CHENNAI: The Corporation flood monitoring system that comprises flood sensors and cameras have helped reduce response time in clearing out waterlogged subways and other places during recent showers, said Corporation officials.
As part of the Smart City Project, at 55 locations a total of 46 flood sensors and 68 cameras along with 30 rain gauges had been set up and integrated to a central command and control centre to help with quicker decision making and response time.
“We get hourly real-time visual feed on water levels. For instance in the Villivakkam subway, there was stagnation but we could send the assistant engineer to clear things up quickly,” said a senior Corporation official. Earlier, officials had to wait for information or updates from the field to take decisions.
Zonal officers of all 15 zones and Regional Deputy Commissioners of the North, South and Central regions are also connected through this system which removes the difficulties in coordination. In the Gengu Reddy subway, water could be drained in an hour’s time, said Corporation officials.
The rain gauges, each covering a 30-m radius, provides information on rainfall recorded to help officials identify areas where there has been heavy rainfall. The system is also set to be programmed to read increase in water levels in canals and lakes such as Chembarambakkam, Poondi and Sholavaram and alerts the central command centre, if need be.
“We will define and programme it to alert once water crosses defined levels. This feature is available in a few locations and we are in the process of scaling it up to include all locations,” he said.