SWAT: A first-of-its-kind system has been introduced in the Kalam valley of Swat district, which will help in early warning of floods. Like other countries of the world, climate change has created many challenges in Pakistan and it has become inevitable to find long-lasting solutions to deal with these challenges. In the northern regions of Pakistan and especially in the Swat district and adjacent areas of Malakand Division , due to the disastrous floods of 2022 and earlier in 2010, not only human lives and property but also a lot of property was lost and the main reason is the lack of advanced notification technology of natural disasters.
With regard to early warning of floods, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which works on natural disasters, has installed a system in the Kalam Valley in cooperation with Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, Swabi, which will make it possible to give early warning of floods.
This flood early warning system of artificial intelligence will give an alert warning to the administration in case of flood with the help of modern cameras and sensors and the administration will take action and due to which there will be minimal damage from flood in the lower areas. WWF Pakistan has been working in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa affected by climate change for the past several years. Conservator Officer of WWF Asim Haider said that their flood recovery project started in Swat after the 2022 floods, added that It also included a flood early warning system through artificial intelligence.
Asim claims that earlier there was no such system in Swat. Which can provide timely flood information.
“An artificial intelligence has been successfully tested for early warning of floods and the early warning system developed at the local level in Kalam valley has been installed on the steel bridge of Kalam.” he said, added that this system of artificial intelligence can be helpful in reducing the damage caused by floods.
Asim Haider (Conservator Officer, WWF) said that this system will be connected to the clouds and it will give warning as soon as the flood comes and other institutions including the administration can be mobilized.
Experts working on climate change said that this is a useful project. However, if the government pays attention to it, the damage during future floods can be further reduced.
Dr. Roshan Ali (Director, Research Institute Mingora Swat) said that since this system is related to satellites, if this system is expanded further, it will also include rain and storm warning systems. If installed, it will have far-reaching results.
Experts said that if steps are taken to install cameras, sensors and water gauges on the banks of the Swat River as well as the banks of the rivers in the Swat district, then the damages caused by the floods can be remedied in the future.
Hotel owners along the banks of the Swat River in Swat and the local population have also appreciated the system and have demanded the government to install the system on a large-scale trial basis to avoid past losses.
Some experts are of the opinion that the most damage due to floods is the population and constructions near the river banks or rivers. Therefore, the government should also protect the Swat River and the rivers and take serious steps to reduce the effects of climate change.
