Lok Sabha Question No. 864 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Cyclone Warning Centres
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.864 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2021

## CYCLONE WARNING CENTRES

## 864. SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU:

## Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) the  number  of  functional  Cyclone  Warning  Centres  in  the  country,  State/UT-wise including Andhra Pradesh;
- (b) whether the Government is planning to establish more Cyclone Warning Centres on South East coast of country and if so, the details of locations thereof;
- (c) whether the cyclone warning techniques available in the country are adequate in terms of efficiency and efficacy, as compared to other countries and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  improve  the  cyclone  warning  technology  to reduce  the  effects  and  damage  caused  due  to  cyclones  and  vulnerability  of  coastal communities to cyclones; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to provide low cost devices for fishermen for getting information about cyclone warnings free of cost or at highly subsidized rate and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER MINISTER FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) In order to cater to the needs of Cyclone Warning Services and Marine weather services, there are seven established Cyclone Warning Centers covering the east & west coasts of our country.  Among  these,  three  are  Area  Cyclone  Warning  Centres  (ACWCs)  located  at Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata and remaining four are Cyclone Warning Centres (CWCs) located at  Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam  and Bhubaneswar. Area of responsibility of ACWCs and CWCs is shown in the Table below.

| Centre                 | Coastal area*                                    | Maritime State/UT                                |
|------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| ACWC Kolkata           | State: West Bengal UT: Andaman& Nicobar Islands  | State: West Bengal UT: Andaman& Nicobar Islands  |
| ACWC Chennai           | State: Tamil Nadu UT: Puducherry                 | State: Tamil Nadu UT: Puducherry                 |
| ACWC Mumbai            | State: Maharashtra & Goa                         | State: Maharashtra &Goa                          |
| CWC Thiruvananthapuram | State: Kerala& Karnataka UT: Lakshadweep         | State: Kerala &Karnataka UT: Lakshadweep         |
| CWC Ahmedabad          | State: Gujarat UT: Dadra-Nagar Haveli- Daman-Diu | State: Gujarat UT: Dadra-Nagar Haveli- Daman-Diu |
| CWC Visakhapatnam      | State: Andhra Pradesh                            | State: Andhra Pradesh                            |
| CWC Bhubaneshwar       | State: Odisha                                    | State: Odisha                                    |

From the table, it is clear that the cyclone warning services of Andhra Pradesh comes under the responsibility of CWC Visakhapatnam.

- (b) No Sir. There is no plan for establishing more number of CWCs as the requirements of the entire coastal belt of the country is covered by the existing centres as mentioned above.
- (c) Yes Sir. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has developed state of art tools for cyclone warning services, and has demonstrated its capability to provide early warning for Cyclones with high precision and has earned accolades globally and nationally for very effective state of art early warning system for monitoring and prediction of cyclones. The cyclone forecast accuracy  has  significantly  improved  in  recent  years  as  has  been  demonstrated  during cyclones Phailin (2013), Hudhud (2014), Vardah (2016), Titli (2018), Fani & Bulbul (2019) and Amphan, Nisarga & Nivar (2020). During recent years, the loss of life due to cyclone has been drastically reduced being limited to double digit figures.
- (d)    It  is  being  planned  to  further  enhance  the  accuracy  of  weather  forecasts  and  their  more effective & timely dissemination in the ensuing years. For this purpose, under the Umbrella Scheme  entitled  'Atmospheric  &  Climate  Research  -  Modeling  Observing  Systems  &

Services  (ACROSS),  a  sub-scheme  has  been  planned  viz.,  'Upgradation  of  Forecast Services'. The various components of this sub-scheme include;

- (i) Development of an advanced operational forecast system
- (ii) Upgradation and sustenance of communication systems for weather services
- (iii) Capacity building & outreach etc.

This along with further improvements in the observational network and numerical modeling capability planned under ACROSS are also expected to increase the accuracy of weather forecasts.

Also, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has set up Storm Surge Early Warning System (SSEWS) for the Indian coasts in active collaboration with IMD. Prime objective of this service is to save the lives of coastal community by forecasting cyclone induced storm surges and inundation extent.

Further, the Government of India has initiated the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) with a view to address cyclone risks in the country. The overall objective of the Project is to undertake suitable structural and non-structural measures to mitigate the effects of cyclones in the coastal states and UTs of India. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will implement this Project in coordination with participating State Governments. The Project has identified 13 cyclone prone States and Union Territories (UTs), with varying levels of vulnerability.

The  main objective of the NCRMP  is to reduce vulnerability of coastal communities to cyclone and other hydro meteorological hazards through

- (i)  improved early warning dissemination systems
- (ii) enhanced capacity of local communities to respond to disasters
- (iii)  improved  access  to  emergency  shelter,  evacuation,  and  protection  against  wind storms, flooding and storm surge in high areas
- (iv)  strengthening  DRM  capacity  at  central,  state  and  local  levels  in  order  to  enable mainstreaming of risk mitigation measures into the overall development agenda.

Under Phase-2 of the NCRMP, NDMA in collaboration with IMD has developed a web based Dynamic Composite Risk Analysis (Web-DCRA) & Decision Support System (DSS) tool for forecasting the expected damage associated with the Landfalling cyclones over the coastal districts of our country. This will enable the disaster managers for a better assessment of the vulnerable areas and in mobilizing the mitigation action based on this.

- (e)  INCOIS has developed a device named GEMINI ( GAGAN Enabled Mariner's Instrument for Navigation  and  Information )  a  simple  handheld  device  that  receives  the  information transmitted  through  GAGAN  and  feeds  that  to  the  mobile  handset  through  Bluetooth connection. An App developed by INCOIS converts the satellite  messages  in the form of

readable maps and text. The decoded information can be viewed on the mobile in any of the languages spoken in the coastal states of India. The Mobile app receives the GPS information (Current Position, Satellite Date & Time) as well as the following broadcasted messages.

1.      Potential Fishing Zone Advisory
2.      High Wave Alert & Strong Wind Alert
3.      Cyclone and Tsunami Warning Information
4.      Maximum Wind Speed, Maximum Wave Height, Maximum Current Speed
5.      Bathymetry, Distance & Direction

Govt. of India has made provision for such devices under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMSSY) scheme. The fishermen can procure this device under the Sl.NO.11.3 support to fishermen for PFZ devices and network including the cost of installation proposed as part of 'Strengthening of safety and security of fishermen'.

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