Gender Perspective of Flood Early Warning Systems: People-Centered Approach

Abstract

Natural hazards early warning systems (EWS) are built on a solid technical and scientific foundation. However, a significant focus must be on those at risk and a systems approach that considers all the key risk factors. A people-centered flood EWS has proved to be more successful at conveying risk messages and protecting lives during times of crisis. The present study intends to analyze the gender perspective of flood early warning systems in Pakistan by using four components of a people-centered approach. The data acquired from the different sources in this study (including institutional key informant interviews = 30 and community focus groups = 32) is analyzed using a paradigm of gender analysis. The findings regarding gender analysis revealed that there was a lack of participation from women in the risk assessment process, and the institutions did not pay enough attention to the conventional knowledge and views of women and men. In most cases, women were not given hazard alerts since they only receive information about possible risks from men. Women were still reluctant to participate in the planning process for disaster response and capacity building because of societal norms and impediments. In addition, the study revealed that the EWS did not satisfy most of the requirements specified in a people-centered gender-sensitive EWS owing to the bureaucratic approach, lack of residents’ engagement, communication breakdown between people (at risk), and official risk messages.

Community social barriers to non-technical aspects of flood early warning systems and NGO-led interventions: The case of Pakistan

“…An effective warning system would be useless if it is not promptly delivered to the intended users. As a result, the community must improve its ability to prepare for and react to natural catastrophes (Shah et al, 2022b).…”

“…It is also important to regularly assess and evaluate the performance of these centers and to make any necessary improvements to their systems and processes. By strengthening these warning centers, Pakistan can better protect its communities from the impacts of natural disasters (Shah et al, 2022b). The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), which connects directly with the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), is expected to play the most significant role in EWS.…”

“…Increased disaster risks have enhanced the vulnerability of local communities, households, and ecological systems (Prior and Eriksen, 2013). There is evidence that natural catastrophes, particularly floods, are becoming more and more devastating worldwide, putting millions more individuals' lives at risk (Banholzer et al, 2014;Shah et al, 2022b). It is estimated that nearly 1,507 flood events occurred between 1980and 2000, which increased to 2,860 between 2000(Rana et al, 2021.…”

“…Most rural residents are unfamiliar with EWS and so do not take part in efforts to lessen the impact of flooding. That makes it more challenging for them to deal with floods (Shah et al, 2022b). A short time to get early warnings is also to blame for the fact that local communities did not do enough to prevent flooding risks in the country (Mustafa et al, 2015).…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating NGOs' role in reducing communities' social obstacles to flood responses through effective flood warning dissemination in Pakistan. Studies that have already been conducted in Pakistan have investigated the effect of general FEW services (provision of FEW by government institutions and floods and weather information) (Tariq and van de Giesen, 2012;Mustafa et al, 2015;Shah et al, 2022b). Other studies examine people's socioeconomic and institutional factors that determine the adaptation process and households' capacity to respond to disasters across different regions and zones of Pakistan (Ahmad and Afzal, 2020).…”