In El Salvador, GEOGLOWS ECMWF has been used to provide valuable information about streamflow and water availability in the Lempa River basin, which is one of the country's most important water resources.

Citalá and Santa Rosa Guachipilin flooded houses and streets on November 19th 2020. 

The Lempa River basin supplies water to over half of El Salvador's population and is also an important source of hydropower. However, the basin is vulnerable to a range of water-related hazards, including floods, droughts, and landslides, which can have significant impacts on water availability and the livelihoods of local communities.

To address these challenges, the GEOGLOWS model has been used to provide up-to-date information about water resources in the Lempa River basin.

By using GEOGLOWS forecasts, it was possible to anticipate with certainty the occurrence of a rapid flood in the Lempa Alta River at Citalá town and other significant populated regions downriver of the Honduran-El Salvador border on November 16, 2020. The comparison between the stream prediction for November 16th generated by the GEOGLOWS Streamflow forecast system (above) and the river flow recorded at Citalá hydrometric station between November 9th and November 30th 2020 demonstrates how the model could be incorporated into the monitoring and forecasting processes.