THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the strengthening monsoon and unseasonal extreme rain events posing risks of landslides in hilly regions across Kerala, the state government is planning to tie up with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to implement its state-of-the-art early warning system in Wayanad district.
Following devastating landslides last year, the university had approached the state government seeking permission to implement an early warning system in Wayanad.
According to official sources, the government has already issued an order granting the university permission to go ahead with the project.
The university has already demonstrated success in Munnar, where it deployed a first-of-its-kind AI-enabled real-time Landslide Early Warning System (AIR-LEWS). The system, designed and developed by the Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications, has been operational for over a decade.
Maneesha Ramesh, director of the Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications, said the system has proven to be instrumental in preventing disaster-related casualties. “We deployed the system in 2007 and the system has successfully delivered real-time warnings during the monsoon season in Munnar since 2009. We have proposed that the state government deploy the system in landslide-prone Wayanad. The plan is to deploy it in 14 locations near last year’s landslide site,” Maneesha told TNIE.
The AIR-LEWS operates through a network of over 200 intelligent wireless probes embedded deep in the earth, continuously monitoring critical parameters such as rainfall, soil moisture, pore pressure, and ground vibrations.
These sensors, connected via an IoT infrastructure, feed data in real-time to local edge nodes, and subsequently to a central management centre where advanced machine learning and AI algorithms assess risk and issue tiered warnings.
“We aim to extend the same level of safety and preparedness witnessed in Munnar to other vulnerable areas, especially Wayanad. The project will be fully funded by the university,” Maneesha said.
An official with the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority said the government has already given the proposal the green signal. “There are some issues with the terms and conditions. The communication is on,” the official said.