Cyclone early warning project to benefit Goa
SHWETA KAMAT
PANJIM, JAN 16
Goa will benefit from the contract inked between the Government of Indian and World Bank under which Cyclone Warning Systems would be installed in coastal states.
Sources stated the first phase for this project is to the tune of $255 million which will cover the cyclone prone states of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, which has seen worst ever disasters in recent years.
The other states like Goa will be covered in the second and third phase.
In all 13 cyclone prone States including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal; two Union Territories: Daman & Diu and Pondicherry; and two island groups: Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands would be benefit from the project.
Met Department officials said that the project aims to upgrade early warning and communications systems to reach vulnerable communities in coastal areas. It will also help boost the ability of local communities to respond to disasters, improve access to emergency shelters in high risk areas and strengthen disaster risk management capability at the central, state and local levels.
The project will also take into account the past experiences and errors that led to disasters going unwarned before they struck the coast.
Earlier, in October Met officials told Herald that the State would soon have a Digital Cyclone Warning Dissemination System (DCWDS), which will be operated by policemen at the police control room in Panjim.
After a break of three years, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has decided to replace its old cyclone warning dissemination system (CWDS) which was based on analog.
DCWDS service is first of its kind in the State where the receivers will be kept under standby mode and will get automatically activated on receipt of the weather warnings messages.
The system will be connected to cyclone warning centres at Mumbai and Chennai who will forewarn the State in case of any intense wind moment on the shore.
DCWDS is a broadcast service, where the cyclone warning will be given verbally in the local language along with English and Hindi.
