The project “Establishment of a Flood Early Warning System for two watersheds in Lebanon” aims to enhance disaster preparedness in Lebanon by establishing an Early Warning and Early Action system for floods in two vulnerable river basins: the Ostouene River in the north (Akkar district) and the Ghzayel River, a tributary of the Litani in the Beqaa Valley. The initiative is part, together with the parallel SEALACOM project, of a tandem of actions that continue and strengthen the early warning system efforts in Lebanon carried out by CIMA Research Foundation and CNRS since 2013.
Goals and expected results
The main objective of the project is to calibrate, validate, and operationalize a flood impact forecasting tool for the Ostouene and Ghzayel basins, based on the FloodPROOFS suite developed by the CIMA Research Foundation and flood maps prepared by CNRS. Flood impact estimates are used to develop early warnings and inform local stakeholders.
While the full chain up to impact assessment focuses on the two pilot basins, in coordination with the parallel SEALACOM project, data collection and hydrological analysis are extended nationwide to gain a broader overview of Lebanon’s water resources.
CIMA Research Foundation’s contribution
CIMA Research Foundation is responsible for:
- Implementing an operational flood impact forecasting tool for the two target basins
- integrating flood risk information into Lebanon’s National Early Warning Platform (NEWSP, based on the myDEWETRA architecture)
- integrating updated information on other climate-related risks, such as wildfire risk, into NEWSP platform
