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After a series of severe floods in 2013 that affected more than 1.7 million people nationwide, an Early Warning System (EWS) was launched last year by NGO People in Need with funding from the European Union.

Through voice recordings sent to mobile phones, the system gives life-saving information to local residents in an effort to better prepare them for any impending natural disasters.

The system is now working in three provinces – Kampong Thom, Banteay Meanchey and Pursat – and was on full display for EU Ambassador to Cambodia George Edgar along with a group of journalists Friday morning in Kampong Thom’s provincial hall.

The event was the last leg of an EU tour of nine projects they support in Siem Reap, Preah Vihear and Kampong Thom provinces.

“Currently, we are operating the system in three provinces. We have the intention to launch the system in all 25 provinces by 2020,” said EWS specialist Vieng Lundi.

People in all three provinces can voluntarily register with the service, only needing to provide their phone number to a local authority leader, who will then send it to the provincial hall to register it.

Users will receive a recording from the phone number 1294 detailing any emergency measures that need to be taken ahead of a storm or weather event...
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/32749/ ... to-expand/

toes laughing news again, cant even manage rubbish or tax collection, how to manage high tech sensitive equipment? these stupid NGOs are just throwing away useful money

"People in all three provinces can voluntarily register with the service, only needing to provide their phone number to a local authority leader, who will then send it to the provincial hall to register it."

A new money maker for local officials.

People in Need’s disaster management program manager Paul Conrad highlighted the extensive use of mobile phones across Cambodia and said it was the ideal way of sending pertinent information to a large number of people.

“Knowing that mobile phone use in Cambodia is high, with more than 96 percent of families having access to a mobile phone, using Interactive Voice Response technology to deliver early warning messages can be one of the most effective methods to deliver such imporant information,” he said.
“We hope that the system continues to expand, reaching national coverage in the near future.”

I hate to be cynical, but this just sounds so naive. First thing is that you have to have the "pertinent information" ie.up-to-date meteorology reports and precise data. What is the point of reaching a lot of people when the information itself is unreliable ?

According to Mr. Saroeun, the program has been used four times since last year to warn residents of impending flooding, though each instance was not as serious as advertised.

However, it's good to see the government officials so keen on protecting as many people as possible, with as large a budget as possible.

Government officials at the event hailed it as a success and were eager for People in Need to expand the program, as some claimed the government did not have the budget to create and run it.

i think a more effective and low cost system would be just to disseminate what ever information to the sangkat and the sangkat send motorbikes out with loud hailers

UPDATE: The NGO have fitted two early warning flood sensors so far, which is not much, but it was at a cost of only $300 a piece, which seems like a bargain if they save some lives. The plan is to outfit all provinces with the sensors by 2019.

From Bhutan to Cambodia, early warning saves lives in floods
31 October 2017
- Floods in Cambodia in 2011 and 2013 killed more than 400 people, displaced tens of thousands, and destroyed crops, livestock and homes.
This year, despite heavy rains, there have been fewer casualties and less damage, due in part to automated water gauges that can alert about 70,000 families to impending danger.

The gauges’ sensors, which are powered by solar energy, track a river’s height and send data to a monitoring system. A mobile text message or call goes out when danger levels are hit, enabling people to secure their belongings and move to safety.

“Too many times, communities in high-risk areas learned of the threat too late and lost everything,” said Paul Conrad, Cambodia director for Czech aid group People in Need (PIN), which developed the sensors with local partners including the Open Institute, an organisation that uses technology for social benefit.

PIN has so far installed two sensors in Cambodia on bridges on the Tonle Sap river, at a cost of $300 each.
Six more will be added by year-end, and the group hopes to have sensors in all 25 provinces by 2019, Conrad said.

When provincial authorities receive data flagging imminent danger, they trigger a system that sends text messages or calls to the mobile phones of those signed up for the free service...
http://www.eco-business.com/news/from-b ... in-floods/

A bigger natural disaster would be a drought...you can import rice, but at what price? And fish? Fresh vegetables? Meat?

