The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) have launched a Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) for Guwahati to alert local authorities about flash floods and/or heavy rainfall. The fully automated web-based tool will help them take timely and appropriate measures in event of a natural disaster heading toward the city.

KEY POINTS:

i) Developed under TERI's project supported by the NDMA in collaboration with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the tool can be replicated to predict urban floods in any part of the country.

ii) The FEWS pilot project was undertaken on an experimental basis, to enhance resilience for urban floods, in assistance with the Guwahati Municipal Corporation, North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) and TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS).

iii) The Country have been categorised the country into 27000 watersheds, and based on it we issue flood warnings. With increasing incidents of urban flooding, our main focus is to develop local city-specific forecasting systems for accurate advisory. Currently there are 25 Doppler Weather Radars in India to detect/predict likelihood of high-intensity rainfall events. IMD will install 20 radars in hill districts in the Eastern and Western Himalayas in the next 2 years.

iv) FEWS uses IMD's weather research forecast (WRF) model results of precipitation at 3 Km spatial resolution having hourly data set to simulate the hydrodynamic model for flood prediction and sends out early warning.

The features of FEWS

=> Early warning systems have proven to be an effective tool in reducing our vulnerabilities toward predicting natural disasters. Though assessing recurring events such as floods is complex due to multiple levels of interactions and dynamic nature of urban water system, tools such as FEWS, can be customised to incorporate such uncertainties, thereby improving our resilience against urban flooding.

=> The system is developed with an inbuilt urban drainage to predict flood at street-level accuracy. The flood level and hotspot areas can be visualised over Google Maps which will help in identifying flood-affected areas, disaster preparedness, and management of urban flooding related issues such as traffic disruption, providing relief and recovery, and managing storm water

=> The online discussion also showcased a climate portal developed by TERI's Centre for Climate Modelling that assists policy makers to visualize pan-India information on past and future climate variability at city-scale to assist climate-resilient planning. TERI's hydro-climate modelling capacities are constantly trying to address the science and policy gaps by provisioning innovative technologies.

About TERI

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) is an independent, multi-dimensional organisation, with capabilities in research, policy, consultancy and implementation. It has pioneered conversations and action in the energy, environment, climate change, and sustainability space for over four decades.

The institute's research and research-based solutions have had a transformative impact on industry and communities. Headquartered in New Delhi, it has regional centres and campuses in Gurugram, Bengaluru, Guwahati, Mumbai, Panaji, and Nainital, supported by a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, sociologists, economists and engineers, and state-of-the-art infrastructure.