‘Disaster management is complex; needs local solutions, planning for it to work’
The state natural disaster management agencies aid lakhs of people in the state every day regarding developments on weather as well as ensuring that citizens aren’t left in the lurch when it comes to dealing with natural disasters. Speaking to the editors and reporters of The New Sunday Express, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) Director Dr Manoj Rajan, who is also Commissioner, of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Authority (KSNDMA), gives an insight into the inner workings and intricacies of natural disaster management, from how data is analysed to technology aiding farmers and those from economically poor backgrounds. Excerpts:
How vulnerable is Karnataka to natural calamities?
Karnataka is a state that is second most prone to droughts after Rajasthan. The state has ten agro-climatic zones, and spatial variability of rainfall is witnessed from 4,000 to 5,000 mm per year in the Western Ghats to 400 to 500 mm in North-Interior Karnataka. In the last 14 years, we have experienced floods and droughts simultaneously. Nine districts are also prone to landslides in the Malnad region. Meanwhile, sea erosion and cyclones are limited to the coastal area and the open areas in rural parts of the state witness thunderstorms and lightning.
What is the role of KSNDMA? How is it contributing to disaster management?
KSNDMA is a one-of-a-kind autonomous institution which gives science-based inputs to disaster management authorities and policymakers. The centre has 6,500 telemetric rain gauges situated at every 25 sq km that measure the rainfall levels every 15 minutes every day. Besides, 850 automated weather stations and 11 lightning sensors have been installed which understand and capture the onset of any upcoming hazard and alert people accordingly. The weather stations capture humidity, temperature, wind speed and direction and the lightning sensors have the technology to detect vulnerable places where lightning can strike 15-20 minutes in advance.
How do you analyse the data received by KSNDMC?
Disaster management is hyper-complex and the impact is catastrophic. It is imperative to have local solutions and local planning for it to work properly. We receive science-based inputs from 6,500 telemetric rain gauges, 850 telemetric weather stations, 14 seismic stations and 136 storm water drains. We also have other stations set up to receive input on lightning and other phenomena. Apart from this, for the first time we have also installed cameras in around 50 locations in Bengaluru and 30 cameras in three other smart cities for urban planning, so we receive real-time inputs on the rainfall. For example, while there are sensors in storm water drains, if there is an obstruction, the reading received will be wrong. But a camera will give a more accurate scenario and another dimension to analyse the data received.
We also take active inputs from the media, because it isn’t possible to receive data from everywhere. We take inputs from media reports or TV channels. In addition, we take in data from complaints received at the call centres. Following this, we try to make sense of the data. We receive as many as 28 crore datasets a year. To analyse these daily efficiently, we have to be completely automated, especially as we have 32 people working.
There are also determinants for how severe rainfall is in different regions. Severe rainfall in regions like Bengaluru, Bidar or Kalaburagi will not be as severe as in regions like Udupi. Alerts are also set up to ensure that they are received by each level. We also have different cells for issues like droughts or floods, where they take in the data and are able to generate reports that are also understandable to the common man.
How important is communication, and what methods are being used to disseminate the information?
People tend to panic during natural calamities, hence it becomes important to educate them with correct information to avoid panicky situations. Multiple ways, including Bengaluru Varuna Mitra call centres, mobile app helplines and even SMSs are being used to alert people in hazardous scenarios. Over the years, the department has the capability to forecast and analyse problematic areas and convey the right message to the citizens.
For the first time, we have introduced a public address system stationed in 105 vulnerable gram panchayats in districts like Belagavi, Raichur and Bagalkot which is a multilingual early warning system making announcements in places and educating people about taking necessary precautions.
Can you elaborate on the Varuna Mitra helpline?
Our Varuna Mitra helpline receives 19 lakh calls a day, with questions on livelihood and other issues, asking whether it is proper to plant certain seeds and what the forecast will be next week. There are only 24 people operating the call centres. If you have made a call previously to the centre, we record the data on your region and other details, and are able to provide whatever details you may need automatically. This means that calls are automated, once we receive the call, we can finish it in less than a minute with all the information that the person needs. In addition, we have dashboards on our website where all information is available and separated for Bengaluru and other smart cities. We are trying to communicate the information we have in a 360-degree manner. We try to use technology as much as possible to disseminate this information.
Are rural areas more prone to lightning?
Lightning strikes in urban areas as well. However, most people have the capacity to stay indoors. High-rise buildings have lightning arresters, which reduce the incidence of deaths related to it. However, in rural areas, there are large empty spaces. In a sudden scenario of thunder and lightning, people tend to take shelter under wet trees or start running around, which causes deaths as open spaces and wet trees are most prone to lightning. Ninety per cent of lightning deaths are in rural areas.
