How Technology Can Help India Cope With Natural Disasters

From using AI to predict floods to crowdsourcing, India is heavily using technology in its bid to cope with natural disasters such as floods and cyclones

- Srikanth RP

The year 2019 hasbeen one of the worstyears in the history for India when it comes to natural disasters. More than 13 Indian states (Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha) have been affected due to floods. Government reports state that this year has been witness to the heaviest monsoon rains to wreck havoc in India in the last 25 years. More than 1,600 people have been killed with millions of people losing their homes and their livelihood.

While this year has been devastating, every year, the same pattern repeats itself. Almost every year, we hear of an Indian state being flooded. According to the National Flood Commission report, around 40 million hectares of land in India is prone to floods.

Can technology help? In India, some pilot projects and initiatives launched by different states can serve to be the right models for other states to follow. Take, for example, the pilot project done by Google in collaboration with the Central Water Commission, to estimate the flood level situation in Patna. Google claims that its AI based model was used to send a map-based alert to people who lived within thousand square kilometers around Patna. The map indicated which areas were likely to get more flooded and which areas had the probability of not being flooded. Google claims that the accuracy of its model was over 90 percent.

We now take a look at the initiatives of some Indian states that have used information technology to enhance the safety of their citizens.

Odisha – a beacon of hope