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Flood Community Awareness and Preparedness Project Completion

In the face of climate change, riverine and flash floods are becoming more frequent, causing significant damage to lives, livelihoods, and socio-economic assets across the 𝗡𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻 and beyond. During the 2020 rainy season, the Blue Nile in Khartoum reached its highest water level in 100 years, 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭.𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 and causing over 100 deaths across Ethiopia, Sudan, and South Sudan. Economic losses in rural villages along the Blue Nile in Sudan alone are estimated at $25 million annually.

To address these challenges, MetaMeta, in partnership with HKV lijn in water, Institute of 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 University of Juba 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗻, and local teams in Sudan and Ethiopia, successfully completed the 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢. The project, based on flood risk assessments from 17 sites across the three countries, developed actionable strategies, implementable plans, and tailored investments. These efforts included land use planning, affordable flood protection, community-based early warning and forcasting systems, and capacity-building and resilience initiatives.

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, which often focuses solely on asset and economic losses. We prioritize well-being of people, especially in the vulnerable regions where assets are limited and floods disrupt livelihoods, not just through infrastructure damage, but by limiting access to essential resources like food, water, shelter, sanitation and healthcare.

Through various projects and initiatives, MetaMeta strives to help rural communities strengthen their capacity to anticipate, respond, adapt, and recover from devastating floods. At the same time, we are also harnessing the productive potential of floods (for more info, check the link in the comments). 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮.