THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The recent floods in Srinagar, which crippled government machinery and incapacitated all agencies including those involved in disaster management, have come as a wake-up call to Kerala.
The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has taken the Srinagar experience into account while setting up the new State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) here. A hill- top destination adjacent to Kanakakkunnu Palace, which is also the highest point in the city, has been chosen for the centre , which is being designed to withstand natural calamities and continue to operate for a week even if Thiruvananthapuram itself is cut off from the rest of the country. “The Srinagar experience has taught us many lessons on the importance of keeping systems intact in the capital city. Our centre will remain functional even if there is a major disaster,’’ assures Dr Shekhar L Kuriakose, SDMA member.
There are also plans to establish a VSAT network as terrestrial communications systems are prone to failure during disasters. Already 35 personnel have been trained in handling various communication systems in the event of an emergency. The SOEC will also be equipped with a i2 system that delivers flexible and interoperable analysis and helps in generating actionable intelligence swiftly and sharing of information with various organisations at different levels for relief and rescue operations. The i2 system was part of the disaster management plan put in place for the recent World Cup football tournament in Brazil.
The new centre, being constructed by the Habitat group on the specifications of SDMA, is expected to be completed in 18 months. Fortunately, although Gujarat and Odisha top in disaster management infrastructure and Kerala only comes third, the state has one of the best technical teams and an effective communications network that it can fall back on in emergencies.
