Meetings with central team: HP seeks flood forecasting unit, revised disaster relief norms
The central team, constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, is tasked with examining the rising trend of natural calamities such as cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides in the state, and to suggest scientifically backed remedial measures to both the state and central governments. The team is led by Col K P Singh, Advisor (Operations & Communications), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and comprises Dr S K Negi (CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee), Prof Arun Kumar (retd geologist, Manipur University), Dr Neelima Satyam (IIT Indore), and Dr Susmita Joseph (IITM Pune).
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary apprised the team of the alarming rise in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events in Himachal Pradesh over the past few years. He noted that the state has faced extensive damage to life, infrastructure, and the environment, with climate change emerging as a key underlying factor.
'Hilly states face unique challenges in disaster preparedness, response, and rehabilitation. It is, therefore, crucial to understand the root causes behind these disasters so we can develop targeted and effective mitigation strategies,' Saxena said.
In a separate meeting, Additional Chief Secretary Pant echoed these concerns and called for a revision of national norms governing disaster relief and rehabilitation to suit the specific topographical and climatic conditions of Himalayan states like Himachal Pradesh. He emphasised the importance of pre-disaster planning over post-disaster relief and called for the installation of advanced sensors and monitoring systems.
Pant also underlined the need to establish a dedicated flood forecasting unit in Himachal with support from the Central Water Commission (CWC), and advocated for detailed glacial lake studies and real-time hydrological monitoring.
Special Secretary (Revenue-Disaster Management) D C Rana gave a comprehensive presentation, revealing that since 2018, the state has recorded 148 cloudbursts, 294 flash floods, and over 5,000 landslides. He informed the team that the estimated losses due to natural disasters in 2023 alone stood at nearly ₹10,000 crore while the state continues to incur annual damage between ₹1,000 and ₹ 2,000 crore.
Experts from the DGRE-DRDO and Geological Survey of India (GSI) also participated, with the MSCT urging both institutions to intensify data-sharing and conduct focused studies on high-altitude hazards, sudden floods, and landslide vulnerability.
The MSCT will conduct field visits and is expected to submit its final assessment report within a week to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
Nepal Tests AI-Powered Early Warning System To Predict Landslides
Every morning, Nepali primary school teacher Bina Tamang steps outside her home and checks the rain gauge, part of an early warning system in one of the world's most landslide-prone regions. Tamang contributes to an AI-powered early warning system that uses rainfall and ground movement data, local observations and satellite imagery to predict landslides up to weeks in advance, according to its developers at the University of Melbourne. From her home in Kimtang village in the hills of northwest Nepal, 29-year-old Tamang sends photos of the water level to experts in the capital Kathmandu, a five-hour drive to the south. "Our village is located in difficult terrain, and landslides are frequent here, like many villages in Nepal," Tamang told AFP. Every year during the monsoon season, floods and landslides wreak havoc across South Asia, killing hundreds of people. Nepal is especially vulnerable due to unstable geology, shifting rainfall patterns and poorly planned development. As a mountainous country, it is already "highly prone" to landslides, said Rajendra Sharma, an early warning expert at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. "And climate change is fuelling them further. Shifting rainfall patterns, rain instead of snowfall in high altitudes and even increase in wildfires are triggering soil erosion," Sharma told AFP. Saving lives Landslides killed more than 300 people last year and were responsible for 70 percent of monsoon-linked deaths, government data shows. Tamang knows the risks first hand. When she was just five years old, her family and dozens of others relocated after soil erosion threatened their village homes. They moved about a kilometre (0.6 miles) uphill, but a strong 2015 earthquake left the area even more unstable, prompting many families to flee again. "The villagers here have lived in fear," Tamang said. "But I am hopeful that this new early warning system will help save lives." The landslide forecasting platform was developed by Australian professor Antoinette Tordesillas with partners in Nepal, Britain and Italy. Its name, SAFE-RISCCS, is an acronym of a complex title -- Spatiotemporal Analytics, Forecasting and Estimation of Risks from Climate Change Systems. "This is a low-cost but high-impact solution, one that's both scientifically informed and locally owned," Tordesillas told AFP. Professor Basanta Adhikari from Nepal's Tribhuvan University, who is involved in the project, said that similar systems were already in use in several other countries, including the United States and