Consultancy-Assessment of Early Warning Systems and Practices for Hydro-meteorological Hazards

Terms of Reference (ToR)

Assessment of Early Warning Systems and Practices for Hydro-meteorological Hazards in Sanfebagar and Budhiganga Municipality 

SAFER Nepal Project

The SAFER Nepal Project, implemented by the Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) with support from the IFRC/American Red Cross (AmRC), aims to reduce disaster-related deaths, injuries, and losses by strengthening community, institutional, and systemic resilience. Building on earlier initiatives such as the Paschim Disaster Preparedness Project (PDDP), the project began in 2023 to enhance disaster risk management (DRM), preparedness, and response capacities of communities, schools, local government and district and community level structures of the NRCS.

Initially implemented in Doti and Baitadi, the project was expanded to Achham and Bajura from January 2024. Since these districts are at high risk of earthquakes, landslides, flash floods, droughts, and seasonal storms, they face compounded risks due to rugged terrain, remoteness, and fragile infrastructures. SAFER Nepal has been supporting primarily the 20 most-at risk communities and 12 schools of 4 municipalities, 2 each of Achham (Sanfebagar, Mellekh) and Bajura (Budhiganga, Khaptad Chhededaha) to strengthen their knowledge, capacity and connectedness to prepare them for disasters. In addition to the communities, it has also been supporting wards, municipalities and NRCS district chapters and sub-chapters to strengthen their disaster knowledge, resources and capacity to develop a culture of preparedness and provide effective and efficient assistance.

Despite progress achieved by the SAFER Nepal Project over 1.5 years, the baseline survey findings have highlighted critical gaps in community risk awareness, real-time hazard monitoring, warning dissemination, and last-mile connectivity for early warning and early actions to save lives and livelihoods. Disaster readiness levels in schools and communities remain low, and Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), essential for disaster coordination, suffer from inadequate infrastructure, staffing, and operational systems at both district and municipal levels. Moreover, there seems to be a critical gap in terms of accessing climate/weather information, forecasts and early warning communication channels and their utilization in DRM planning and operations in these municipalities and communities. 

Sanfebagar Municipality in Achham and Budhiganga Municipality in Bajura, Nepal, are both highly vulnerable to the risks posed by the Budhiganga River, especially during the monsoon season. The river’s unpredictable behavior and frequent flooding threaten densely populated settlements along its banks, damaging agricultural land, livestock, and other vital assets. In extreme weather events like erratic, intense, and prolonged rainfall, the Budhiganga river catchment also faces high risk of landslides. Such landslides could block the river’s flow, triggering catastrophic outburst floods and compounding impacts that create additional hazards for downward communities. Strengthening EWS with a multi-hazard approach is crucial in Budhiganga river catchment, particularly Sanfebagar and Budhiganga municipalities to reduce disaster risks and protect vulnerable communities in these two municipalities. A robust EWS incorporates four pillars: risk knowledge, monitoring and forecasting, warning dissemination, and preparedness and response, supported by cross-cutting themes of governance, coordination, inclusivity, and financing. Although national mechanisms exist, sub-national and community-level EWS remains fragmented and not well connected to national systems, with limited accessibility and inclusion, particularly for women, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups. 

The assessment will assess the key climate related hazards including any cascading or compounding hazards in Budhiganga river catchment and evaluate current early warning systems and practices in Sanfebagar and Budiganga municipalities. It will also conduct a comprehensive analysis of local level EOC functionality, identify technological and institutional barriers and generate practical recommendations to inform SAFER Nepal’s interventions and NRCS’s wider DRM strategy. The assessment aligns with national DRM priorities and global frameworks such as the IFRC Community EWS Guiding Principles, CDEMA’s MHEWS Checklist, and the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. The assessment findings will be instrumental for respective local governments to establish and operationalize functional multi-hazard EWS.

Click on the link below for detailed TOR and Annexes:

Annex I - IFRC GTC for all Service Contract

Annex-II- TOR (EWS-SAFER Nepal)

Annex III - Declaration of Undertaking

Annex IV - IFRC Supplier Registration Form

Required Documents/Certificates with the Proposal (Include as Annex)

1. The documents/certificates that should be submitted/attached with the proposal are:
2. Separate technical and financial Proposal
3. Copy of VAT/PAN registration certificate.
4. Copy of Business registration certificate.
5. Copy of TAX clearance certificate
6. Financial Audit Report for the last 3 years
7. Brief description of the company and references of clients
8. Annex – I – IFRC GTC (attached)
9. Annex-II- TOR (EWS-SAFER Nepal)
10. Annex III - Declaration of Undertaking (attached)
11. Annex-IV- IFRC Supplier Registration Form (attached)

Please submit your technical and financial proposal separately no later than September 10, 2025, 5:00 PM Nepal Time to aliza.baidya@ifrc.org. In the subject line please include the name of Consultancy- EWS Assessment. Only short-listed candidates/firms will be contacted for presentation of proposal. Proposals received after the deadline or incomplete applications in any respect will not be considered.