As the country awaits monsoon season, which accounts for 80% of its total rain, it is crucial to prepare communities to respond effectively to potential flood events. The frequent flooding of Rajapur municipality, located between the Geruwa and Karnali rivers, has affected the daily lives of the local community, living in constant fear of floods. Climate change has resulted in incessant rain in recent years, causing water levels to rise and leading to flooding. Even a small flood could cause BudhiKulo, a river in the area, to leave its natural course and gush into crop fields and human settlements. Although early warning systems have been established in Rajapur, significant economic loss due to inundation of houses and agriculture land continues to cause disruption of livelihoods.
The aftermath of disasters has profound and lasting impact on people's lives, and effectively communicating about them can be a challenging task. In the case of floods, murals can serve as powerful tools for conveying vital information on how individuals can act before, during, and after a flood to reduce its impact. For example, a mural can illustrate the implementation of early warning systems, educating the community about flood risks, and providing information on evacuation routes and safe shelters.
Under this background, a three-day mural art event was organized from 8 to 10 May 2023 in a highly flood prone local school of Rajapur in Ward 1 to sensitize and communicate flood risk of the community through the scientific data. Kalika Secondary School, Chanaura faces yearly inundation from the flood waters entering from the Karnali river. For the event, Kalika Secondary School in Ward 1 was selected.
The Mural created on the walls of the school consists of several components of data and science which includes the early warning flood level threshold set by Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, map of Rajapur municipality for 100-year flood return period depicting the flood depth and flood related information on SMS alert, Bipad Portal and official source of information for flood and rainfall. Two murals were created, one focusing on the scientific aspect of flood risk and the second mural focused on portraying the experiences of the flood impacts of the school children. This kind of mural is the first-ever attempt to depict data and science related information of flood levels in a local school.
In the preparatory phase for the event, the design of the mural was prepared according to the suggestion from the representatives of Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority and Rajapur Municipality. The students to be involved were selected based on their drawing submitted. The team of Youth Innovation Lab provided a short orientation to the students on the objective of the mural art and a pre-assessment was conducted to gain their understanding on the flood impacts. The students also reflected their experiences by sketching a drawing on paper. After that, mural artist from the team guided the students in painting their flood experiences on the wall.
The mural art was observed by the Mayor, CAO and Ward official of Rajapur municipality and provided feedback on the innovative approach of risk communication to the larger mass of audience. After completion of the event, the team concluded the event by giving more information on the components included on the mural to the students.
The event was organized as part of a project 'Climate Change Scenarios to Inform Community-based Adaptations and Planning in Nepal' funded by UKAID in partnership with Rajapur municipality. The project is piloting innovative approaches to inform and capacitate local actors to facilitate effective data-informed risk communication, planning and decision-making in Bhotekoshi rural municipality and Rajapur Municipality.
