IMD designs “Flash Flood Guidance System” to predict flood

New Delhi, June 11: In a new welcoming move to make sure there are no hurdles during monsoon. Citing heavy rainfall, the Indian Meteorological Department has decided to launch a new Flash Flood Guidance System (FFGS). A new system and soil study data will soon enable the India Meteorological Department to also forecast floods and guide the disaster management agencies on prevention techniques.

 

Currently, the Central Water Commission issues flood warnings. A flash-flood guidance system which will forecast the impact of rainfall and whether a particular spell of rain could lead to flooding based on assessments of soil condition, moisture level and topography of a particular area, is set to be operational within a month. The system is a project of the India Meteorological Department.

The Indian Meteorological Department, Director General, KJ Ramesh, said that the project aims at taking precautionary measures in advance in case of a sudden deluge. Floods in an area due to a spell of rainfall often depend on the interplay of factors including soil condition, soil depth, antecedent soil moisture conditions, state of the drainage system, topography and the amount of rain. The trial run to account for all these factors is underway.

Apart from this, the state and district-level farmers' bodies and disaster management agencies will be given appropriate guidance for flood preparedness. As of now the IMD only issues warnings for heavy rainfall, adding that accurate flood forecasts will be issued in future on the basis of soil testing.

In plains like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the soil is more absorbent, 10 to 20 cm of rainfall will not cause floods, the IMD DG explained. But in hilly areas like Uttarakhand, where the soil is less absorbent, the same amount of rainfall is enough to cause floods, he added.

IMD, DG, Ramesh said that data from a study of soils in every part of the country was already available. The FFGS will facilitate flood prediction for different regions on the basis of the temperature and rain forecasts, he said.