September 30, 2018
KMC unveils city-level flood forecasting & warning system
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) unveiled a comprehensive city level Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System (FFEWS) to help the officials of the civic body and citizens act decisively to minimise damage before and during disasters. Kolkata is the first city in India to be equipped with this kind of technology.
“The FFEWS, set up by the civic body with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will forecast and at the same time provide real time information on inundation, temperature, air quality and other climate related data through sensor nodes that will be installed at more than 400 vulnerable points in the city,” the Mayor said at the launch event.
KMC has already introduced such sensors at 39 places in the city and will gradually install the same at 455 spots. According to a senior official of the Sewerage and Drainage department of the civic body, the sensors will be installed in the canals, pumping stations, traffic junctions and schools, from where it will send real time data to a cloud-based dashboard. The inputs will get automatically analysed with the global information system data of the city.
As all data will be available at KMC control room, action for redressal can be taken in advance. The risk information will thereafter be shared with citizens through mobile alerts and radio/television, which will help them in planning their activities in advance.
