The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation is the only authorized collector and disseminator of hydro-meteorological data of Nepal, which has established several hydrological and meteorological stations all over the country. The DHM’s another main activity is to provide meteorological and flood forecasts in the country. Recently, the DHM has started the development of flood forecasting and warning system (FFEWS) in major rivers of Nepal. DHM has already developed FFEWS system for Koshi, West Rapti and Bagmati. To implement FFEWS effectively, sufficient number of real time (telemetry) rainfall and hydrological stations is essential. Since 2010, the DHM has started upgrading the manually operated stations to real time stations and also added new real time stations.

Melamchi river is a tributary of Indrawati river, which is a major tributary of the Koshi basin among seven major tributaries. In June 2021 the flood in Melamchi river caused damage in the Melamchi Bazar in Sindhupalchwok District of Nepal with loss of human life and property. The public infrastructures mainly roads networks, bridge, electricity transmission and structures were damaged by flood. As per the study the continuous rainfall triggered numerous landslides around Melamchi. Melamchi River was blocked by one of the landslides for few hours creating Landslide dam. This dam burst generating flash flood with mix of debris mixture with sand, boulders and wood fragments. As this flood is a response of hydro-meteorological event, this type of loss can be minimized with the effective implementation of FFEWS in Melamchi.