Current status on flood forecasting and early warning in Africa

Abstract

An overview of the current state of flood forecasting and early warning in Africa is provided in order to identify future user needs and research. Information was collected by reviewing previously published research in the scientific literature and from institutional websites. This information was supplemented by data collected from a questionnaire sent to hydrological and meteorological institutions that were identified as potentially dealing with flood management issues in Africa. Results show that there are a significant number of institutional flood forecasting initiatives ongoing in Africa, but information regarding many of these initiatives is not easily accessible. Second, there is a clear need for improved flood forecasting and early warning in Africa. Third, the dissemination of existing flood forecasts and warnings to end-users and the public could be improved. It should be noted, however, that due to the difficulty in obtaining information regarding flood forecasting in Africa, the overview presented by the authors might be an underestimation of the current situation. Finally, the authors demonstrate the importance of developing a complementary flood forecasting and early warning system.

Keywords:

• Flood management
• flood forecasting and early warning
• Africa

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the institutions that participated in the questionnaire survey, particularly to everybody who forwarded it to further institutions, which greatly increased the pool of potential contributors. We would also like to thank Dan Hawtree for granting his time to proofread this study and to Bart Pannemans for his technical support. Furthermore, we convey special acknowledgments to Carla Rocha Gomes and Guillaume Thirel, for their assistance numerous times with Portuguese and French translations. Finally, technical staff of the EFAS team (Jutta Thielen, Peter Burek, Peter Salamon) are acknowledged for their assistance to the study.

Notes

Lead time longer than the hydrological response timescale; >2–3 months (Wang and Eltahir 1999).

Lead time shorter than the hydrological response timescale (Wang and Eltahir 1999).