No system in place to alert city to disasters

Worldwide, alerts go out ahead of extreme natural events. So why were citizens not alerted to the deluge in the city earlier this week?

The simple answer: Bengaluru has no system in place to send out disaster alerts to people.

In the early hours of Independence Day, Bengaluru received 128.7 mm of rainfall. In just a few hours, the city was flooded. And in that short, intense spell, the rainfall had exceeded the highest for August in recorded history. Records exist for 127 years, since 1890.

Many government and municipal institutions are mandated with monitoring and preparing for natural disasters. What were they doing on August 15 then?

Task force exists

Bengaluru has a dedicated monsoon force called Be-Ready Bangalore Group. Few outside official circles have heard of it.

The group meets every fortnight to take stock and plan ahead, and comprises heads of various civic agencies under the urban development department. It is headed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

“We have members from the (state) disaster management centre also. Any information about the weather is shared and immediate action is taken,” N Manjunath Prasad, BBMP Commissioner told DH.

Shared with officials, that is. In effect, no warning goes out quickly to newspapers and other media. No system exists to get the word out on radio, TV and mobile phones. The viral power of the Internet is not tapped either.

Day before downpour

On Monday, hours before the rain battering, the BBMP received a forecast map from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).