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Plan International has been working in Nepal since 1978 helping marginalised children, their families and communities to access their rights to survival, pro…
Pahiro Alert – Landslide warning and response app
Pahiro Alert is an app that provides community members with early warnings about landslides and helps them to prepare.
Landslides are among the most prominent and recurring hazards in Nepal, often resulting in disasters.
Most of the rain-induced landslides occur during the monsoon season (June-September) when Nepal receives 80% of its total annual rainfall. However, shifts in rainfall patterns and increased intensity and frequency of heavy rains are contributing to landslide events beyond the Monsoon seasons. Additionally, heavy rains might reactivate earthquake-induced landslides.
Pahiro Alert shares rain forecast data and ensure it is contextualised and actionable to affected communities and households. Together with the forecasts, it also provides household level categorisation and early action planning for landslides risks based on vulnerability and capacity so that anticipatory actions will be targeted on the basis of actual and specific needs considering exposure, gender, age, caste, and other specific identities of the affected population rather than taking a blanket approach.
It is currently being piloted in Narharinath Rural Municipality, Kalikot.
Download Pahiro Alert
Scan the QR code below or search for Pahiro Alert on Google Play Store.
How does the app work?
- High-resolution data is used to develop a landslide susceptibility model, identifying the areas of landside occurrence
- The app interface communications risk to the end users
- Following a household survey, vulnerable households have been identified using a standard set of criteria
- Consultations were held with community members, especially women and marginalised groups to ensure the system is inclusive
- Forecast information triggers alerts for early action
- Risks are visualised and key messages are tailored and shared based on different conditions and triggers
- A feedback mechanism allows input from community members
- The landslide report feature develops a spatial inventory of the landslides nearby.
Why is anticipatory action important?
With the availability of the forecast information, quality assessments and the relevant protocol, humanitarian assistance and necessary interventions can be provided prior to the onset of any predictable shock.
Anticipatory action is a shift in disaster risk management planning and development. It means acting before the onset of any predictable shock, thereby contributing to faster, more dignified, and more cost-effective interventions than traditional humanitarian response activities.
In addition, it facilitates inclusive, multi-stakeholder approaches and provides rationale for the development of new technologies and approaches to disaster risk management that combine local knowledge and more nuanced environmental assessment techniques, while also empowering local people themselves to undertake this analysis.
Download a one-pager about Pahiro Alert
Pahiro Alert one-pager
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