New Delhi : Even as recurring extreme-weather events continue to bring Kerala to its knees, with back-to-back disasters striking the State during successive monsoon seasons, a report on disaster management tabled in the Rajya Sabha by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has identified gaps in Kerala’s disaster management framework.
Despite Kerala’s vulnerability to multiple hazards, including floods, landslides, coastal erosion, lightning and cyclonic events, the committee found that gaps persist in the last-mile dissemination of early warnings in landslide-prone and remote areas.
Technological limitations remain in areas such as hyper-local weather prediction, landslide early-warning accuracy and real-time flood-inundation modelling. High population density, environmental degradation and urban encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas continue to exacerbate disaster risks. Enforcement of building regulations, land-use planning norms and coastal regulation provisions also remains uneven, particularly at the local level, the committee observed, while it suggesting to strengthen the public awareness on multi-hazard warning systems.
Unique geography
According to the report, Kerala’s unique geographical setting, characterised by a narrow coastal belt, dense river network, ecologically fragile Western Ghats and high population density, results in overlapping hazard exposures, particularly during intense monsoon periods. Approximately 14.5% of the State is flood-prone, 14.4% is landslide-prone and more than half of its coastline is vulnerable to coastal hazards, it said.
However, the committee lauded Kerala’s decentralised disaster management framework, under which Disaster Management Plans are prepared at the State, district and Local Self-Government (LSG) levels. These plans are reviewed after every major disaster and updated annually through the ‘Orange Book’, an operational document integrating response strategies, financial provisions and departmental responsibilities.
Systems lauded
The committee also appreciated the State’s advanced early-warning and monitoring systems, particularly the ‘Kerala Warning, Crisis and Hazard Management’ (KaWaCHaM) system, which integrates multi-hazard alerts covering floods, landslides, storms and tsunamis. Technologies such as GIS-based hazard mapping, remote sensing, flood modelling and landslide early-warning systems were also lauded.
The strong role played by community volunteers, including Aapda Mitra volunteers and large-scale voluntarism networks, in augmenting the State’s response capacity was also praised. More than 4,500 trained volunteers are actively engaged in first response, particularly during floods and landslides.
The committee, however, noted that gaps persist despite Kerala developing a comprehensive and decentralised disaster management model integrating community participation, technology and anticipatory planning. It called for sustained efforts to strengthen risk-informed development norms, technological capabilities for forecasting and modelling, last-mile connectivity and public awareness, along with addressing the flaws in the land-use and construction practices being followed in the State.
Speaking to The Hindu, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority member secretary Sekhar L. Kuriakose said curbing inappropriate land use and construction practices and improving public awareness were among the issues the State government needed to address as per the report.
Improving forecast accuracy, including hyper-local weather prediction, was the responsibility of the Union government, as meteorological organisations fall under Entry 53 of List I (Union List), he said.
“The State will seriously take note of the suggestions and improve its part, while the forecast-related issues are expected to be addressed by the Centre,” Mr. Kuriakose said.