One year of drought here would be a huge game-changer.

And statistically, it is inevitable.

vladimir wrote: A bigger natural disaster would be a drought...you can import rice, but at what price? And fish? Fresh vegetables? Meat?

One year of drought here would be a huge game-changer.

And statistically, it is inevitable.

Disaster prevention collaboration needed across Asia, report says
20 November 2017
Natural disasters inflict economic losses of up to US$300 billion globally each year, according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

'Invisible disasters’
Shaw, who is a member of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’s Science Technology Advisory Group, said the report also showed that a large amount of the research focused on visible disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, typhoons and hurricanes.

He would like to see a greater focus on “the invisible disasters like drought or water scarcity, gradual sea level rise, or heat wave and cold wave.”
“These are creeping disasters – it doesn’t happen in one day; it’s over a period of time,” he said.

For instance, Shaw said he had been involved in research in Vietnam that showed drought was linked with a drop in children’s school attendance.

“There are also many types of cascading disasters due to climate change impacts which are possibly affecting different other issues like food security or health or even conflict between two countries or within a countries’ different communities. This type of what I call ‘connecting the dots’ in different sectors, starting with the disasters … that connection is still very much lacking.”
http://www.atimes.com/article/disaster- ... port-says/

He would like to see a greater focus on “the invisible disasters like drought or water scarcity, gradual sea level rise, or heat wave and cold wave.”
“These are creeping disasters – it doesn’t happen in one day; it’s over a period of time,” he said.

Invisible disasters such as the hydro dams on the Mekong?

Linking technology and community early warning: UNDP and People in Need to extend disaster early warning for Koh Kong and Sihanoukville communities
Report from UN Development Programme, People in Need
Published on 25 Sep 2018 — View Original

25 September 2018, Phnom Penh, Cambodia - In Cambodia’s Koh Kong and Sihanoukville Provinces, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and NGO People in Need are preparing to extend an early warning system using SMS-based technology linked with data from recently installed automatic weather and hydrological stations, and the existing platform of EWS1294. The initiative will expand the coverage of EWS1294 to new areas, saving both lives and livelihoods.

Under the collaboration, four additional water gauges will be installed in Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk Provinces to monitor rain levels, and develop thresholds for issuing warnings. Ten at-risk communities will be trained to participate in Village Disaster Management Committees, as part of the disaster preparedness program establishing the disaster contingency plan. The collaboration aims to add an additional 118,000 subscribers to the EWS1294 service, which currently has just above 88,000 unique subscribers.

“We’re very pleased to announce this collaboration with People in Need over the coming months,” said UNDP Project Manager and Disaster Management Specialist, Muhibuddin Usamah. “With finance from the GEF-Least Developed Countries Fund, UNDP has been helping Cambodia to strengthen its climate information and early warning systems, including installing automatic weather and hydrological stations around the country. This complimentary partnership is a real step forward for these particularly exposed coastal provinces”.

Developed by People in Need with the National Committee for Disaster Management, following severe flooding in 2011, the user-centered EWS1294 provides voice-based alerts and instructions to users, in the event of an impending natural disaster, such as a storm, flood, fire or outbreak of disease. The system is named after the government-supported mobile shortcode ‘1294’. The shortcode maintains free registration and provides cost-free outgoing calls. To register, users simply dial 1294 and follow some simple prompts.

Since being piloted in 2013, EWS1294 has expanded and undergone annual improvements and upgrades. The system is a true end-to-end early warning system, integrating hazard-detection, data-storage and warning dissemination. Using solar-powered and mobile data-enabled water gauges, with cloud-hosting and interactive voice response, EWS1294 provides fast, relevant and context-specific early warning messages. The model is community-focused, with an eye to reaching the most vulnerable.

In Cambodia, around 96% of the population reports owning a phone (in fact, over 99% of the population are reachable through some sort of phone). Based on this high-level of mobile penetration, and literacy levels of around 77%, audio messages are considered the most effective mode for delivering early warning to communities.
https://reliefweb.int/report/cambodia/l ... d-disaster