Indian disaster-resilient network system soon to be in operation

A Last Mile Communication (LMC) network that will not crumble under calamities and cover all the panchayats and an early warning dissemination system would be rolled out in Karala, India shortly.

The proposal gains significance in the wake of reports of telecommunication networks failing in flood-affected areas in Tamil Nadu, rendering rescue operations difficult.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) allotted Rs. 15 crore through the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) for the State last week. The implementation will begin during the first-half of the next year.

The recent floods in Chennai and Jammu & Kashmir have proved that the communication network would take the impact of natural calamities first. It will also have a telling effect on the early warning, rescue and mitigation measures. A fail-proof early warning system and communication network would be crucial in dealing with post-calamity situations, said Sekhar L. Kuriakose, member, State Disaster Management Authority.

The LMC would network all the panchayats and the district emergency operations centres to the State Emergency Operations Centre. The State would improvise on the detailed technology model of the connectivity programme, which was implemented by Odisha, he said.

The network aims to reduce the vulnerability of people to calamities by disseminating warnings. It would allow the State and/or district control centres to send communication directly to the villagers and those at risk. It also attempts to ensure that the last man facing the risk is well informed of actions to take in case of a natural calamity.

The system will have Digital Mobile Radios (DMR), Satellite-Based Mobile Data voice Terminal (SBMDV), mass messaging, alert tower siren systems and universal communication interface. The DMR can be interfaced with the existing VHF systems available with the State Disaster Management Authority.

The SBMDV could establish a broadband connection from a remote site to establish instant access to State and district level officials through voice, data and video. A mass messaging system with a web-based solution will be there in the system, which can send group-based and location-based alerts. It can also be used to send SMS and voice messages to the pre-defined telephone numbers. Such messages will go to the media broadcast stations and can be used to broadcast the warnings on AM/FM Radios, according to a project report.