A Pilot Project to establish a Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) under component three of the D’MADD project has commenced. The University of Salford (Service Provider) team, led by Professor Terrance Fernando, visited the Maldives from 17th November 2024 to 27th November 2024 to conduct a series of stakeholder engagement sessions to begin the situation analysis and needs requirements of the System. Other team members included Mr. Amilia Liyanage (Quality of Service Specialist) and Ben Monaghan (Lead Software Engineer for the Mobilise Platform). During their visit, they met relevant stakeholders and beneficiaries. These include the National Centre for Information Technology, The Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, the National Disaster Management Authority, the Maldives Meteorological Service, the Fuvahmulah City Council, and specific disaster responding agencies of the island.

During the individual meetings, Professor Terrance Fernando introduced himself and explained the scope of the envisioned pilot. He also presented the Mobilise platform developed by ThinkLab, an initiative of Salford University. The MHEWS pilot to be implemented in Fuvahmulah City will be based on this platform. MOBILISE is a digital platform that provides local stakeholders with digital solutions for supporting climate adaptation and resilience activities. It enables multi-agency collaboration and community engagement and facilitates a participatory approach to implementing climate adaptation and resilient measures against climate change.

The team began the series of meetings on 18 November 2024 with a meeting with the National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT). Professor Fernando Explained how the project would complement the UNDRR Early Warning Road map for the Maldives and introduced the project plan and the MOBILISE Platform.

The NCIT team was led by Minister of State for Homeland Security and Technology, Dr. Mohamed Kinaanath, and Senior Software Developer Mr. Hany Nasyr. Dr. Mohamed Kinaanath oversees the government's technology portfolio. He explained the government’s broader policy on technology, highlighting the ongoing work on strengthening the national cybersecurity resilience and the national AI masterplan. He also explained the NCIT's role in the UNDRR early warning roadmap. He also shared the details of the plans for the legislative process to strengthen data protection and cybersecurity in the Maldives.

The meeting's significant discussion revolved around migration and support for the system after the project support period ended, including the system's maintenance and hosting requirements.

The second meeting took place the same day at the Maldives Meteorological Service (MMS) office at Velaanaa International Airport. The team again introduced the project details and scope. Detailed discussions concerned integrating the proposed MHEWS architecture with the MMS data system and services. During the discussion, MMS highlighted similar projects currently underway and how the MHEWS pilot could complement these initiatives. They also inquired about the current work done at MMS, such as the future of their in-house mobile app. One of the major concerns expressed was the maintenance of the system after the project. Dr. Waheed highlighted the discussions with NCIT on the issue, which will be determined during the later stages of implementation.

The MMS team also inquired how and what data will be shared from the system. Professor Terrance Fernando explained the customizability of giving limited views to personnel necessary for the system. Dr. Waheed also highlighted that since the pilot is to be established in Fuvahmulah, a small living lab on the island where operations can be coordinated at the local level.

The need to input relevant data for the island was also discussed. These include 3D models of key infrastructure on the island to be mapped in the platform for visualizations.

To conclude, the teams agreed to appoint a focal point from MMS and have frequent and regular meetings during the requirement phase. The University of Salford team was given a tour of the MMS and presented the climate data collection and monitoring infrastructure. They also presented how they communicated weather information and alerts to the public using social media platforms for community messaging. Mr. Abdulla Wahid (Director General, Meteorology), Mr. Ahmed Rasheed (Director, Meteorology), Mr. Ibrahim Humaid (Seismologist), Mr. Nasooh Ismail (Meteorologist), Ms. Aishath Rasheed (Meteorologist) and Mr. Mohamed Shahud (Meteorologist) joined the meeting from MMS.

On the 19th of November 2024, the team had a combined meeting with the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy (MoCCEE) and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Like the prior meetings, the team introduced the scope of the project with the project plan and opened the floor for requirements. The discussions consisted of acquiring necessary data sets for the platform from the government. Policy on data sharing was also discussed. Both the Ministry and the NDMA informed that flood maps for the city are being developed and are on the verge of completion. The Ministry proposed that the consultants identify the needed data and how it should be structured and share it with relevant stakeholders.

Another aspect discussed was the Maldives' staff capacity to build flood models and the cost of software for the work. Professor Terrance Fernando highlighted that open-source software can be used and that training will provide additional support during the pilot project. Ms. Priyanka Dissanayake (Senior Disaster Management Specialist) from the South Asia Disaster Risk and Climate Unit participated in the meeting. She highlighted that the World Bank will assist with capacity building under the trust fund linked to the D’MADD project.

Mr. Ajwad Musthafa (Permanent Secretary), Mr. Afsal Hussain (Director), and Mr. Ibrahim Kashif (Director of Policy Planning) represented the Ministry. Mr. Ibrahim Kashif attended from the NDMA. Project Manager Dr. Ibrahim Waheed and Communications Specialist Ahmed Haleem represented D’MADD PMU in the meetings.

The Salford team also travelled to Fuvahmulah City from 21 to 24 November 2024. The University of Salford team and Dr. Ibrahim Waheed conducted two meetings during the visit. The first meeting was with the Fuvahmulah City Council. Mayor Ismail Rafeeq led the council team, which included the councilors, secretary general, senior council executive, and director of ICT. After introducing the project plan and the MOBILISE platform, the Salford team discussed the implementation approach, access to data and the establishment of the Living Lab on the island. The mayor highlighted that the elevation model of Fuvahmulah island is being developed by the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy and will be a vital data source. A separate discussion was held with the council's Information Technology team, led by Ahmed Ibrahim, Director of ICT, to explain the technicalities of the cloud-based solution behind the platform.

The second meeting was held with other relevant stakeholders within Fuvahmulah Island. These include emergency responders, the Maldives National Defense Force, the Maldives Police Service, and the Maldives Red Cresent. Other organizations include the Women Development Council, Waste Management Corporation, and Fenaka Corporation, responsible for electricity, water, and sewage. Members of the Fuvahmulah Airport, a key logistical infrastructure on the island, were also requested to join the meeting.

In the introduction, the project manager, Dr. Ibrahim Waheed, gave a brief overview of the D’MADD project, which emphasizes involving stakeholders and their feedback, comments, and input in every step of the implementation process. He also explained that a larger stakeholder awareness program will be launched after the project's phase 1 completion.

The Salford team introduced the project plan and scope to the stakeholders. It was a productive meeting with new perspectives and insights. Though the project was formulated for rain floods as the key disaster within the island, the MNDF and the Police identified tidal surges as the most prominent disaster threat. A mechanism to monitor the tidal level and anticipate a surge will greatly benefit the island and other system capabilities.

The visit concluded with a site visit to Fuvahmulah Island organized by the city council, during which the team showed key infrastructure on the island, including the flood drainage mechanisms.