Soon, get text messages before lightning strikes

RANCHI: With deaths due to lightnings on a rise, the state disaster management department will soon launch a software to alert people of a particular place before a strike through text messages. Though the tribal heartland this year is perceived to be headed towards a drought, deaths of almost two dozen people in Jamtara, Giridih and Bokaro on Wednesday makes this move all the more necessary.
Special secretary of state disaster management Manish Tiwari on Thursday said they are putting in place a dedicated mobile software for the government to disseminate timely and location-specific information to people in lightning-prone pockets through text messages.
"The software is ready and we will soon go for trial runs. If all goes well, the system would be launched on August 15. On an average, about 150 persons die every year due to lightning strikes," said Tiwari while talking to TOI.
According to the state disaster management records, there have been over 1,000 deaths due to lightning strikes since 2009. With little or no infrastructure, coupled with lack of full-fledged district disaster management officers (DDMOs) in the districts, the state's vulnerability is further exposed.
The project has been initiated in partnership with the Ranchi unit of IMD which will relay location-specific predictions of lightning strikes to the disaster management department. The latter will then relay the information through text messages to active mobiles in a particular area.
Officials said, the initiative is inspired by Karnataka's Sidilu, which is an application that forecasts lightnings. Tiwari said the department has roped in two telecom companies for the project and talks are on with the remaining. "Reliance and Airtel have come on board. We are in talks with the others."
Explaining their plan, he said, "Once we get the predictions, the software will relay text messages to all active mobiles in the area which is likely to be affected so that people can take adequate cover on time. The active mobiles will be traced through the mobile towers in that area, which will be done by the telecom companies."
S D Kotal, the director of IMD Ranchi, said they developed a system through which they can now predict lightning strikes even an hour in advance. "Yesterday (Wednesday), we accurately predicted lightning strikes in Jamtara and Bokaro. Unfortunately, people died as the information could not be spread effectively," Kotal said.
On the trend of lightning, Kotal said they mostly strike during noons and evenings in Jharkhand. "It is because instability in the atmosphere increases during this period. Although some incidents of early morning lightnings are reported in the state, the number is less," he said, adding, "Though lightnings can't be prevented, fatalities can be minimised only through awareness, education and timely alerts."
However, the part of creating awareness is still a problem as many districts lack full time DDMOs. Department officials maintained that only 10 districts have full time DDMOs while the rest have officials with dual charges. "We are trying to depute full time DDMOs in the remaining districts too," said Tiwari.
Col Sanjay Srivastava of Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), an R&D company supported by IMD, IIT-Delhi, and World Vision, however, stressed on the need for a more institutionalised mechanism.
"A farmer working in the field may not have access to a mobile phone or may not check the text message before a lightning strikes. What you need to do is to introduce sirens or public address systems before the strikes. You need more of physical intervention besides technology," he said.