Telangana leads push for unified flood management to prevent devastating inflows
In a significant move, the Telangana State Committee on Dam Safety (SCDS) has called for seamless data sharing between neighbouring states—Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana—to proactively manage sudden inflows from upstream reservoirs and safeguard critical irrigation infrastructure.
To address the recurring threat of flash floods, the SCDS convened a high-level meeting with irrigation officials from the four states, along with representatives from the Central Water Commission and the National Disaster Response Force.
The outcome: A first-of-its-kind Integrated Flood Management System (IFMS) that aims to revolutionise how states monitor, predict, and respond to flood risks in the Krishna and Godavari basins.
"The proposed IFMS will provide advance warnings of two to seven days, enabling timely evacuation and flood preparedness," Telangana's engineer-in-chief and chairperson of the SCDS, G Anil Kumar, told TOI. It will integrate real-time data from rainfall stations, cloud tracking radars, and dam inflow levels to assess flood risks dynamically.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting
Luxeartisanship
Buy Now
Undo
The system also aims to simulate flood scenarios through digital twin technology, helping authorities visualise the impact of potential flood events and identify vulnerable infrastructure, settlements, and transportation networks across the basin.
In past instances—such as the 2009 flooding of Kurnool and the near overflow of the Srisailam dam, or the 2022 inundation of Bhadrachalam town due to Godavari floodwaters—poor coordination and delayed data sharing proved disastrous.
In one case, the breach of Peddavagu under intense inflows further underscored the urgency for a system like IFMS. According to Anil Kumar, "The IFMS will provide early warnings and actionable insights that can save lives and infrastructure. It's a long-overdue step towards proactive flood management."
He said that the IFMS will enable real-time monitoring of rainfall, inflows, and flood-prone zones. It will estimate the likelihood of flash floods and heavy rainfall events using radar data and cloud-top temperature analysis, while issuing geo-specific alerts across the basin.
To facilitate this, irrigation departments are currently developing new tools and software platforms for real-time data sharing. Institutions such as IIT Hyderabad are being brought in to support the technical development of the flood warning system—not just for Telangana, but also for the city of Hyderabad, which faces periodic urban flooding.
"The idea is to track flood flows and water levels in irrigation projects across the basins in real time, and create a digital twin of flood events," said Anil Kumar.
"This will allow us to simulate and visualise potential impacts, helping us identify at-risk infrastructure, agricultural zones, and critical transport links," he added.
During the inter-state meeting, it was agreed that all participating states will share information from real-time rainfall stations within the river basins, as well as key reservoir data, daily water release figures, and standardised application programming interfaces (APIs) from relevant govt agencies.
Experts say this collaborative model is expected to set a national precedent for integrated flood management and inter-state water governance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
More of the same likely today, but no colour code alert from Met dept
New Delhi: The city received persistent rain since early Wednesday morning as the monsoon trough shifted slightly toward the capital. Several parts of the city recorded light to moderate rain of varying intensity during the day. The Met department has forecast similar weather conditions for Thursday, though it hasn't issued a colour coded alert. Delhi can expect to receive light to moderate rain on Thursday, though the rain intensity is likely to drop from Friday onwards. In the 24 hours until Wednesday 8.30am, Delhi's base weather station at Safdarjung recorded 14.4mm of rainfall. Lodhi Road logged 20.6mm, Palam 1.9mm, Ridge 32.8mm, Pragati Maidan 38.9mm, Pusa 23.5mm, Najafgarh 13mm, and Janakpuri, 18.5mm. Later, there was more scattered light rain around noon. Between 8.30am and 5.30pm, Safdarjung recorded another 9.3mm of precipitation, Palam 1.2mm, Lodhi Road 11.2mm, Ridge 1.8mm and Ayanagar, 1.2mm. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi According to the India Meteorological Department's Krishna Mishra, "The monsoon line of trough is currently close to Delhi. It is passing through Amritsar, Bathinda, Karnal, Meerut and Varanasi. Delhi is feeling its impact. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Swelling and internal bleeding in the brain, help this baby Donate For Health Donate Now Undo A western disturbance is also adding to the moisture. The south-westerly winds are feeding additional moisture from the Arabian Sea." By 5.30pm on Wednesday, Safdarjung had received a season total of 151.2mm. The normal rainfall for the month of July in the long-period average (LPA) is 209.7mm. Last year, the city received 203.7mm in July against 384.6mm in 2023. In IMD classification, rain up to 15.5mm in 24 hours is deemed light, between 15.6 to 64.4mm is moderate and above 64.4mm is heavy. Meanwhile, the city's maximum temperature on Wednesday was 30.8 degrees Celsius, four degrees below normal and around 2 degrees less than the 32.6 degrees a day earlier. The minimum was 25.6 degrees, two degrees below normal. The humidity oscillated between 88% and 100%. IMD has forecast moderate to light rain to continue, with the maximum temperature likely to hover at 30-32 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the showers improved the air quality to 'satisfactory' levels, even as Delhi's environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the capital was on track to record the cleanest July with an average air quality index of 67 so far. On Wednesday, AQI, on a scale of 0 to 500, was 67 against 88 a day earlier, both in the 'satisfactory' category. According to the minister, Delhi has recorded 118 days of 'good' to 'moderate' AQI so far, almost equal already to the 120 such days in entire 2024. "This is not a seasonal blip — it is the result of Delhi's multi-agency implementation model, continuous landfill action, intensified sweeping operations, and a clear commitment to outcome-based governance," Sirsa claimed, adding, "We are not celebrating early. We are simply staying the course — and the results are becoming visible more frequently across the year. "
