The Union Ministry of Water Resources has approved a proposal to set up two flood forecasting stations in Kerala during the 12 Plan, under the national Flood Management Programme.
The proposal is part of a Rs.281-cr. plan scheme for modernisation and expansion of the flood forecasting network for automatic data collection and warning, Minister of State for Water Resources Sanjeev Kumar Balyan told Parliament last Thursday.
“The facility will enable local bodies and the district administration in Kerala to issue early warning to populations in flood- prone areas and respond faster to emergency situations caused by rising waters, especially during the monsoon when the rivers are in spate,” says an official at the State Disaster Management Department.
The data generated by the stations will be disseminated to the State Disaster Management Authority and District Collectors for timely evacuation of flood victims. Disaster management experts, however, said it would require integration of historic data and real time information to be effective.
At present, there is no flood forecasting station in Kerala. The flood-prone State of UP has 35 stations, the highest in the country, followed by Bihar with 32 and Assam with 25. In the south, Karnataka has eight stations and Tamil Nadu two.
The Central Water Commission issues flood forecasts for 184 stations across the country. The forecasts are utilised by States and the local administration in deciding plans for shifting flood victims to safer locations and regulating the discharge of water from dams and reservoirs to ensure the safety of people living downstream.
The Ministry has unveiled plans to expand the flood forecasting network to 275 stations. Simultaneously, the support network of 708 hydrological observation sites would be increased to 1,118, out of which 1,074 would be based on automatic satellite telemetry to provide real time information on the flood situation. The regional offices of the CWC would also be equipped for data modelling to ensure timely forecasts with lead time up to 72 hours and with an accuracy of over 98 per cent.
