Sixty six percent of Indians exposed to extreme flood events: CEEW

New Delhi: The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) has said that around 66 per cent of individuals in India are exposed to extreme flood events.

In its new study titled “Strengthening India’s Disaster Preparedness with Technology,” the Council claimed that only 33 per cent of the exposed individuals are covered by flood Early warning systems( EWS).

“Around 25 per cent of individuals in India are exposed to cyclones and their impacts, but cyclone warnings are available to 100 per cent of the exposed population”.

The study came at a time when India is facing the brunt of heavy rainfall activities, especially the incessant rains that continued to wreak havoc in North India.

The CEEW  said,” more than 88 per cent of Indian states exposed to floods and 100 per cent of the states exposed to extreme cyclone events have a high teledensity ratio (means to access early warnings through telecommunications)”.

Nine states with high exposure to extreme flood events have highly effective flood  Early warning systems (EWS).  

“Ten states with high exposure to extreme cyclone events also have high to moderately effective cyclone EWS” it said.

The study revealed that 14 out of 32 flood-exposed states, and 9 out of 17 cyclone-exposed states, are highly resilient owing to the availability, accessibility, and effectiveness of EWS.

Courtesy: CEEW

EWS is designed to detect potential threats or hazards and provide advance notice or warning to individuals or organisations at risk.

Speaking about the study, Shreya Wadhawan Programme Associate said that “Over the past two decades, India has taken significant measures to increase its resilience to climatic extremes such as floods, droughts, and cyclones. However, there is an urgent need to implement a people-centric and comprehensive Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) at the national and sub-national levels to further strengthen existing mechanisms.

“India can leapfrog to MHEWS from the existing EWS mechanisms by leveraging new age technologies, involving local communities in the early warning dissemination process, investing in regional real-time flood monitoring micro-sensors, establishing public-private partnerships, and learning from international best practices” she added.

Since the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres unveiled an Executive Action Plan to provide Early Warnings for All at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt,  India has been taking steps to build its resilience to the impacts of such extreme events by increasing preparedness and investing in early warning systems (EWS).

Under the proposed action plan the countries require an investment of USD 3.1 billion from 2023 to 2027 (WMO 2021) to make EWS available to everyone across the globe.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS –

-States should mainstream inclusive, impact-based, and community-led MHEWS.

-States should strengthen early warning dissemination systems (EWDS)2 by leveraging new-age technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.

-The central and state governments should invest in regional real-time flood monitoring microsensors.

-The study aims to assess the effectiveness of nationally operated EWS and MHEWS in mitigating the impacts for hydrometeorological hazards with a focus on floods and cyclones in India, said CEEW.

-State and central governments should promote collaborations with the private sector to improve MHEWS efficiency, especially using technology.

-Leveraging knowledge transfer through international collaboration.

-The study aims to assess the effectiveness of nationally operated EWS and MHEWS in mitigating the impacts for hydrometeorological hazards with a focus on floods and cyclones in India, said CEEW.