India’s First Automatic Early Warning Dissemination System to come up in Odisha

India’s first automatic Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) will be commissioned by March 2018 in Odisha. The project aims to establish fool-proof communication system to address existing gaps in disseminating disaster warning up to community level.

Key Facts

The EWDS is a first-of-its-kind automatic public address system in the country. The project is being implemented under National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project with World Bank’s help. It will provide Odhisa’s entire population residing on 480 km length coastline a pre-warning siren in event of occurrence of natural disasters like tsunami or cyclone. It will help to warn vast population of state residing along its coast from State headquarters through loud sirens from towers installed at 122 locations in six coastal districts in event of occurrence of natural disasters like a tsunami or cyclone. The districts are Balasore, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and Ganjam.

How EWDS Works?

The EWDS comprises certain devices inbuilt into it like as Satellite-Based Mobile Data Voice Terminals (SBMDVT), Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), Mass Messaging System (MMS) and Universal Communication Interface (UCI) which help in inter-operability among different communication technologies.
Whenever, there is slightest hint of disasters like tsunami or cyclone or any other natural calamity, it will broadcast warning to entire state just by press of button from control room in state capital Bhubeneswar. With press of button, loud sirens will go off at same time and warning sound will heard in localities to radius of 1.5 km. With this pre-warning, EWDS will help people to move to safer places before government agencies start evacuation.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2018