The researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi have developed a fully functional Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) to warn people about landslides in the Himalayan region.
The system has been developed based on research led by Prof. Dericks Praise Shukla from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, IIT Mandi along with research scholars Ankit Singh and Nitesh Dhiman.
LEWS will be used as a warning system to forecast and monitor the probability of landslides based on data regarding the susceptibility of the topography along with rainfall in real time.
This system issues warnings to the regions where landslide risks exist to take necessary precautions by the concerned authorities, disaster management bodies and people living in that area.
“Several regions of Himachal Pradesh have been severely affected by landslides during the monsoon season during the past few years and LEWS can be an effective tool to help people during such disasters”, feel researchers
Highlighting the significance of the system, Prof. Shukla said, “At the very onset of the monsoon, our Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) will provide daily landslide forecast through a web-based application; the system is designed to help identify high-risk areas in advance, enabling authorities and communities to undertake timely evacuation and disaster preparedness measures,” he stated.
The satellite-based early warning systems are among the most effective techniques in disaster risk reductions since they transform scientific data into timely decisions and a region-wide installation of the system has potential to significantly strengthen preparedness, enable faster response, and enhance coordination among disaster management agencies, particularly during the monsoon season when landslide risks are at their highest.
To facilitate easy access and dissemination of information to the stakeholders, the IIT Mandi team has developed a Google Earth Engine (GEE) based web portal through which users can view landslide forecasts for the current day along with the previous three days. Furthermore, users can also download bulletins in PDF format and get WhatsApp alerts of the chosen locations
