Kerala to roll out district-level disaster system in 3 months: CM Satheesan
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Malappuram: Kerala will strengthen its disaster warning and evacuation systems and develop a stronger district-level disaster management model within three months, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said on Monday after 10 people were killed in rain-related incidents in Malappuram, Idukki and Kottayam.
Visiting the affected areas in Malappuram, Satheesan said five people had died and one person remained missing in the district.
He stressed that the seriousness of the incident lay in the fact that there had been no major landslip or landslide immediately visible at the site and no apparent signs of heavy rain.
“There were no visible signs of heavy rain also,” Satheesan said, highlighting the difficulty of predicting highly localised weather events.
He said around 50 people were present in the locality when the incident occurred. The area was not a tourist destination, he said, although social media had projected it as a tourist spot and brought considerable attention to the location.
Similar incidents were reported from Idukki and Kottayam, taking the total number of deaths in rain-related incidents reported on Sunday to 10, Satheesan said.
The Chief Minister said the government would take steps to ensure assistance to the families of those who lost their lives. Details of the assistance would be decided at the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday, he said.
Satheesan said the state was working towards developing a stronger disaster management model with greater emphasis on preparedness at the district level.
“We are working towards a strong disaster management model in Kerala, which will function at the district level,” he said, adding that the government expected to roll out the first stage of the new system within three months.
He said the changing pattern of rainfall made more precise weather forecasting essential. Rainfall was increasingly occurring over very small areas, sometimes covering only around 25 sq km, making it difficult to rely solely on broader weather forecasts.
“More precision has to come into weather reports,” Satheesan said.
The Chief Minister said the state was working to improve the prediction of cloudbursts and other extreme rainfall events. Such predictions, he added, would need to be supported by stronger warning mechanisms.
“The warning system has to be strengthened. So does the evacuation system,” Satheesan said.
The latest incidents, he said, had underscored the need for Kerala to improve its ability to identify localised weather threats and take preventive action before they develop into disasters.
With IANS inputs