CHENNAI: The state government can now mitigate with floods in a better way in Cuddalore district as Centre for Aerospace Research(CASR) under Anna University has completed mapping of water resources in the district using unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV).
Cuddalore is one of the most flood vulnerable districts in the state. Using drones, the centre has captured the spatial images for flood vulnerable areas in the district, identified sites for construction of check dams and reservoirs which can be used to store water and avoid flood-like situation. Besides, the encroachments on the river pathway and sand deposited near river basins have also been identified that will help to accelerate floods prevention and loss of lives and property due to the disaster that can be avoided.
The state government provided Rs 7 crore for the project and the centre started the flood mapping project in 2017. Last week, the centre has submitted its detailed report to the government.
“We have covered over 2200 sq kms through UAVs in the district. The captured images from UAVs have been analyzed properly after combining them with high-end computer and necessary software support. The report will definitely help to avoid flood disasters in Cuddalore,” said K Senthil Kumar, director of CASR.
After successful completion of Cuddalore project, the centre is now conducting similar mapping in 22 other districts in the state.
He further added that the pictures taken by the UAVs help to study the streams, terrain contour lines, and slopes more accurately compared to the images taken by satellites.“The images taken by UAVs are of very the high resolution which helps to make flood mitigation study more accurate,” said Kumar.
According to the centre officials, due to this project, the Tamil Nadu government has accelerated its efforts to find a reservoir near Karuveppilakurichi between Vellar and Manimuthur River in the district. The project has also helped the state to found a waterway between the Chengalodai and the Gedilam River through the Neyveli, which helps to improve the level of water inflow into the Gedilam River and prevents the flood around the Perumal Lake and Walaja catchment area.