Odisha launches early warning system

Bhubaneswar:Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched an early warning dissemination and mass message system to provide timely information on natural calamities to the people in state.

The government has installed 122 towers in the coastal districts to provide early warning about cyclones, tsunamis and floods, the Chief Minister said.

He announced that preparation of Village Disaster Management Plans (VDMPs) would be taken up in 7,000 villages in the first phase to build a resilient community.

The vulnerability of landslides in Gajapati district would be taken up for study to work out preventive measures to minimise loss of lives and property due to disasters in future, he said.

"We have come a long way from 1999," Patnaik said referring to the super cyclone that struck the Odisha coast killing around 10,000 people.

"However, we have some ground to cover as far as forecasting precision and vulnerability mapping, especially of interior areas is concerned," he said on the day that has since been named as the Odisha Disaster Preparedness Day.

He said villages on hill-tops might be required to be shifted to prevent future losses.

Condoling the lives lost when cyclone Titli struck last week, he also expressed his gratitude to all those who worked tirelessly to save maximum lives and property when strong winds and heavy rains battered from Ganjam to Balasore.