Amid rain fury in several states, Union minister Nityanand Rai on Thursday introduced a bill to amend the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in Parliament. This includes a provision for creating a national and state database for timely assessment and measures during natural disasters.
At least 300 people were killed in rain-related incidents this week, with 256 of these deaths occurring in the massive landslides at Kerala’s Wayanad district.
According to the draft, the proposed disaster database will have details of fund allocation, expenditure as well as preparedness and mitigation plans as determined by the Centre. It also seeks to form an authority for urban disaster management in state capitals and major cities.
In the last 24 hours alone, 32 people have died in rain-related incidents. Besides the death and destruction caused by the landslides in Kerala, at least 15 people were killed and several went missing as torrential rains wreaked havoc in northern India — especially in the two hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Three people were killed and 50 went missing in two separate incidents of cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh. Rains washed away many homes and roads, leaving two hydro power projects damaged. while drowning incidents due to waterlogging, building collapses and electrocutions were reported from Delhi-NCR. Flash floods swept away highways in Uttarakhand.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its forecast said more rains were predicted in the northern parts, with heavy to very heavy rains in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh on August 1.
The IMD chief, meanwhile, defended rainfall warnings issued for Kerala, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. It said it forecast significant rainfall activity along the west coast of India on a regular basis and a red alert was issued for Kerala early on July 30.
The reaction comes a day after Union home minister Amit Shah said the Kerala government did not heed the Centre’s warning regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains. Responding to this, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the IMD only issued an orange alert in the district but more than 572 mm of rainfall was received, significantly higher than what was predicted.
During an online press conference, IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the weather department issued an extended range forecast for significant rainfall activity along the west coast of India on July 18 and July 25.
“The long-range forecast issued on July 25 indicated good rainfall activity along the west coast and central parts of the country from July 25 to August 1. We issued a yellow warning on July 25, which continued until July 29, when we issued an orange warning. A red warning was issued in the early morning of July 30, indicating that very heavy rainfall, up to 20 cm, was expected,” he said.
He further said an orange warning means “be prepared for action and one should not wait for red warnings”. Similarly, warnings were in place for Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, he added.
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