CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday said steps were on to install two C-Band Doppler Weather Radars in Ramanathapuram and Yercaud in the state to improve the accuracy of weather forecasting and cyclone tracking.
These weather radars would cover the shadow regions, particularly the southern and north interior districts of the state. They would be installed at a cost of Rs 56.03 crore, a policy note on Revenue and Disaster Management department, tabled in the Assembly by Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KKS S R Ramachandran said.
At present two IMD weather radars at Chennai and Karaikal, along with the ISRO radar in Sriharikotta aid in weather forecast and in tracking cyclones.
Owing to frequent intense rainfall in very short spells in Chennai and adjoining districts, leading to loss of lives and damage to properties, the government was implementing the World Bank-aided Real Time Flood Forecasting and Spatial Decision Support System (RTFF & SDSS) for Adyar, Cooum, Kosasthalaiyar and Kovalam river basins of Chennai.
This Rs 107.12 crore project helps to increase the precision in flood forecasting, the note stated.
The Chennai RTFF system covered an area of approximately 4,974 square kilometres, encompassing Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Ranipet districts.
The project aims to deliver web-based real-time flood forecast including street-level inundation through a sophisticated hydrological modelling based on lake and reservoir storage, water release, rainfall runoff, etc.
"The CRTFF activities will be institutionalised by the establishment of Hydrological Model Control Room (HMCR) in the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC)," the policy note said.