KOCHI : The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority on Tuesday conducted the operational testing of sirens installed at 86 locations across the state aimed at issuing early warning to the citizens during a crisis situation. The testing of the sirens installed at schools and government buildings was coordinated by the state Emergency Operations Centre. While the functioning of 83 sirens were satisfactory, three sirens could not be operated due to network problems. These sirens will be tested after rectifying the technical issues, said KSDMA member secretary Sekhar Kuriakose. The sirens have been installed under Kerala Warnings Crisis and Hazard Management (KaWaCHaM) system which aims to bring the entire early warning system under a framework. It is aimed at disseminating information and issuing warnings effectively during hours of crisis. The network is coordinated at the State Emergency Operations Centre and will work at the district and taluk level.
“We have operationalised the system for dissemination of information through SMS and phone hooting recently. In the next phase we will be testing the technology to override television and FM networks. The project will ensure issuing personalised messages in a target area during a crisis. The project is being implemented utilising a Rs 78 crore grant from the National Disaster Management Authority utilising World Bank funds under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project II,” he said.
Under the project, the KSDMA has provided mobile generators to the Fire and Rescue Service and satellite phones to district collectors. The technical evaluation of the network was completed by Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and the KSDMA is now conducting operational evaluation. The authority is installing 126 sirens and strobe lights as part of the warning system, which need to be brought under a single network. As part of the project, a siren code will be implemented ensuring different alarms according to the nature of the crisis.