China. "We are monitoring landslide-prone areas using the same principles that have been applied abroad, adapted to Nepal's terrain," he told AFP. "If the system performs well during this monsoon season, we can be confident that it will work in Nepal as well, despite the country's complex Himalayan terrain." In Nepal, it is being piloted in two high-risk areas: Kimtang in Nuwakot district and Jyotinagar in Dhading district. Early warnings Tamang's data is handled by technical advisers like Sanjaya Devkota, who compares it against a threshold that might indicate a landslide. "We are still in a preliminary stage, but once we have a long dataset, the AI component will automatically generate a graphical view and alert us based on the rainfall forecast," Devkota said. "Then we report to the community, that's our plan." The experts have been collecting data for two months, but will need a data set spanning a year or two for proper forecasting, he added. Eventually, the system will deliver a continuously updated landslide risk map, helping decision makers and residents take preventive actions and make evacuation plans. The system "need not be difficult or resource-intensive, especially when it builds on the community's deep local knowledge and active involvement", Tordesillas said. Asia suffered more climate and weather-related hazards than any other region in 2023, according to UN data, with floods and storms the most deadly and costly. And while two-thirds of the region have early warning systems for disasters in place, many other vulnerable countries have little coverage. In the last decade, Nepal has made progress on flood preparedness, installing 200 sirens along major rivers and actively involving communities in warning efforts. The system has helped reduce flooding deaths, said Binod Parajuli, a flood expert with the government's hydrology department. "However, we have not been able to do the same for landslides because predicting them is much more complicated," he said. "Such technologies are absolutely necessary if Nepal wants to reduce its monsoon toll."
News18
a day ago
- News18
Heavy rains likely in northern West Bengal till Aug 4
Agency: Kolkata, Aug 1 (PTI) Heavy rainfall is likely in the sub-Himalayan districts of West Bengal over the next three days, owing to an upper air circulation and a strong monsoon flow, the IMD said. Light to moderate rainfall will occur in many districts of south Bengal till August 7, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. The sub-Himalayan districts of Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri are likely to receive extremely heavy rain at one or two places, while Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Cooch Behar will get very to very heavy rain from August 2 to 4, it said. Nagrakata in Jalpaiguri district received the highest rainfall in the state in 24 hours till 8.30 am on Friday at 90 mm, while Purulia got 60 mm rain during the same period. view comments First Published: August 01, 2025, 14:15 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
a day ago
- Business Standard
Delhi sees cleanest July air in 7 years; heavy rains likely in Aug-Sept
The Delhi-NCR region is likely to witness light to moderate rainfall on Friday, along with partly cloudy skies and the possibility of thunderstorms and lightning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 34 degrees Celsius, while the minimum may dip to 24 degrees Celsius. Delhi records cleanest July in seven years Delhi registered its cleanest July in seven years, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) at 78, falling in the 'satisfactory' category, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said. This year's July AQI even surpassed the lockdown-era improvement in 2020, when reduced vehicular and industrial activity had led to lower pollution levels. In July 2025, the city saw 29 days of 'satisfactory' air quality, the highest in seven years. In comparison, July 2018 had just 16 such days, and 2019 only 12. Delhi also recorded its lowest PM2.5 and PM10 levels for the January–July period this year. On Wednesday morning, the AQI in the capital stood at 57, further strengthening the trend of improved air quality. Above-normal rainfall forecast for Aug–Sept India is likely to receive above-normal rainfall during the second half of the southwest monsoon season, August and September, according to the IMD's latest forecast. 'Overall, above-normal rainfall—about 106 per cent of the Long Period Average [LPA] of 422.8 mm—is most likely during the second half of the monsoon,' IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, reported news agency PTI. While most regions are expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall, below-normal rains are likely in the Northeast, adjoining eastern India, parts of central India, and southwestern areas of the peninsula. August rainfall is expected to be normal in most parts of the country, and September may record above-normal precipitation, Mohapatra said. Despite subdued rainfall in the immediate forecast, current weather conditions do not meet the criteria for a 'break monsoon phase', a period when the monsoon trough shifts towards the Himalayan foothills and rainfall significantly declines across the plains. India had already experienced above-normal rainfall during June and July, with states like Himachal Pradesh seeing severe flash floods.
