Fourteen Indian states have better resilience to floods

Approximately 66% of individuals in India are exposed to extreme flood events. However, only 33% of the exposed individuals are covered by flood early warning systems (EWS), according to a new report released by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) recently. Meanwhile, 25% of individuals in India are exposed to cyclones and their impacts, but cyclone warnings are available to 100% of the exposed population.

The report, ‘Strengthening India's Disaster Preparedness with Technology: A Case for Effective Early Warning Systems’, highlights that early warning systems are a critical component of building climate resilience as the country sees increasing extreme weather events such as floods and cyclones in recent times. These early warnings are also a part of disaster risk reduction, a key focus area under India’s G20 Presidency.

Fourteen Indian states have better resilience to floods due to the availability, accessibility and effectiveness of early warning systems, States such as Assam, Odisha, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Kerala lead the way.

The CEEW study calculated resilience to floods and cyclones as a sum of availability (presence of early warning stations), accessibility (share of people who have access to information, say, through phones) and effectiveness (presence of governance and financial frameworks) of early warning systems. CEEW’s analysis revealed that with accelerating climate change, states need to rapidly expand the availability of flood early warning systems.

While 72% of Indian districts are exposed to extreme flood events, merely 25% of these exposed districts have level flood forecasting stations. Further, while 24 states in India have institutional mechanisms in place for flood early warning systems, only 6 – Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Goa – show moderate utilisation of the funds dedicated to it.

“The recent floods in India and Cyclone Biparjoy have once again shown the importance of investing in early warning systems. India is rapidly expanding its early warning coverage by embracing transformative technologies. However, as we witness swapping patterns in the climatic extremes in the country, where previously drought-prone areas are now facing floods, all states need to ramp up their early warning systems to safeguard lives and livelihoods. States should leverage state-of-the-art technologies to build inclusive, impact-based multi-hazard early warning systems that involve the local communities for last-mile connectivity. Intensifying adaptation finance for enhancing disaster preparedness is the need of the hour,” said Dr Vishwas Chitale, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW.

The CEEW report further notes that India has demonstrated leadership in cyclone early warning systems. Cyclone warnings are available to 100% of the exposed population in the country. Coastal states such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and West Bengal are at the forefront of building resilience by establishing effective cyclone early warning systems. As cyclones increase in frequency with warming oceans, inland states in the path of these cyclonic storms will also need to strengthen resilience.

Shreya Wadhawan, Programme Associate, CEEW, said, “Early warning systems are a low-hanging fruit in disaster preparedness. The central and state governments should also invest in regional real-time flood monitoring microsensors, and collaborate with the private sector to improve these warning systems. Leveraging its position as the G20 presidency, India should promote the agenda of making early warnings available to all and champion impact-based people-centric systems for disaster risk reduction.”

A 2021 study by CEEW found that 27 Indian states and union territories (UTs) are vulnerable to extreme hydro-met disasters and their compounded impacts. The country suffered damages worth USD 7.6 billion (INR 62,000 crore) due to extreme flood and cyclone events in 2021 alone (WMO 2022). Currently, India’s cyclone early warning systems are much more robust than its flood ones, but as each state faces an increase in the frequency and intensity of climatic extremes, it is important to build effective early warning systems for all.

“The insights provided by CEEW’s team of experts have shed light on the importance of strengthening our nation’s forecasting capabilities, enhancing data collection and analysis techniques, and fostering collaborative partnerships among various stakeholders. This research not only serves as a guiding light for policymakers but also paves the way for innovative solutions that can be implemented at different levels, from national to local, ensuring effective preparedness and response,” adds Mrutyunjay Mohanty, Director General, Meteorology in the foreword to the report.

Key recommendations of the report

• States should mainstream inclusive, impact based, and community-led MHEWS. Leveraging self-help groups (SHGs) and youth volunteers from local communities will enable states to achieve last-mile connectivity and efficient end-to end information dissemination.
• States should strengthen early warning dissemination systems (EWDS) by leveraging new-age technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, which can assist in the monitoring, forecasting, and alarm generation aspects of EWS by providing the tools to sense, clean, process, and analyse the data coming from the environment.
• The central and state governments should invest in regional real-time flood monitoring microsensors. This will enable accurate and real time collection of data, which can then be shared with the Central Water Commission (CWC) and combined with their flood monitoring data to make flood forecasts more targeted and accurate.
• State and central governments should promote collaborations with the private sector to improve MHEWS efficiency, especially using technology. Fostering public–private partnerships will accelerate innovation and the scaling of technological solutions for disaster risk reduction (DRR). Involving private companies can also aid fund mobilisation, bringing more transparency and accountability to the flow of finance towards EWS.
• Leveraging knowledge transfer through international collaboration. Enabling international collaborations enhances understanding of key components such as data collection, risk assessment, information dissemination, and community engagement for effective EWS. This knowledge exchange facilitates the adoption of cutting-edge technologies for early detection, enabling proactive response and impact mitigation in India and other countries.

To ensure that climate change adaptation is incorporated into national and local DRR policies, we need to invest more in comprehensive disaster risk management. Establishing effective EWS is a low hanging fruit in helping accomplish our DRR targets. Leveraging its position as the G20 presidency, India should promote the agenda of making early warnings available to all and champion impact-based people centric MHEWS.

About CEEW: The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) is one of Asia’s leading not-for-profit policy research institutions. The Council uses data, integrated analysis, and strategic outreach to explain – and change – the use, reuse, and misuse of resources.

Suggested Citation: Wadhawan, Shreya. 2023. Strengthening India’s Disaster Preparedness with Technology: A Case for Effective Early Warning Systems. New Delhi: Council on Energy, Environment and Water.