened through the installation of monitoring equipment for flash floods (i.e. weather/hydrological stations) in the selected pilot wadis and the sharing of data at national and regional levels
• In-country capacities and regional institutional cooperation are strengthened on flood analysis, flood forecasting and alert editing
• Cooperation between the meteorological/hydrological and disaster management (civil protection agencies and crisis management bodies) spheres is enhanced in order to issue and disseminate high-quality alerts and support effective preparedness and response actions
