HYDERABAD: Seeking reprieve from the fury of nature might be possible in not too distant future, with research leading the way. An earthquake monitoring system being developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) as the nodal institute in collaboration with 10 other institutes located in India and Japan will aid in coordinating an early warning system for earthquakes.The project titled Information Network for Natural Disaster Mitigation and Recovery or DISANET will involve installation of sensors in earthquake-prone areas which will monitor seismic activity. A wireless network connecting the information generated will enable interpretation of a disturbance across the centres and an impending disaster can be predicted close to a day in advance - valuable time to take preemptive action.“It is a one of its kind project being developed in the country. There are a few groups in the world who are working in this field,” said Professor Uday B Desai, Director of IIT-H.The project, which is estimated to cost `20 crore, will involve installation of multiple sensors in the Himalayan belt, prone to high seismic activity, and development of a robust communication network that can be deployed to relay information and used during emergencies. To begin with, the sensors will be sourced from Japan. The development of the information network is being coordinated at various institutes across the country including IIT Madras and IIIT Hyderabad. “There are two approaches to develop a disaster mitigation and recovery system. Either a powerful sensor can be installed or multiple sensors with lower power can be installed and connected to pass information. We are focusing our research on the second approach,” the director explained. “The aspect of data mining and developing a communication network are the areas in which IIT-H will be contributing to the project. Other IITs including Kanpur and Madras are also a part of the team. NGRI will be helping us with installation of instruments and by providing crucial data,” said Professor Desai. Faculty and students of the Computer Science department at the institute will be focusing on data mining. “Since the project is in collaboration with Japanese institutes, it will provide us important technical know-how from the country which faces probably the largest number of earthquakes,” said the director.City-based National Geophysical Research Institute(NGRI) and the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad are a part of the international project which involves collaboration with Japanese universities, under the aegis of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The five-year project has close to 30 staff and an equal number of students working on it in both the countries. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2015.Incidentally, Hyderabad also falls in an earthquake-prone zone though it hasn’t had any disasters for the past few decades.
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