What is KSNDMA’s vision in creating disaster management plans to support vulnerable populations?
Our department has seen 50 lakh hectares worth of agricultural and horticultural crops getting damaged in the past five years. Around 2.5 lakh hectares of houses have also been damaged. Farmers incur huge losses in scenarios of droughts and floods which majorly affect their lifestyle. KSNDMA over the years has helped farmers select cropping patterns, seed qualities and fertilisers as well, which are more flood/drought-resistant to make sure their entire crops are not destroyed in times of any natural calamity. I also applaud that Karnataka is the only state which provided crop input subsidies to 18 lakh farmers in less than a month. Disaster management is a complex process and if such support is provided at the right time, it will help people in times of need and not months later. However, there is also a need to teach them how to grow crops better, which is something we are trying to focus more on.
Why is Karnataka so prone to floods?
In general, the amount of rainfall has increased compared to previous years. With the increase in rainfall, it is inevitable that flooding will occur. While there is the case of urbanisation, the issue also affects rural and agricultural areas. There are a few reasons for this. First, the amount of rainfall has increased drastically compared to previous years. There’s also the un-seasonality of the rain itself. During the harvest season in November, which is usually dry, a lot of farmers are unable to harvest their crops if it rains. This is mostly due to a switch towards harvesters and other machines that will inevitably become stuck if used on soft earth. Apart from this, our practices have also changed from before. While it can’t really be explained, the erratic nature of the rainfall is a contributing factor. We must become adapted to any changes coming about due to climate change, be it in agriculture or otherwise.
Can you share details on flood preparation and evaluation matrix?
We have come up with a flood evaluation matrix where districts can evaluate their plan of action. Under this, the deputy commissioner of each district has to evaluate his region, and its vulnerability to floods, its preparedness to handle it, emergency relief, etc and plan accordingly for their district. When we evaluate how well the districts have addressed the above things, we give them marks and they can always improve it by comparing it with other better-performing districts. Last year it worked well.
How are sensors helping KSNDMA keep track of drains during heavy rains in Bengaluru?
We have mapped three valleys in Bengaluru -- Vrishabhavati, Koramangala-Challaghatta and Hebbal. We have installed sensors and cameras in vulnerable areas along the drain and when the water level in these drains reaches the danger mark, it immediately alerts the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) engineers so they are ready to handle the breach. We have also come up with a model to predict where flooding is likely to occur in the city. For example, if there is 50mm of rain in Rajarajeshwari Nagar and 80 mm of rain in Mahadevpura, which parts of the area will be prone to flooding? We shared it with BBMP two months ago, based on which action has to be taken by the civic body to prevent flooding through multiple strategies.
What is your opinion on rainwater harvesting? Can it help reduce flooding in Bengaluru?
It is good to have rainwater harvesting widely. As rural areas are not concretised, a major part of the rainfall will seep into the ground. However, in Bengaluru city, due to high concretisation, the accelerated runoff is very high, resulting in flooding. We have to reduce the runoff speed by creating sponges, percolation pits, etc, that will help reduce the rainwater runoff and avert floods. Rainwater harvesting is a good long-term strategy to conserve water that would otherwise go down the drain.
How can the common man contribute to reducing climate change?
That is a big question. The usual answers are to contribute to the environment, grow trees, have a lifestyle that is eco-friendly, and use less fossil fuels. It is a big umbrella where one needs to look into all the angles. We have identified 2,187 gram panchayats across the state that are vulnerable to disasters in one way or the other. For the first time in the country, we have constituted Disaster Management Committees in these gram panchayats. We have come up with a template to do a bio-physical-resource analysis of the gram panchayats like the area in the panchayat that is prone to floods, that have slopes, the crops they grow etc. We have trained the gram panchayats on what they have to do in times of rain, flood, drought etc. We want to strengthen the training and take it further by teaching them how to address different kinds of disasters, how to do rescue and relief operations etc.
Will monsoons be normal this year? When is it expected to reach Karnataka?
According to the predictions by the Indian Meteorological Department, the monsoon will be normal this year. In Peninsular India, which covers Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the rainfall will be above normal in certain places. North-interior Karnataka Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Vijaypura will receive below-normal rainfall, south-interior and Malnad regions will receive above-normal and coastal regions will receive normal rainfall. Monsoon normally hits Kerala by June 1, but it is expected to be delayed by about four days. It is expected to touch Karnataka between June 6 and June 9.