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Water resources department prepares comprehensive flood protection plan for Vijayawada
1 2 Vijayawada: The Water Resources Department has prepared a comprehensive flood protection plan to shield Vijayawada from Budameru floods. A detailed project report (DPR) of the flood protection plan, costing around Rs 5,000 crore, was readied and forwarded to the state govt for its approval. Under the new DPR, the irrigation department proposed the construction of a new 25-kilometre flood flow canal to carry 20,000 cusecs plus flood water. "The tentative work proposals awaiting approval from the govt were designed to completely modernise the existing Budameru rivulet course. The exercise to ready the new DPR was done meticulously after assessing the 2024 flash floods to Budameru rivulet that wreaked havoc and submerged several parts of Vijayawada," a senior irrigation department official requesting anonymity said, adding once the works proposed in the DPR were completed, Vijayawada could withstand any kind of floods to Budameru. The proposed works in the DPR included improvements to the existing Budameru river course from 1 kilometre to 34 kilometres by removing the existing encroachments, construction of a new flood flow canal to divert flood water from Velagaleru Head Regulator till Enikepadu Under Tunnel (UT) Budameru drain, and revamping the existing UT to carry 40,000 cusecs of water up to Kolleru Lake, besides improvements to Upputeru (from Kolleru Lake to Sea) from 9.80 kilometres to 64 kilometres of the course. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like She Took 1 Teaspoon Before Bed – Her Belly Was Gone in a Week Hollywood News | USA Click Here Undo "The alignment of the proposed alternative flood flow canal will be finalised and disclosed after the govt gives in-principal nod to the DPR," the senior irrigation official informed. The DPR accessed by the TOI reveals that a whopping Rs 1,943 crore would be required for land acquisition for the construction of the alternative flood flow canals, as a major chunk of private lands and agriculture fields would be required for the development of the canal. The flood flow canal will be constructed at a cost of Rs 1,103.79 crore. "Subsequently, the construction of a flood protection wall along Budameru rivulet might be withdrawn considering the project would cost a staggering Rs 3,000 crore. Even after constructing the flood protection walls, the maximum flood carrying capacity of the Budameru rivulet would be limited below 10,000 cusecs, whereas the proposed alternative flood flow canal was designed to accommodate 20,000 cusecs plus of flood water," the senior irrigation official commented.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Indore remains rain deficient, strong monsoon systems bring hope for recovery
Indore: With only a week left in July, Indore district continues to face a significant rainfall deficit. The district recorded just 199 mm of rainfall so far this season, against the normal average of 309.8 mm for this period, marking a 36% shortfall. Several other districts including, Shajapur, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Ujjain, Agar-Malwa, Khargone and Barwani in Indore-Ujjain division are rain deficit. Rain activity in Indore has remained subdued, with only 0.1 mm recorded in the past 24 hours. On Wednesday, the city logged a maximum temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, and a minimum of 23.4 degrees Celsius, one degree above average. Humidity remained high throughout the day, with morning readings at 95% and evening at 80%. Weather systems are aligning to potentially break this dry spell. Met department has forecast that a strong monsoon system would became active over Madhya Pradesh. A cyclonic circulation is likely to form over the north Bay of Bengal in the next 24 hours, followed by the development of a low-pressure area that could bring enhanced rainfall across the state. The monsoon trough at mean sea level currently stretches from Firozpur to the east-central Bay of Bengal, and upper-air cyclonic circulations persist over south-west Rajasthan and west-central Bay of Bengal. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo A trough line running from the north-east Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal system across central India is also expected to contribute to rainfall activity. Senior meteorologist Dr Divya E Surendran said current systems are likely to result in widespread showers across the state. A favourable spell of rainfall is particularly forecast for July 26–27 in the Indore-Ujjain division, which may help reduce the rainfall gap if the system moves over the Malwa region. In the past 24 hours, Jharda in Ujjain district 122 mm received highest rainfall in the region, followed by Barod in Agar-Malwa (100 mm) Moman Badodiya in Shajapur (71 mm), Neemuch (48 mm) and Tarana in Ujjain (47 mm). While eastern Madhya Pradesh is experiencing surplus rainfall, western parts, including Indore, remain significantly below normal.
