Cyclone Landfall: Web-Based Tool For Forecasting Expected Damage

Bhubaneswar: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with India Meteorological Department (IMD) has developed a web-based Dynamic Composite Risk Analysis (Web-DCRA) & Decision Support System (DSS) tool for forecasting the expected damage associated with the landfalling cyclones over the coastal districts in the country.

This will enable the disaster managers to conduct a better assessment of the vulnerable areas and in mobilizing the mitigation action based on this tool. This is under the Government of India’s National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) with a view to addressing cyclone risks in the country.

The overall objective of the project is to undertake suitable structural and non-structural measures to mitigate the effects of cyclones in the coastal states and UTs of India. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will implement this project in coordination with participating State Governments. The Project has identified 13 cyclone-prone States and Union Territories (UTs), with varying levels of vulnerability.

Apart from this, INCOIS has developed a device named GEMINI (GAGAN Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information) a simple handheld device that receives the information transmitted through GAGAN and feeds that to the mobile handset through Bluetooth connection. An App developed by INCOIS converts the satellite messages in the form of readable maps and text, said Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and Health & Family Welfare.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha today, Harsh Varshan said that the government of India has made provision for such devices under the Pradhan Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana (PMSSY) scheme. Under this scheme, support is provided to procure PFZ devices, network, and cost of installation as part of “Strengthening of safety and security of fishermen”.

As per a PIB release, there are seven established Cyclone Warning Centers covering the east & west coasts of our country. Among these, three are Area Cyclone Warning Centres (ACWCs) located at Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata and the remaining four are Cyclone Warning Centres (CWCs) located at Ahmadabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has developed state of art tools for cyclone warning services, and has demonstrated its capability to provide early warning for Cyclones with high precision and has earned accolades globally and nationally for very effective state of art early warning system for monitoring and prediction of cyclones.

The cyclone forecast accuracy has significantly improved in recent years as has been demonstrated during cyclones Phailin (2013), Hudhud (2014), Vardah (2016), Titli (2018), Fani& Bulbul (2019), and Amphan, Nisarga & Nivar (2020). During recent years, the loss of life due to cyclone has been drastically reduced being limited to double-digit figures, the statement added.

(With PIB Inputs)