India is to launch a dynamic, impact based cyclone warning system aimed at minimizing economic losses and damage to property due to the cyclones that hit Indian coasts every year mostly from October to December announced the Director-General of Indian Meteorological Department here on Wednesday.
With this warning system, locals would get information in advance about the possible intensity of the cyclone and the hotspot where damage could be maximum. This would help people to take timely action to minimise their loss by timely action.
Though the system cannot minimise the intensity, however, if real-time information on the movement of the cyclone, people and authorities can take immediate preventive measures to drastically bring down loss due to the natural calamity.
Initially the dynamic, impact-based cyclone warning system would be commissioned experimentally from this season, said Director General IMD Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra. As part of the new system, location or district-specific tailored warnings will be prepared and disseminated to the locals to minimize the losses, DG said.
He was speaking on the topic of ‘Chasing the Cyclones’, organised as part of World Space Week celebrations by the Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS)’s Delhi chapter.
The damage caused to infrastructure due to cyclones is increasing the world over. “With India’s growing economy, we aim to reduce the damage and economic losses caused to property and infrastructure. The dynamic, impact-based cyclone warning will be commissioned from this season”, the DG said.
In the new system, location or district-specific tailored warnings, which factor in the local population, infrastructure, settlements, land use and other elements would be prepared and disseminated. “All disaster management agencies would make extensive use of cartographic, geological and hydrological data available for the district concerned,” he added.
In another development NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) has taken up a project National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) that would develop a Web-based Dynamic Composite Risk Atlas (Web-DCRA) in collaboration with IMD and state Governments of coastal states.
October to December, being considered as cyclone season, the IMD also organized an on-line pre-cyclone exercise meeting to review the preparedness, take stock of requirements, plan for the coming cyclone season. The meeting was participated by experts from IMD, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Navy (IN), Central Water Commission (CWC), India Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Deptt. of Fisheries, Punctuality Cell, Indian Railways and Central Water Commission (CWC).
Cyclones are multi-hazardous in nature and thus they cause heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge over the affected region simultaneously and in its wake, the associated property loss can be huge. This can be in the form of damage to houses and roads, farms and agriculture lands, public infrastructure, and power and telecommunication lines, adding to the overall economic burden for the affected families, local administrations and state governments.
With improved technology and increased use of satellite-guided data in recent years, IMD has managed to better cyclones forecast and issue timely warnings. Advance and accurate cyclone predictions, combined with efforts from disaster management agencies, have also significantly contributed to bringing down the cyclone mortality rate over the years.
The post-monsoon months of October and November offer the favourable atmosphere and sea conditions for the occurrence of cyclonic storms, which mainly affect coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal in the east coast and Gujarat in the west coast, the IMD chief said.
Ends.
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