TN-Alert app launched for real-time monsoon warnings

Presiding over a meeting of top officers of the State to review the monsoon preparedness of the various departments at the Secretariat on Monday, Stalin told the authorities to ensure through their quick response that there was not a single loss of life and also to work together as a team to alleviate the sufferings of the people.

Stressing on the need to prevent disasters by taking precautionary measures like evacuation of people living in low lying areas before the monsoon actually arrived, he asked the authorities to keep water pumping machines, tree cutters, JCB, boats and other equipment ready in flood prone localities.

The new TN-Alert App would help people take precautionary measures through proper planning as it would issue advance warnings on weather conditions, put out real-time data on the climatic situation, rainfall received and storage position in the reservoirs, Stalin said.

As model flood warning system for the country, the Chennai Corporation had devised a method to issue real time alerts on floods, ward by ward and street by street, he said, adding that elders, pregnant women, lactating mothers and differently abled citizens should be provided with all necessary requirements in advance by the district administration.

Recalling last year’s floods that ravaged Chennai, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts, he said that the timely action taken by the district administrations ensured that there was no major disaster. This year flood prevention work should be completed before the onset of the monsoon, he said

In the districts, senior officials with complete knowledge of the place had been appointed as monitoring authorities at every region and they should also start their work ahead of the onset of the monsoon season, he said.

For Chennai, too, monitoring officials had been assigned various regions and they, too, should start work ahead of the monsoon and also ensure that all the routine flood prevention work like desilting, inspection of bridges and small bridges, removal of waste, strengthening of the banks of water bodies were completed on time.

The Chief Minister urged parents to counsel their children and prevent them from rushing to water bodies once the skies opened up and court disasters and the authorities to keep relief material ready for those who might be evacuated from their dwellings,

He also called upon the officials to ensure uninterrupted supply of drinking water, electricity, milk and food during cyclones and floods and to see to it that telecommunication lines functioned without disruption and that people had access to medical facilities.

Underlining the importance of the role played by volunteers during disasters, he said that as part of disaster management action plan volunteers should be used in search, rescue and relief operations and every challenge should be met unitedly by all involved in the disaster preventive measures.