NEW DELHI: A new system and soil study data will soon enable the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to also forecast floods and guide the disaster management agencies on prevention techniques.
Currently, the Central Water Commission (CWC) issues flood warnings.
IMD Director General (DG) K J Ramesh told Bhasha that the national weather agency was preparing to launch this service from the next month by using the Flash Flood Guidance System (FFGS) for the first time in the country.
“The service will be started for the first time with the help of this system,” he said.
“As of now, the system is being tested. We hope to start it from the next month,” he added.
In a first for the IMD, it will also apprise the CWC and other concerned agencies about the necessary steps to deal with the aftermath of floods.
Ramesh said that different kinds of soil from different parts of the country had been studied to find out how absorbent each variety was.
This, along with the rain forecast, will help to ascertain how much water will be absorbed into the ground and how much will be left behind after going into rivers, drains and other water bodies, which can lead to floods, he said. (AGENCIES)
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